On February 8 – 10, the Trans Ova team held its 2023 Summit – Ride for the Brand. For the Summit this year, 150 team members gathered in Nashville for three days of education, connection, and a little bit of fun! While the Summit is a great event for the Trans Ova team to continue to grow their skillset, it also provides the opportunity to collaborate in person with team members from across the country.
Team Trans Ova at the 2023 Summit
The first Trans Ova Summit took place in 2015 at headquarters in Sioux Center, IA. At the time, it was known as the Embryologist Summit, geared toward education for mainly embryologists. Since then, the Summit was expanded to also focus on client service and veterinarian education. This year over 250 people were in attendance (in-person and online), representing 9 locations and 18 different department areas. This is the first year everyone within Trans Ova was invited to participate in some form, and education sessions were picked to reach all areas of the team!
Highlights of the Summit included Keynote speaker Alyson Van Hooser, who spoke about generational differences and working together as a team, hearing from URUS CEO Paul Hunt, and the first-ever TOGie awards. TOGies were given to team members who exemplify the Trans Ova values on a daily basis.
Please help us in congratulating the TOGie winners from the 2023 Summit.
Client Satisfaction – Team members nominated for this value always Provide our clients with an INCREDIBLE experience. – Claire DeOrnellas & Elizabeth Vanherweg
Integrity – Team members nominated for this value are always doing the right thing.- Rhianna Frost & Ranae Schuttpelz
Excellence – Nominees strive for the best outcome today with innovation tomorrow. – Lauren Bell & Shannon Duxbury
Teamwork – Nominees go above and beyond for their teams. No walls. No disrespect. No blaming. No selfishness. – Brad Pickles & Amanda Denson
Balance – Nominees prioritize wellness and renewal in body, mind, heart, and spirit. – Emily Van Schepen & Taylor Imthurn
RIDE FOR BRAND – Nominees are Trans Ova’s biggest advocate, and exemplify all the values! – Diane Broek & Jon Schmidt
Most Likely to Win the Hunger Games – Taylor Johnson
The Empty Fridge Award: The one who always knows when the good snacks are being delivered – Micah Schouten
Cat Herder: The one who always keeps track of all the things and rallies the troops – Emily Warnimont
Fire Extinguisher: To the person who always puts out the metaphoric fires – Ranae Schuttpelz
Five More Minutes: To the employee who schedules appointments on the hour, but usually needs 5 more minutes – Katie Jauert Jess
PTO Royalty: For the team member who has the best vacation photos after PTO – Terry Perotti
Best Singer: thanks for always brightening our day! – Chloe Buchanan
High School Musical Award: For being the most likely to burst into song – Miguel Macias
Human Megaphone Award: For talking loudly on the phone so that everyone knows you are/aren’t working – Kimberly Wagner
The Email Vigilante: For the employee who always responds immediately to emails – Kim Smith
Person Most Likely to Secretly Love the Annual Budgeting Process – Mike Creek
Freeze Machine: Holds the record in the number of embryos frozen at a time – Patti Anderson
The Snackmaster – The employee who always has the best snacks in their desk. You can always rely on them when you have the mid-morning munchies. Leave the rice cakes at home when The Snackmaster is in the office. – Molly Smith
The Encyclopedia – The employee who can answer any question about any aspect of the job. This includes benefits, policies, and workflows. It is like they have every document memorized. – Megan Hulleman
The Martyr – The employee that volunteers for the most activities. Fun run? They’re on it. Bake sale? They’re baking. Whatever activity the company brings up, they are a participant. – Kaela Cooper
The Desk Dad – The employee who makes the corniest jokes. Every office has one. The Desk Dad gets the office laughing with painfully cringe-inducing puns, jokes, and anecdotes. – Stanton Warren
Office Bestie Award – This person somehow knows everyone in the office, no matter how long they’ve worked there. – Mary Broekhuis
Travel Guru – This person has the best travel tips, and is always prepared for anything when traveling. – Megan Moellers
THANK YOU!
Special thank you to The Event Company for helping us plan this year’s event! You can join the next Summit, by joining the Trans Ova Team. Check out our job openings at www.transova.com/careers
