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Ode to the Old Office – 2320 Broadway

By Adrian Rehn

As Valley Vision staff box up their belongings and prepare for the big move, we took some time to recall our favorite (and not-so-favorite) memories from the office that we’ve called home for 11 years!

Robyn Krock:

  • Bill Mueller wearing a pink wig and riding a unicorn around the parking lot.
  • I will not miss having to wait for trucks blocking the parking lot to move.

Trish Kelly:

  • I have loved all the times we’ve had meetings with community partners and business leaders; federal, state and local policy and legislative leaders; and others who come together to work on creative, cross-cutting regional solutions and projects. There is magic in the collective community and the place that helps make that happen.
  • On the upside, I don’t have to look at bathroom from the conference room.

Evan Schmidt:

  • Sitting in the kitchen for lunch and socializing, team sessions in the conference room with snacks, white board, computers, beverages, the (few) four square games in the parking lot.
  • The glass grinding might be a Stockholm syndrome thing – I will probably miss it terribly in ways I don’t currently understand.

Alan Lange:

  • The dog from the building next door running into our office to hang out, and not wanting to leave. This proved that our dog friendly policy is well established in the canine community.
  • Responding to the burglar alarm in the middle of the night – expecting a false alarm – only to find that we had been broken into. What was stolen? Our microwave. And nothing else. Apparently that breakfast sandwich just couldn’t wait until sun-up.

Meg Arnold:

  • Thinking positively, the fully-open office set VV apart from others, early-on and distinctively. You could say that we’ve had the co-working vibe since at least five years before the term even existed!
  • On the less positive side, the chronic sound of breaking glass from next door.

Bill Mueller:

  • Funny:  Ping pong matches in the office for fun and team building, and designating a “2 pointer” if you were able to hit the ball off Robyn and keep the ball in “play.”  She was a great sport.
  • Poignant:  Taking walk breaks around the neighborhood and passing through the nearby cemetery on Broadway and frequently being reminded of the saying attributed to the Buddha that “The problem is that you think you have time.”

Adrian Rehn:

  • I will never forget being asked to lift Valley Vision’s office dog, Adonis, into Robyn’s car in the parking lot. I squatted down to get my arms underneath him, and my pants promptly split. This would have been bearable if Trish, Evan, and I weren’t at the office until after 9:00 PM that evening to submit our application for the AgPlus IMCP designation!
  • I will not miss the white specks that fall from the ceiling every day. What is that stuff?

We are excited to continue our work in North Oak Park. As of July 9th, Valley Vision will be located at 3400 3rd Avenue in Oak Park. The 2320 Broadway location will be closed from July 4th through the 6th as we move all of our stuff.