Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.
Each year, SAFCO issues its own word or expression annually that has attracted a great deal of interest over the previous 12 months. Around the offices, you’ll see plaques bearing auspicious words such as “Commitment,” Innovate,” and “Expeditious.” Each of these words held true meaning in their time, and every year, members of leadership debate candidates for word judging them to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the prior year. So without further ado, please allow us to introduce the Word of the Year for 2020: Adaptability. As SAFCO defines it, “Adaptability” is being able to rapidly learn new skills and behaviors in response to changing circumstances. Someone demonstrating adaptability in the workplace is flexible and has the ability to respond effectively to their working conditions - even if things don't go as planned. Certainly, you’ll agree that 2020 challenged the SAFCO team found ways to adapt to working from home and staying safe. Our success is a mark of their efforts!
SAFCO was recently recognized by Humana for our achievements in creating a culture of wellness at SAFCO. This award is not due to the efforts of one person, or just one team, but because of all of us here. It’s about the innovative ways we promote healthy living, such as our signature Wellness Fair. It’s about those of us who get out there and keep working hard on our fitness even during the pandemic, including those of you who participating in the “Quarantine Step Challenge.” It’s about those of us who focus on the team and encourage the team members around them to work harder, such as on our “Biggest Loser” Challenge.
SAFCO today announced the addition of entrepreneur and FinTech veteran Kenneth Gang as the company’s new Chief Risk Officer. George Fussell, SAFCO founder and CEO, said, “His arrival represents the beginning of a bold new era for us. We couldn’t be more optimistic about the future.” With the addition of Ken Gang, SAFCO gains exceptional portfolio management and analytic expertise that will enable the company to strategically grow its finance products and competitive position to a whole new performance level. Ken joins SAFCO from Bambu Finance, where he was Interim CEO/CRO since 2017. Prior to Bambu, he held Chief Risk Officer positions at CAN Capital, a pioneer in alternative small business finance, and Global Lending Services, a SAFCO competitor. Gang has also successfully led risk management teams for both Hyundai Capital America and Wells Fargo Auto Finance.
Why do we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month? Serving as chefs and doctors, teachers and judges, and more, Latinos are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, our partners. They author a key chapter in our American story, as we watch Jorge Ramos moderate a presidential debate, we live by decisions sponsored by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, we listen to Maluma and Karol G on our playlists, and we gaze up to the stars at Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space. We want our SAFCO team to understand firsthand what it means to be Hispanic in our modern America, so we’re excited to welcome our keynote speaker Ricardo J Negron-Almodovar to our Company-wide lunch-n-learn on September 24th. As a survivor of the Pulse shooting, a licensed attorney, and a tireless supporter of the immigrant community, Mr. Negron-Almodovar will speak us about his continual effort to help build the Latinx community in the workplace in central Florida.
Instead of highlighting famous and accomplished women throughout history, this year for Women's Equality Day we?ve decided to mark the day by looking internally. Our Cares Team sat down to interview some of the talented women on our team who have risen through the ranks at SAFCO and have made strong contributions to our Company?s success. Their bios are presented on a table in our activity area.
We’re sending out congratulations to our Quarantine Step Challenge winners! Together, the six members of the first place “Lone Walkers R Us” team did 2,870,077 steps during the five-week challenge period. That’s not a misprint – they walked almost three million steps during the time our company worked virtually from home. Even more impressive, the total logged for all challenge participants was eight million steps!
