We are so happy to announce we have hired a Director for Gio’s Garden! Val Croissant comes to us from Easter Seals Wisconsin, where she’s worked since 2004 as respite camp coordinator, director of respite services and most recently, director of training and program development.
It was a difficult process to get here for the applicants. We received more than 20 resumes and brought in 6 very qualified people for the first interview. We did this a little bit differently than a normal interview process. Because we are hiring someone who will basically become an extended “family member”, we wanted to meet all the applicants at once and determine from there the final two for a second interview. We held a “roundtable” at Gio’s Garden in early March and discussed our dream with all of them. It was certainly a different way to interview as all board members and all applicants sat around the Gio’s Garden main room and just “talked”.
After that initial interview, we brought in two more finalists for a regular round of interviews…although, getting interviewed by 6 people in two different shifts must have been hard.
Now, we move forward with opening our doors and get Val moving! There’s a lot to do before we open…and that will include hiring another person, our Respite Care Coordinator. Be on the lookout for that job announcement! For now, please leave a “hello” here for Val or on our Facebook page! Soon, she’ll be blogging here!
Don’t forget, April 14th, the Run, Walk and Roll for CP. Mark your calendars for this years’ Rock for Respite June 8th and the 3rd Annual Gio’s Garden Classic on July 19th! Click all those links for more information or to sign up for events!
