As we celebrate our company’s yearly accomplishments, I reflected on a historical but popular quote from our 26th president, Teddy Roosevelt, who stated over a 100 years ago, “far and away, the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing”.   Teddy Roosevelt’s assertion over a century ago still resonates today…. perhaps more than ever.

Research and human experience show that people’s everyday work lives are greatly enriched when they accomplish meaningful work.  However, in today’s world of electronics and social media, it’s easy to lose perspective on worthwhile and meaningful work.  So much of what we do today is strictly measured by production, finances and timeline – all important metrics in today’s business.  It’s understood: no margin, no mission.

So, what makes today’s work worthwhile or worth doing?  I believe there are three important things in today’s workplace: making a difference in the workplace and community; mastering new skills and improving one’s self; and making the important connection between effort and reward.

After listening to our team reflect on their accomplishments, I related their successes to the premise of worthwhile work.  Here’s what was discovered:

Relative to Making a Difference, our Office Manager Kathy Charbeneau shared, “The accomplishment that I am most proud of is the Partners in Education Summer Internship opportunity that we provided to an Ocean Lakes Senior as part of her required Academy Capstone Project. This collaborative opportunity provided a valuable mentorship experience to a high school student, as well as accomplishing a desired feasibility study on a service that we want to offer clients. The success of this experience has encouraged us to expand our VB Schools outreach to a broader scale, reaching students at multiple stages of their K-12^th grade education”.

As for Mastering New Skills, Environmental Scientist Elizabeth Brock remarked, “One of my proudest moment was receiving federal Corps of Engineers approval on a wetlands survey of a local project.  It was a first-time opportunity to lead and gain approval on a local project involving a complex wetland delineation.  The project and wetlands survey (delineation) were field reviewed and confirmed by the Corps prior to a client’s urgent deadline.”

In making the Connection between Effort and Reward, Senior Environmental Consultant Andrew Pocta said, “One of the successes I’m most proud of is the experience of filming, with our own drone, the placement of demolished bridge material from Virginia Beach’s Lesner Bridge to one of Virginia’s artificial fishing reefs – Cabbage Patch – off the coast of Cape Charles.  The 24-hour barge adventure was eye-opening and allowed me to witness, video tape and film a compelling story to be shared with the City of Virginia Beach, local citizens and environmental community”.

Each of these accomplishments reflect the positive examples of Making a Difference, Mastering New Skills and Connecting Dots, and show the correlation of meaningful work to individual performance and the enhancement of life.

As we conclude the successful story of 2017, we give thanks to our many clients, friends and colleagues who provided us meaningful work.  We look forward to future opportunities of making a difference, mastering new skills and making the connection between effort and reward.  And, as suggested by Teddy Roosevelt over a hundred years ago, “the chance to work hard at work worth doing”.

On behalf of the MAP Environmental Inc. team, Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Meaningful, Prosperous and Joyous New Year!