Photo Album

We gathered:

The Institute for Learning is a superb facility. The architecture is inspiring, but the IFL truly lives through its people and vision: to model superior customer service in everything that they do.

What can you say about a facility that looks this good? I'm standing in the center of the architectural centerpiece, themed on a Native American bow.

Want to learn more about the architect and architecture? Click here.

Many of the interior features carry on the Native American bow theme. This abstract-looking photo is of one of the light fixtures. (You can see them in context in the photos above.)

On Wednesday evening, we gathered in the lounge fore informal chat. Starting closest to the camera and heading to the left are Craig Hall, Mike Dickinson, John Howe, Malcolm Roberts, Ellen Bear, and our guest speakers Janet Cichelli and Tom Carey.

Hey, who's that guy in the middle - isn't he supposed to be taking the pictures? From left to raight, Ian MacNeil, Stan Malcolm (me!), and Paul Wlodarczyk. (Thanks Ellen, for taking the picture.)

Our guest speakers: Tom Carey from the University of Waterloo, and Janet Cichelli of SI International.

In the foreground are our host, Malcolm Roberts, and John Howe, emeritus member formerly of General Motors.

STEP met:

IFL head Corey Jack welcomed us to the IFL to start off Thursday's sessions.

Normally, at this point I'd include some pictures of the members attentively watching the presentations. But this year I took so many photos, and I need so many to adequately describe our Thursday night dinner, that the "candids" have had to go.

Here Janet Cichelli describes the benefits of a "blended solution" of web-based training and EPSS.

Agilent's Pat Chapman described their remarkable "Leadership Supply Process."

Paul Wlodarczyk describing Xerox's clever strategy for content aquisition and publishing. (I can't do it justice - you'd have to see the slides and watch Paul's hands in motion.)

Karla Kuzawinski, a STEP Alumna formerly of Xerox, did a great introduction to online survey and testing software. As an independent market researcher, she certainly knows all about data collection techniques, pitfalls, etc.

And here we all are, "champagne" in hand, just before our never to be forgotten interactive dinner.

One more view.

The glasses contained (past tense intentional) a bubbly "Seaview Brut, 1999, McLaren Vale, South Eastern Australia."

We dined:

Oh boy did we dine. Malc and Chef Barry put on a multimedia - and multisensory - extravaganza.

We entered the great hall to find large screen projections of Chef Barry and Chef Norbert, the sugar Chef.

Chef Barry demonstrated preparation of each course - there were five of them. As he finished each demonstration, on cue his staff appeared with plates for each of us.

As we ate, Malcolm Roberts described the wines we were drinking to accompany each dish.

Now it's Janet McChesney's turn.

Janet Cichelli makes her spoon while Diane Ziemer looks on.

Here Chef Barry completes the first course, smoked salmon displayed beneath a pastry bow and arrow - there's that Native American theme again!

(Sorry, no picture of the Champagne Sorbet course.)

Here you see the main course, Seared Bison Tenderloin, Maple Jus, Long Grain Wild Rice, Trio of Vegetables.

Two more wines, reds this time: "St. Hallett Shiraz 'Faith', 1995, Barossa, Australia", and "Henry of Pelham Baco Noir Reserve, 1999, Niagra, Ontario, Canada."

Finally, Northern Lights. A sugar cylinder surrounds a glow light - the only non-edible portion of the dessert. Pastry maple leaves hold fresh fruit and mousse. A chocolate cordial cup finishes the display. Imagine these being served, the room aglow!

Our dessert wine was "Barberani Villa Monticelli Moscato Passito, 1999, Umbria, Italy.