A few members of the NK family of customers have had the chance to meet or hear about the fun-loving dogs of NK, whether it’s at a regatta or if they have stopped in our offices to say hello. These friendly canines will do anything for attention and are sure to make all of our visitors feel right at home with a warm welcome and a happy tail.

For the first time, we are going to officially introduce our friends and fans to the wagging tailed pals of NK in a little segment we like to call Doggie Diaries. Each week, we’ll feature a different four-legged employee and share a little information about their experience working at NK. Please feel free to chime in or share your stories about your own pup.

First up is the lovely Miss Dazey.  Dazey has been coming to NK for over 10 years and most likely has the best attendance record in the entire company. When asked what type of breed she is, her owner, our Director of Sales and Marketing, Katie Godfrey, refers to her as a North Philly special. Dazey now lives the life of luxury, having the privilege of coming to work every day. Even on days her mom is traveling for a trade show, Dazey still manages to make in it in (with the help of Katie’s husband who also works at NK). But Dazey wasn’t always so lucky; she is actually a rescue dog from the Philadelphia SPCA who only had a few more days left before Katie scooped her up over a decade ago.

Lucky for Dazey, she now has the life! You can find her lounging under Katie’s desk throughout the day to catch some z’s or laying under a conference room table during Katie’s meetings.  Her favorite things to do are to take naps and get petted. When Dazey is looking for some attention, she gives a little wet-nosed nudge to the person’s hand she is closest to so she can get a nice belly rub or pat on the head. Sometimes she can be pretty persistent.

Don’t be fooled by her age, although Dazey is 12 years old, she still has exceptional hearing. If anyone even mentions the word “T-R-E-A-T” around the office, Dazey comes running with the energy of an eight-week old puppy until she finds the treat holder. She will do just about anything for a treat including giving high “tens” or her showing off her award worthy performance as “circus dog” walking in circles on her hind legs.

One thing Dazey is known for is her Halloween costumes, every Halloween we can be sure Katie will have Dazey decked out in a goofy outfit for the holiday. Some of NK’s favorites have been Wonderdog, the Cheerleader, and how can we forget the memorable Princess Laya?

Dazey definitely brings a smile to the face of all who interact with her throughout the day, in fact many of NK’s employees who aren’t dog owners themselves, keep a stash of treats at their desk for Dazey and her fellow doggy friends. Hopefully if you’re ever in the area, you can stop in and meet Dazey and the rest of the NK Crew!

All smiles around NK today as it was announced this weekend on Philly.com, in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News that the company made the “Top Workplaces 2012″ list for the first time! We ranked #40 on the list for small businesses.

I think I speak for the NK family when I say we feel very honored to be working for a company who made the list. Even before ranking as a “Top Workplace”, NK employees have always felt like the company was a great place to work and it’s exciting to officially share the news.

To keep the environment friendly and fun, NK’s management and employees and constantly coming up with ideas to engage everyone and keep the atmosphere light. For starters, dogs stroll around the office on a daily basis and greet our visitors upon arrival. There can be up to 6 dogs here on any given day. And really, who doesn’t love a dog stopping by their cube for a few treats and a belly rub?

In addition, NK runs fitness programs and “stop smoking” programs to help employees get back in shape and stay healthy. Starting April 1st, we’ll be kicking off our annual NK Fit Challenge where employees break up into teams and compete “Biggest Loser style”. We also have monthly all employee lunches, fun holiday parties, and NK outings throughout the year. In fact, this coming June, NK employees will be competing in the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta on the Schuylkill River.

When initially surveyed in 2011 regarding Top Places to Work acknowledgement, employees gave a lot of positive feedback.  One employee talked about looking forward to going to work every day and said, “I get to work with great people doing meaningful work every day.” When asked why they loved their job, another employee replied, “My ideas are heard and utilized. I work with a great team that I am able to learn from as we continue to grow our company. Open doors and willingness to talk through problems keeps us moving forward…”

NK really is an exciting place to work, just ask any of our employees. To stay updated on what’s going on at NK, be sure to check out our Facebook page!

So tomorrow is week 3 in our battle of the sexes competition at NK. Who will come out on top this week? Eight of the guys verse eight of the gals in a head-to-head push-up for pull-up competition. A few weeks back, our Rowing Sales Manager, Ben Churchill came up with the interesting idea to round up an all male team and face off against their female counterparts in a battle of the sexes competition. The contest is set for eight weeks and which ever team loses will have to wash the other team’s cars. At first, the guys thought they had the win in a bag, but to their surprise, the girls cranked out a total of 83 push-ups week one, while the guys only came through with 61 pull-ups.

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow’s challenge brings….stay posted for the final results in April and see who will have the cleanest cars of NK.

The Kestrel team is getting ready for our first annual dealer summit that’s happening next month here in NK’s facility.  The dates of the summit are Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13 with a Welcome Reception taking place Wednesday evening, April 11. The two days to follow will be filled with a variety of sessions that we feel will help increase dealers’ knowledge of Kestrel products and provide them with the tools to sell more Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters in their stores.

Here is a sneak peak at the agenda:

• Tour the NK Facility
• Participate in dealer round table discussions
• Meet the Kestrel team
• Develop new product knowledge
• Become educated in technical support issues
• Learn market strategies
• Discuss new ideas among your peers
• Understand how to reach customers more effectively

We are really looking forward to having a chance to see some of our dealers we have not seen in a long time and officially meet others who we have only “met” over the phone. This will also be a great opportunity for dealers to discuss among themselves different market strategies and ideas to help increase sales.  So far we have a good number of dealers registered and among them are several of our international dealers.

Registration is currently open and we encourage any one who is considering the summit to register early! The summit is free of charge to our dealers but space is limited!  Register today.

We have also arranged for discounted rates at a local hotel where a shuttle will pick dealer’s up each morning and bring them to the summit (approx. a 5 minute car ride). To book a room online click here and use the group code KDS411. To arrange your stay over the phone call Diana McLimans at (610)358-9400 ext. 623 and mention you are attending the Kestrel Dealer Summit.

If you have any other questions regarding the summit, feel free to contact us. We look forward to seeing everyone in April!