PITTSBURGH, PA / February 17, 2011 – Five Star’s President and Co-Founder, Lou Camerlengo is interviewed on the topic of effectively executing business strategy. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/washcochamber/connections0211/#/27/OnePage
PITTSBURGH, PA / February 17, 2011 – Five Star’s President and Co-Founder, Lou Camerlengo is interviewed about Five Star’s role in creating a Talent Matching System for Marcellus Shale jobs.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/print-edition/2010/12/03/online-portal-educ-marcellus-shale-jobs.html
The end of each year provides an opportunity for reflection on the past and preparation for the future. 2009 was quite a year – filled with new challenges and opportunities. But through it all, lessons were learned as people began to navigate through a changed business environment. In our series of Blogs “2009 Reflections,” we will be sharing interviews with Five Star team members who tell what they learned in 2009 and what they are preparing for in 2010.
In this blog post we will be sharing our recent interview with Ben Rogers.
Ben Rogers
Director, Technology Solutions
What has ’09 taught you?
There are things Five Star does very well, and we’ve relied on those things in 2009. We are established in the training, design, and technology delivery field and ’09 has taught me that we can do those things well even in difficult times. At a personal level, I have also learned to be patient in determining when to learn and leverage new technology.
What is the one big lesson that you learned this year?
At Five Star, we really strive to refine and perfect our processes, our technical development skills, and our quality. We sometimes have had to realize that those things don’t always translate directly to customer service, so we really want to focus on our clients knowing that we are always responsive and that we put them first.
What is your biggest personal accomplishment?
Watching my team (the technology development team) come together to get through difficult projects.
What do you believe is Five Star’s biggest accomplishment this year?
Maintaining good relationships with existing clients and expanding our client base in a difficult economy.
What do you hope to learn in 2010?
How to balance time better; there are areas where I want to pursue learning new technology and I would like to balance that with spending more time with the team and helping them be more active in establishing and meeting their goals.
Final thoughts
This year was difficult, but we’ve come out of it as a stronger team. We learned encouraging things about who we are and what we can do.
The end of each year provides an opportunity for reflection on the past and preparation for the future. 2009 was quite a year – filled with new challenges and opportunities. But through it all, lessons were learned as people began to navigate through a changed business environment. In our series of Blogs “2009 Reflections,” we will be sharing interviews with Five Star team members who tell what they learned in 2009 and what they are preparing for in 2010.
In this blog post we will be sharing our recent interview with Rick Wagner.
Rick Wagner
Director, Client Services
What has ’09 taught you?
’09 has taught me that we are still finding new ways to apply technology to improve training and performance support. Advancements in video, social media, and online help systems have increased the opportunities to provide employees with the information they need in the format that works best for them.
What is the one big lesson that you learned this year?
In tough economic times the importance of strong relationships with clients, internal teams, and partners becomes that much more vital. The challenge of being even more efficient and finding new ways to achieve our clients’ goals has been hard work, but it has also been very rewarding.
What is your biggest personal accomplishment?
On a personal level, I am very excited that my youngest is now potty trained. Eleven years and four children later, there is no more diaper changing in the Wagner house!
Another big accomplishment was the development of an eCommerce site for the Western Pennsylvania Habitat for Humanity’s largest fundraiser. Five Star helped the Habitat for Humanity raise over $60,000!
What do you believe is Five Star’s biggest accomplishment this year?
From a Client Services standpoint; we were able to add new clients locally and nationally in a tough economic climate.
How are you going to transfer what you learned in 2009 to 2010?
I think 2009 challenged us to really be creative and to do more with less. I hope to continue to challenge myself, our internal team, and our clients to find new and better ways to solve problems. I am very optimistic about 2010!
What do you hope to learn in 2010?
I would like to explore tangible ways to help people perform better at their job and share information with others using social media and other technologies. I think we have only scratched the surface of applying these strategies to workplace performance.
Final thoughts
Is it really 2010 already?
The end of each year provides an opportunity for reflection on the past and preparation for the future. 2009 was quite a year – filled with new challenges and opportunities. But through it all, lessons were learned as people began to navigate through a changed business environment. In our series of Blogs “2009 Reflections,” we will be sharing interviews with Five Star team members who tell what they learned in 2009 and what they are preparing for in 2010.
In this blog post we will be sharing our recent interview with Angel Lehrian.
Angel Lehrian
Director, Human Resources
What has ’09 taught you?
There are ups and downs, but you have to persevere and move forward.
What is the one big lesson that you learned this year?
You have to take advantage of a down economy to build a connection with the talented people who are unemployed so that you can hire them when things pick up.
What is your biggest personal accomplishment?
Besides my two children, having Five Star recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Western PA and being involved with the Five Star Cares program.
What do you believe is Five Star’s biggest accomplishment this year?
In a period of an economic downturn, we were still able to attract new clients and keep our existing clients happy. An internal accomplishment is Five Star’s receipt of the Best Places to Work award.
How are you going to transfer what you learned in 2009 to 2010?
It is important to learn from the past. I plan to use lessons learned over the last year to explore new, innovative ways to attract and retain employees.
What do you hope to learn in 2010?
I hope to learn more about the health care reform bill and how it will affect our employees.
Final thoughts
Five Star Cares is an exciting program and brings value to our community. One of my goals is to increase involvement in it in 2010.
We typically do not highlight popular news stories in this Blog, but in light of Pittsburgh being the host of the G20 Conference we thought it would be appropriate to offer a few thoughts about our great city, where Five Star is headquartered.
In an article in the Washington Post, the lead sentence is very characteristic of the perceptions that many have about Pittsburgh,
“When President Obama announced that this Rust Belt city would host a meeting of ministers from the world’s leading economies, many scoffed. A lot of people are asking something along the lines of ‘What, was downtown Baltimore booked?’ ” wrote the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson.”
However, Pittsburgh has evolved greatly over the last 25 years, a fact that the Post article is quick to highlight:
“The city’s unemployment rate is well below the national average. Wages and housing prices are stable or up. Nearby Cleveland has experienced rampant foreclosures, but here they are relatively uncommon.
The city’s main industries — health care and education — are thriving. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an $8 billion health-care company, employs 50,000 people in Western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh’s health services business has almost tripled in size since 1979, creating more than 100,000 jobs.“
Throughout Five Star’s thirteen-year history we have watched our city mature and evolve. In fact, some of the best examples of this growth can be illustrated in the changes that have taken place in the neighborhoods where we established our main office.
When Five Star opened its doors, we made our home in what called the Fulton Building. After several exciting years in that facility, we learned that the building was being converted from offices into the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel. This elegant hotel quickly became an anchor to the city’s thriving Cultural District and provides a place for people to stay after watching a game in the city’s new baseball stadium, PNC Park, or taking in a show at the beautiful O’Reilly theater.
Five Star’s second home was in the Uptown area of the city, which is home to Duquesne University and the Mellon Arena. Conveniently located walking distance to downtown and a short drive to Oakland and the South Side, this area of the city continues to be a prime area for development and growth. In 2007, it was announced that a new arena (The Consol Energy Center) was to be built directly across from our offices. This 290M facility will house the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins and will provide a venue to host many world-class events (such as the NCAA Tournament) and concerts.
Resulting from our own growth, Five Star needed additional office space that was the primary impetus to move our offices once again. In 2008, we moved to Manchester, located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. This area of our city was also under a state of growth and revitalization as plans for a new casino, subway extension, and new office buildings were being planned or were underway. In the spirit of revitalization and environmental concern, we decided to move our headquarters into a 110 year- old former warehouse and factory that we converted into “green” office space.
As we take a moment to reflect on the evolution of Pittsburgh through just one lens of our company’s history, it is hard to not be amazed and impressed. Pittsburgh’s ability to adapt and overcome change and obstacles is very similar to our own history here at Five Star. There has been an incredible amount of growth and new development in Pittsburgh over the last 20+ years. Out of this growth new industries have arisen and jobs have been created, but more importantly a renewed sense of pride has been rekindled. Hosting the G20 Conference and winning awards like the “Most Livable City in America” are all great accomplishments and have put Pittsburgh in the world’s spotlight. But, more than all else, they have provided an opportunity for people around to world to see what we all have known for quite some time – Pittsburgh is a great place!
Five Star Development, Inc. will present a “Coaching for Stress” workshop at the Pennsylvania National Guard Association’s (PNGAS) 25th Annual Conference at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center.
PITTSBURGH, April 1, 2009 / Five Star cares about our troops and service personnel. On Friday, May 1, Dan Hupp, Director of Performance Solutions, and Jan Nedin, Solutions Architect, will present the program, “Coaching for Stress,” at the PNGAS 25th Annual Conference at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. The program will focus on the impact of stress on military personnel and their families who experience multiple deployments and extended service in hostile environments. Hupp and Nedin will use their 60 years of combined experience to help senior Field and Company Grade Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Officers determine their role in managing stress symptoms among the Guardsmen and women in their commands. The program is organized into 2, 50-minute sessions and will be delivered to 450 Senior Leaders of the PA National Guard.
About the Pennsylvania National Guard Association (PNGAS)
PNGAS, the professional association of Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard personnel, was formed in 1987 and represents nearly 20,000 Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard members, active and retired, and their family members. PNGAS has achieved great strides over the last year, with excellent success in passing State and Federal legislation that benefits all Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard personnel. For more information, please visit www.pngas.net.
About Five Star Development, Inc.
Five Star Development, Inc. enables clients to execute strategy by helping them achieve and sustain a high-performance organization. Five Star’s service delivery platform, Star Performance™, provides turnkey and customized solutions to optimize and integrate the Five Key Drivers of High-Performance™; focused and aligned leaders, skilled and motivated workforces, integrated talent management systems, enabling technologies, and continuous improvement. More information about Five Star can be found at www.fivestardev.com.
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