2019 marked the 6th year that CEI has been hosting annual kick-off meetings. 6 years ago when the meetings began they were put together to be a Sandler leadership training day. In the last 2 years, CEI has taken on the planning process on our own. The first year this posed a challenge. It was a daunting task to specify exactly what to address, how to bring the team together and how to make sure that everyone felt it related to their job at the end of the day.

The theme of the 2018 meeting was “Everything Counts!” it was a year of refocusing. The previous year there was no annual meeting. We looked at the big pictures and all of its components and how they worked together. Everything Counts symbolized all the details and spoke to each one as equally important.

2019 brought a new challenge, 2018 was CEI’s best year yet. With a big focus on the details and expectations high, the year turned out with an amazing ending. In 2019 we wanted to repeat that. It’s important to keep motivation high and to keep working hard even when you are at the peak.

CEI’s 2019 Annual Kick-Off Meeting was hosted at Cleary University on February 8th, 2019. The team is getting together to do team building activities, express job concerns, talk about the industry and learn about how to lead there a team more effectively. The kick-off meeting is for the leadership teams at CEI. This includes Management, Office Staff, Estimators, Service Staff, Superintendents, and Foreman. It gives time for each department to gather together, work together and express concerns that they have. A big part of the meeting is to hear the other department and how they work and understand the importance of each member of the CEI team.

In addition to the meeting this year, we are adding a charity piece. We are packing backpacks for Comfort Cases. They support foster kids by providing them with supplies as they transition into new homes. Their story is touching and CEI is proud to support them and their mission.

2019’s theme is “Keep Swinging for the Fences”. The theme is a reminder to simply “keep going.” CEI is on an amazing growth track and with the economy, in line, we are moving toward being even better. As a company we don’t want to deviate from what we are doing, we want to continue on the path toward greater excellence. We want to keep moving up and keep motivation high. Just because last year was our best does not mean it can’t get better.

Overall, our kick-off meeting was a success. At CEI we are always working hard, pushing for excellence and are dedicated to “Keep Swinging for the Fences!