Hello, readers! This is a special edition of our "Getting to Know the Baudville Team" interview series. What's special about it? Well, Andrea, a member of our outbound sales team and Baudvillian since 2007, has something pretty exciting going on and we think it is definitely share-worthy!

A friend of mine, who's a teacher, just wrote a post about how distracted his students are when it comes to their phones: always looking for the next Snapchat blip or Instagram follower or Facebook like. I read this and all I could think was: look around! It's not just your students, it's nearly everyone—from adolescents to middle-aged adults. It's true: so many of us are walking around face-down waiting for affirmation.

I just made a decision to become more engaged in LinkedIn, which may seem strange, since in the latest RecogNation I wondered if LinkedIn is really the best way to make connections. Well, I do still wonder that, but I also can't deny that without this networking tool, I would not have met some important people from places way outside of my sphere!

At Baudville, we're passionate about supporting causes that are close to the hearts of our team members. It's why we got involved in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and why every person who achieves a year of perfect attendance gets to match their monetary award with a charity of their choice. There are also our relationships with D.A. Blodgett - St. John's Home, Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding, and Gilda's Club Grand Rapids that help support our charitable mission to improve the lives of children. And, every other year, we also raise funds for either breast cancer or prostate cancer awareness.

Earlier this year, when we learned we made the West Michigan's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For™ list (yet again!) we had a big hurrah—and there were promises of an ever bigger one (cookout style) once summer rolled around. Well, if you live in Michigan, you know that this summer was not exactly the best example of what summer is supposed to be like. Meaning: boo, no cookout! Good thing we got some more good news and another reason to celebrate—during a full week of "abundant sunshine" in the forecast!

If you are regular followers of our blog, then you know we have been working on our workplace wellness program for the past several years. This year, we felt we had enough initiatives and results under our belts to apply for the Best and Brightest in Wellness™ designation—and we were right!