Posted on Mon, Apr 09, 2012
This is the fourth post in our multi-part series that will help you get to know us better. Our previous posts gave you an idea of where we're all sitting and who Lauren Spengler and Eric Morgan are. Now, meet Kelly Morgan, our Director of Marketing in the Fairfax office.
What would you do if you had a free evening?
Karaoke! I love to embarrass my friends and family at karaoke bars, but we've recently taken to going to Korean-style karaoke where they give you a private room to do all of your singing (or rapping) in. If not karaoke, then let's be honest, I'd be sitting around watching Dance Moms and eating popsicles.
What’s your favorite holiday?
I'm partial to all of the candy holidays, but Halloween is my favorite because of the costumes. I get excited each fall to pick out my costume for that year. I've been everything from a yellow crayon to a bumblebee.
What song is always in your head?
Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team has been in my head since the mid-90s. Not that I'm complaining.
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
When I turn 60, I plan to switch over to "Peaches" Morgan. It seems that entering my elder years, I should have a fabulous grandma name.
What is your hidden talent?
I can convincingly imitate any Disney princess' singing voice, from Belle on back. I can also recite every bit of Snoop Dogg's first album. I'm really underutilized here at HealthRx.
What is your favorite book?
I could never pick just one. But, I can narrow this list down to a few (in no particular order):
Posted on Fri, Apr 06, 2012
This is the third post in our multi-part series that will
help you get to know us better. The first post gave you an idea of where we work. The last post told you a little about Lauren Spengler, our Customer Support Manager. Now, you'll get the chance to enter the weird world of Eric Morgan, our Director of Advanced Technologies in the Fairfax office.
What was your favorite food when you were a child?
My family enjoyed American takes on foreign cuisine, like Mom's famous tortillas and cheese. Sometimes the "American take" on the cuisine was just translating the name to English.
What is your favorite form of exercise?
I've recently rediscovered my love for running. Not running from something, or to something, just running in general.
If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?
25 years old. That was back when I had young skin and it was
also before the onset of adult back hair syndrome (ABHS).
If you knew the world would end in 2012, what would you do differently?
Does everyone else know the world is ending? If so, I'd just watch the chaos sitting on my roof with plenty of libations and something to fend off zombies. If I were the only one who knew, I think I'd first convince my family that I wasn't crazy and suggest we all wait out the doom on a nice island somewhere.
What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?
I was the instigator but rarely got caught. I made the other kids do my dirty work. I knew the consequences, so I figured why should I suffer them when others could do that for me?! Well, okay, one time I had to run from a moose I riled up, but that's a story for another day.
Posted on Wed, Apr 04, 2012
This is the second post in our multi-part series that will help you get to know us better. Our last post gave you an idea of where we work. This time around, you'll have the pleasure of meeting our Customer Support Manager, Lauren Spengler from the Fairfax office.
What is your favorite form of exercise?
Rock climbing – this sport challenges me mentally and physically and always leaves me with the sweet feeling of accomplishment.
What was your favorite food when you were a child?
Nothing - A notoriously picky eater since birth, I spent many-a-dinner sitting at the kitchen table past dark while my father ironed his work shirts or making comments such as “This is like the army” before falling asleep face first into a plate of cold pasta. A common quote was “I don’t like it, you eat it!”
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A doula (labor assistant) – nothing sounds more wonderful than empowering pregnant woman to have more positive birth outcomes and birthing experiences. What is more important or amazing than process of birth?!
If you were reincarnated as an animal, what would it be?
A Cat, particularly either one of my guys Zeus or Wally – sleeping, playing, eating and chasing bugs all day sounds like the life to me!
What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?
Pulling my older sisters signature long hair or leaving teeth marks in her arm. My grandmother, who was always one for equality, would often say to my sister “Bite her back!” Sweet Rebecca (4 years my elder) is quoted as responding, “I don’t want to break her."
Posted on Mon, Apr 02, 2012
Nobody likes working with a faceless corporation, am I right? We believe in 
accessibility and in showing you all that we're real people who care about your real problems. This series will give you some insight on who we are - starting with where we are.
Fairfax, VA (Headquarters)
Our headquarters office is in historic Fairfax City, VA, which is about 15-20 minutes down the road from Washington, D.C. (depending on which one of us is driving). Our company began in the D.C.-area, and we intend to remain in the area. The Fairfax office is where we handle support, marketing, sales, and the majority of our product development.
Myrtle Beach, SC
Our Myrtle Beach office is home to sunshine, salty air, and our operations staff. The office is mere blocks from the water - don't get too jealous!
Bloomington, IN
One of our satellite offices is in Bloomington. The staff in this office are dedicated 100% to product development.
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
This is our newest location! This location at George Mason is our computational medicine lab. President Pat will be there later this year doing whatever it is that PHDs do.
In our next Who Are We post, we'll give you the inside scoop on Kelly Morgan!
Posted on Fri, Feb 24, 2012
Who says scientists don't have an artsy side? Come check out some science eye candy on our Pinterest boards!
Posted on Wed, Jan 04, 2012
I have learned a lesson today about challenging smart people. Some months ago I casually mentioned that if someone could find me a gym-safe Viking horned helmet, I would wear it in my workout routine every day until I reached a specific fitness goal. The notion was simply that contractual public humiliation might cause me to work harder to meet the goal faster.
All this was inspired by a walk through the Fairfax Fall Festival where the Sons of Norway were displaying cool horned helmets. Most experts agree that there were likely no horns on the helmets of real Viking warriors since their close-quarters combat style made them impractical, but horns are a good look nonetheless. The 6’8” son of Norway parading back and forth in front of the booth wore the “el Presedente” of horned helmets and I was instantly sold. The problem was I am not 6’8”, not of Norwegian descent, and favor Fred Flintstone more than a Viking warrior. Plus, it wasn’t gym safe. Still, I took the story to work.
So, at the beginning of a new year, when we seem compelled to set new goals, I find myself hoisted on my own petard. It seems our Kelly Morgan’s resolution was to master sewing, after a long flirtation with a machine given as a wedding gift three years ago. The horned helmet below will motivate some good workouts, believe me. I am nearly giddy as I picture myself astride the elliptical trainer, urr, I mean treadmill, with my new look. If you see me at LifeTime Fitness in Fairfax, come say hi.
Happy New Year to all.
Posted on Fri, Dec 23, 2011
As we find ourselves at the end of another exciting and productive year, our last update deployed, systems scanned and secure, it's time to stop and be thankful for all that we have been provided this year.
I am ever grateful for my bright and energetic team, without whom HealthRx would lumber along, just one more boring software company. Instead, with their uncanny instinct, we are always seeking challenges on the edge of technology, always making ourselves better.
I am grateful for the amazing people who are our customers, a diverse and fascinating group of health care providers, researchers, and safety professionals who constantly inspire us to dig deep into our imaginations to bring their cool ideas to life.
I am grateful for a few days off to enjoy the Season with family and friends and to take some time to reflect on the amazing age we live in and the opportunity have been given to make a better world for those who come after us.
Oh look! It seems my senior staff heard my wish for an iPhone-controlled helicopter. What better way to spend the rest of my day!
I wish all readers peace, good health, and prosperity in the coming year!
Posted on Fri, Dec 02, 2011
Today we had the joyous opportunity to participate in Fox 5 DC's Stuff-A-Truck effort to benefit the Capital Area Food Bank. The food bank's mission and commitment to helping people in need in the District, Maryland, and Virginia resonates with us because having enough to eat is a stepping stone for top-notch performance in school and at work and for being well enough to care for others.
Loading up the goods:
Eric being shy about being photographed because "some guy was staring" at him:
The guy in the background was the one staring at Eric:
There we go, Eric's finally found the holiday spirit:
Kelly's found her strong man pose for no particular reason:
Please consider making a monetary donation or food donation to the Capital Area Food Bank!
Posted on Tue, Nov 08, 2011
This was our second year exhibiting at the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) conference, and it was another success! We brought our new display in its many-pound entirety to Anaheim, CA and it looked great, if I do say so myself.
From the moment the exhibit hall opened, we were flooded with biosafety professionals from all over the country - from California to Georgia, up to Massachusetts and beyond. In between meeting new people, we were fortunate to be able to hang out a bit with our customers/friends from the NIH DOHS, in between their crazy conference schedules, that is.
As with the SRA International Annual Meeting, we learned a lot about our current and potential customers:
- They have complex needs that keep them from being able to manage health and safety matters efficiently
- Lag time between research submission, review, and approval is only as fast as the system allows - and paper-based systems lag way behind paperless ones
- There is a great need for software systems that work with the user rather than against them
- They really know how to party, especially when moon bounces are involved
Biosafety professionals, thank you for your tireless efforts to keep research safe and productive!
Posted on Sun, Oct 30, 2011
Last week, we (Eric and Kelly) exhibited at the SRA International Annual Meeting in Montreal. It was not only fun (it is Montreal), but we learned a lot by getting to know the research administration population. We met people from a wide variety of institutions, from the Veteran's Administration, to a school in the Middle East, all the way back to some Ravens fans from Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland...and about 200 more. We can say that, without a doubt, research administrators rock.
We learned some enlightening things while at the Annual Meeting:
- Research administration attracts all walks of (scholarly and professional) life, including medical professionals, accountants, marketers, and Kelly's own people, social scientists
- There are many institutions that are craving organization, systemization, and paperless systems
- Canadian nachos are nothing like American (Mexican?) nachos
- Research administrators love researchers as much as we do, and they are looking for every possible solution to help their investigators continue working effectively
We also got to debut part of our new booth set up, though we were limited to our banners and collateral, since the background weighs more than Kelly does and is hard to check on a plane. Here are some pictures of our new look (you'll see the full monty when we post pictures from ABSA 2011):
SRA International staff sure know how to do a conference with style! They had a lovely exhibitor lunch for us
and they also hosted a killer opening night reception that had everyone smiling
(probably because of the featured drink, the Montreal Kiss)
During the opening reception, we got to meet 90 delightful people and give them each a sticker for their exhibition passport. On the last day of the meeting, the SRA staff did a random drawing of passports for prizes like iPad 2s and hotel visits.
We had such a good time that we've have already signed HealthRx up to exhibit at the 2012 SRA International Annual Meeting in Orlando next year. Do consider registering and coming to the meeting too, as an exhibitor or attendee. You won't regret it!
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