Paragon recently announced the 2011 award winners. Employees were recognized for their outstanding customer service, cost savings initiatives, leadership and community involvement.

2011 President’s Award Winner – Marie Scott

The President’s Award is the highest honor an employee can receive at Paragon. To be eligible for this award, the employee must demonstrate a commitment to excellence by moving Paragon closer to our mission and our culture of success.

Marie Scott, Corporate Controller, was nominated for her outstanding work and leadership in the area of advancing our global billing capabilities. Scott led Paragon’s effort to respond to a client’s need for billing in 22 different currencies and to 89 billing points across the globe. The project was challenging to say the least as Scott had internal staffing challenges to overcome and her regular, full-time duties as comptroller to maintain. In the end, Marie accomplished the stated goals of the project and the client was delighted with the outcome. Through her diligent work, Marie underscored her commitment to advancing Paragon and the global reach of the organization while at the same time emphasizing her dedication and incredible work ethic. For these reasons, Marie Scott has been recognized as the 2011 President’s Award winner. In addition to a monetary bonus, Scott will receive an extra week of much earned vacation.

Congratulations to Marie and to the other deserving nominees including:

• Kevin Sheehan
• Stacey Bass
• Andre Rekers

2011 Paragon Community Service Award Winner – Ryan Hopkins

The Paragon Community Service Award was developed to recognize one employee who is dedicated to the last tenet in Paragon’s Core Values, which is:

Community Involvement – We demonstrate a caring attitude for our employees and the people we serve. We recognize that we are what we give back to our community. We feel a genuine need to help others is important to our success.

Ryan Hopkins, Underwriter for GenEquity Mortgage, was nominated for his tireless work with the victims of last year’s devastating tornado in Joplin, MS. Hopkins traveled to the storm ravaged area to distribute supplies and assist in the clean-up efforts. In addition, he led a Vacation Bible School in Honduras for three schools and an orphanage, while helping with the construction of another orphanage. Hopkins also serves meals at Solomon’s Porch, a ministry that helps feed and clothe the poor in inner city Dallas. For his outstanding dedication to helping those in need, Ryan Hopkins has been recognized as the 2011 Community Service award winner.

Congratulations to Ryan and the other deserving nominees including:

• Teresa Mahlberg
• Rick Calanni

2011 Paragon Service Award Winners

Many congratulations and thanks go to all our Consultants who earned the 2011 Service Award for having a 95% Satisfied average on all their surveys:

• Steve Ford (at 100%)
• Barbara Moskal
• Jessica Stroede
• Otis Lau
• Bonnie Chung
• Lisa Schmitt
• Leann Tantillo

Moving forward, Paragon has decided to award our Consultants twice a year for their service ratings to offer even more incentive to provide an extraordinary customer experience, one family at a time.

Filed under: Announcement, Articles, Community Service, Paragon Relocation's Customer Service |

When an opportunity for an International Assignment arises there are many questions that may come to mind. Adventure is at your doorstep when you say Yes to go live and work in another country. But you might also ask yourself the question “what will I miss about my home country?” before you embark on your great adventure.

Having this information might help you equip yourself to feel at home even when you are 10,000 miles away. In a recent study by Aviva UK Health, they asked Brits what would be the things that they might miss most from their home country from taking an international relocation. Many of these answers might be relevant to any country.

What would I miss if I left my home country for an International Assignment?

How to feel at home when you are living in a foreign country?

• Join an Expat Community – Hundreds of thousands of employees relocate around the world every year. There is a good chance that there are other people from your home country in your current location who are also looking for a community of people who understand each other. There are many great sites out there to help you with this search. Among them there is BritishExpats.com, and ExpatExchange. You may also want to try Googling your location plus the words “Expat Community” to see what other options might be available.
• Watch TV Episodes – Through the wonders of the internet you might be able to buy, rent or stream many of your favorite TV shows directly on the instant TV episodes section of either Amazon.com or iTunes.
• Find your Favorite Foods – Though this might be a bit of a stretch in some locations in other locations (often with the help of an expat community or with some internet research) finding your favorite foods from home might not be as difficult as it once may have been. Here is a word of advice: determine the value of the food items to you. If they are imported they might be significantly more expensive than they were in your home country.
• Connect with Friends and Family – through the use of such VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) tools such as Skype you might be able to not only talk to friends and family at long distance you can also SEE them using the video conferencing features (with a webcam) that are available either at the price of FREE or at a very low cost. Scheduling these types of calls can really connect you with your home.

Paragon Relocation has moved many many people all over the world and through the excitement of an International Assignment our International Assignment Consultants in combination with our Destination Service Provider agents are always there to help you feel as little or as much experience of home as you desire. While when living abroad it is difficult to replicate your entire experience of living at home it should be balanced with the desire to incorporate the local customs and cultures into your life to the degree you feel comfortable. By nature an International Assignment is for a short duration when at the end you will traditionally either move home, extend the assignment or take a new assignment. Therefore you should experience everything that culture has to offer while you can before you have to move on.

Recently we wrote about how to deal with Culture Shock, reading this article might also provide some tips on how to feel at home within the culture of the country you are living in.

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Filed under: Articles, Blog Post, China, Community Service, The Best Thinking... |

Moving is stressful. In addition to moving the stuff you own into your new home you also have to worry about whether or not you are picking best the neighborhood for you and your family.

Thankfully when you relocate with Paragon Relocation we have our Relocation Consultants there every step of the way to guide you into a great neighborhood. In addition to the great service Paragon Relocation’s consultants provide there are also some great tools on the internet to use to make you a neighborhood expert even before you move there.

But first, you need to know what you need to know before you start your research.

What should I know about my new neighborhood before I move?

IMPACT Group, a employee and family transition services company, released a report that was cited by Worldwide ERC of the top 10 most requested important pieces of information that people request when they are moving to a new neighborhood. While the most important information might be different for each family, the most requested pieces of information include:

1. Demographic and Crime Reports
2. Employers in a Specific Industry/Occupation
3. Physician/Dental Referral Services
4. Recruiters/Temporary Staffing Agencies
5. School Rankings
6. Company Lists
7. Driver’s License/Vehicle Registration Facilities
8. School District Reports
9. Preschools and Day Care Centers
10. Fitness Centers

Now that you have some ideas of what to search for, now we will give you the tools.

How do I research information about a neighborhood?

Neighborhood Scout – this site provides abundant information about your new neighborhood. Enter the address (including zip code) of your new location and it will give you home values, crime rates and details on public schools in the area.

Wikipedia – search the name of your new city to find some additional information about the history of the city, demographics, in addition to information such as the largest employers in the city.

City-Data.com – although this site may not be the prettiest to look at it provides lots and lots of data about many cities through out the United States and Canada which may help you with your search to find the perfect neighborhood for you.

These tools above will help you find out as much information as you can before you actually visit the neighborhood and decide if it is a good fit for you and your family.

Paragon Relocation as part of its offering of full service international and domestic relocation programs helps moving employees all over the world find the best neighborhood for them through various forms of Home Finding trips. From US Domestic Relocation to International Assignments to Global Destination Services Paragon Relocation’s goal is to help each employee feel at home whereever their final destination takes them.

Filed under: Blog Post, Community Service, ERC, The Best Thinking... |

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? There are many opportunities to make the earth a better place to live for all of us. At Paragon Relocation, a international relocation company, we have celebrated Earth Day through a variety of activities including  turning all our blog links green, providing tips on How to Go Green at Work and participating in the Clean Coppell initiative by picking up trash in one of our local communities.  What have you done to protect or preserve the planet this week?

Paragon Relocation’s CEO, Joseph Morabito, underscored Paragon’s commitment to being an eco-friendly business by stating :

“As we consider future expansion and growth, we embrace and seek out opportunities to enhance our commitment to eco-friendly business practices and sustainability.  In a recent example, our newest office location in Texas features many energy efficient features and was built to conform to the most up-to-date eco-friendly building codes.  At Paragon, we are committed to conservation and environmental awareness in all of business dealings.”

Here are some easy ways for you to celebrate Earth Day today in your community:

• Plant a tree in your yard.
• Participate in your city’s planned Earth Day events.
• Take a green pledge on EarthDay.org – you can take a pledge to take shorter showers, walk instead of taking the car, or set up a recycling station among many other easy opportunities to help the planet.
• Go on a Hike.
• Visit a National Park in your Country.
• Donate lightly used clothing and furniture to a local thrift store so that they can be reused by others.

However you celebrate Earth Day, from everyone at Paragon Relocation we wish you a Happy Earth Day!

Filed under: Blog Post, Community Service, Paragon Foundation |

Paragon Relocation, a leading provider of global relocation management services, underscored the company’s commitment to its core value of community involvement through a number of fundraising initiatives at Paragon offices around the globe to benefit Japanese tsunami relief efforts. These fundraising activities included a “Pie-in-the-Face” contest, bake sales and selling homemade recipe books. Employees in Paragon’s Dublin, Ireland office won the interoffice contest by raising more than $50 per employee.

Through these activities, employees raised over $3,500. Coupled with a corporate donation through Paragon’s employee donation matching program, in total Paragon donated $7,029.75 in financial contributions to several organizations across the globe involved in relief efforts, including the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

“Paragon employees have always stepped up to help others when the need was there. Once again I am impressed by their level of commitment to help our friends in Japan cope with their current crisis,” said Joseph Morabito, CEO of Paragon.

Filed under: Blog Post, Community Service, Paragon Foundation, Press Release |

Employees from Paragon Relocation and GenEquity Mortgage recently participated in the Clean Coppell initiative in honor of Earth Day. By adopting a stretch of road and picking up trash, employees were able to keep their city looking beautiful. In all, the Paragon team picked up 10 bags of trash. Paragon’s offices have picked various activities to show their commitment to “being green.”

What activities have you participated in to honor Earth Day?

Filed under: Blog Post, Community Service, Paragon Foundation, The Best Thinking... |

Thomas True of Paragon Relocation has been appointed to his second term as treasurer on the Executive Board of Directors of the Southern California Relocation Council (SCRC).  SCRC’s primary purpose is to improve the services offered to relocating employees and their families by working with relocation professionals. True is among only four industry colleagues to hold a position on this board.  A position on the executive board is awarded on the basis of being elected by gaining a majority of votes from SCRC members. True will serve as treasurer for the 2011-2012 term.

“Tom is a valuable member of the Paragon staff and a great asset to the industry as a whole, his participation in this local relocation chapter will be an asset to Paragon.” said Joseph Morabito, President and CEO of Paragon.

True is Vice President of Global Relocation Services at Paragon Relocation. His responsibilities include managing a portfolio of clients based in the West Coast region. True holds his Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) designation from Worldwide ERC® and is a Six Sigma Green Belt certified by Villanova University.  He has an undergraduate degree from Central Connecticut State University.

Filed under: Community Service, Press Release, The Best Thinking... |

Paragon’s Dallas office held a food drive for the North Texas Food Bank. Employees donated over 200lbs of food and to our Tom the turkey box.

We also raised $197 which was matched by the Paragon Foundation totaling a $394 donation to the North Texas Food Bank to help families in need this holiday season.

Filed under: Community Service |

In another effort to raise community involvement, Paragon’s president, Joseph Morabito, has established a Community Service Award.  This new program will recognize one employee each year for his/her community service to help change lives, or otherwise better their community.  This award will be given out in December and the winner will receive a cash price of $500.  Paragon has a long tradition of promoting participation in charitable causes.  Each year, The Paragon Foundation invests volunteer, monetary and in-kind support in communities where Paragon employees live and work. Contributions are made principally in the areas of education, health and human services, civic affairs, cultural enrichment, and the environment.

Filed under: Community Service |