Welcome IRES to the ERC Family!
The ERC family continues to grow with our newest contract, IRES (Integrated Research & Development for Enterprise Solutions), supporting the Missile Defense Agency with locations in Colorado Springs and Huntsville. The new ERC IRES employees in Colorado Springs recently came together for a Meet & Greet with Mike Finnicum, the new Program Manager, Ernie and some of the folks from HR. We are so delighted to have you in the ERC family!
Ken Lyles, ERC Chief Administrative Officer, Michael Hasse, Network Engineer and his wife, Diana, and Sean Doyle 
Justin Coleman, Systems Engineer, Theresa Davis, Benefits Administrator, Robert Johnson, Systems Engineer and Darren Culpepper, Systems Engineer 
Larry Bell, Cyber Security Security Analyst, Mitchael Gerry, System Administrator, Tom Howard, System Administrator, Mike Hunter, Hunter Benefits Group and Robert Kennamer, Configuration Management Lead 
Georgeanne Nelson, Training Manager, Mel Harnett, Enterprise Engineer, Robert Belden, Cyber Systems Engineer, Paula Zuber-Jones, Systems Engineer and Sean Doyle, ERC Facility Security Officer 
Mike Finnicum, Program Manager, Steve Gragert, Network Engineer and Karen Tamso-Kelly, IT Analyst
RC Headquarter Staff is reading, discussing and learning to work together as a team!
Many members of the ERC HQ staff are currently reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.
Ernie led us in reading this book as part of a Directed Sprint. A Directed Sprint is an activity used by Deliberately Developmental Organizations (DDOs), a term used to describe organizations that are intentional about helping their people grow. The corporate office held a developmental sprint a couple of years ago using the Immunity to Change process developed by Harvard Professors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey. In that sprint, HQ staff worked on personal improvements. In this directed sprint, rather than working on individual objectives, the group reads material together. They then meet to discuss the book, relate it to organizational goals, and reflect upon their individual roles and responsibilities from that perspective. Teamwork is a topic the corporate office decided to tackle because ERC’s growth makes aligned and cooperative behavior ever more important. Rather than hoping for better teamwork, the corporate office is tackling it deliberately.
AIAA Team at Carts4Hearts
Carts4Hearts, a loose parody of the Iditarod Alaskan dog sled race featuring human teams with decorated shopping carts, is an annual fundraiser for the Downtown Rescue Mission. This year’s race included a team from AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the world’s oldest aerospace professional association) with our own Naveen Vetcha (ESSCA). Naveen is the Greater Huntsville Section Chair for AIAA, which covers Alabama and Mississippi. Not only did the team have an awesome space-themed cart, they took home 1st place for the amount of food collected – over 500 lbs! Thanks to all the Huntsville ERC folks who donated food to make this happen! Way to go, Naveen!
ERC and our employees are making an impact!
Thanks to some of the PFCs at TOSC for distributing the funds to the selected charities in the Brevard County community – what a terrific impact to make on so many lives!
Cycle4ALZ
ERC was a proud sponsor of the Cycle4ALZ – a ride to raise funds for the Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation. At the end of the race, Mary Banasik was presented with a surprise special award for her fundraising efforts over the years. Congratulations to Mary for this recognition!
Team JCARES4EVER, the JCARES CYCLE4ALZ Team. 
Mary’s surprise award! 
Mary’s grandson, Grady, with the sponsor banner. ERC is proud to support this event!
ERC employee featured in “Apache Warrior” movie!
Bill Neal, a Test Program Integrator on the RWESS contract, is part of a documentary on the Apache helicopter. Filmed during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, this documentary provides a pilot’s eye view of action as U.S. forces struck deep into enemy territory. The action takes place in near real time as the Apache crews offer close ground support to troops battling Iraq’s large mechanized army.
Bill recently attended a screening for the film, which included a raffle and other donations, all benefiting the Apache Warrior Foundation. The film has been viewed at multiple movie festivals across the country and has already won several awards. The documentary became available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon on Dec.12 and will be screened at select theaters across the country.Click the link below to view the story that aired on the local news:http://www.waff.com/story/37094019/redstone-arsenal-employees-featured-in-new-apache-warrior-movieBill, thank you for being part of the team to share this powerful story, and thank you for your service to our country.
