Professor (Adjunct) Hardy

Marcus is officially an Adjunct Professor at BYU!  He's been really excited about this opportunity to teach Intro to PR, although a little unsure of what it would completely entail.  His class has 49 students enrolled with a few on the waitlist!  We'll have to check out Rate My Professor at the end of the semester and see how the students liked his class.  

First day of school

CooperKatz Visit

We wanted to go visit CooperKatz before we left NYC, so we all ventured in to the city one afternoon for lunch.

Heading into the city, Marcus bought his final NYC Metrocard.

It was fun to see old friends at CK.  And Chase enjoyed sharing lunch with several of them.

Guess they were brainstorming

It's like a real life version of one of the past CK Holiday videos :)

Thanks for a great NYC adventure, CooperKatz!

Codeword SLC

Since Marcus' company obviously has an office in Utah, he was able to work during our trip.  He didn't have to take any time off, besides an hour here or there to house hunt.  We didn't all make it to meet his coworkers, but I did get to see the building.  It's near Thanksgiving Point, so it's a really fun, growing area - with lots of good restaurants close.

The office building

Directory for the building

The entry

The main office space

Marcus' temporary spot

They have a projector on during the work day that displays on that wall to the left.  Last time I heard, it was playing Harry Potter...

One of the Conference Rooms
(Spoiler Alert: We signed the contract for our HOUSE at that table)

It will be fun to meet the Utah office, but it will have to be in May since I ran out of days to bring the boys by.  But Marcus is really happy there, so that's great!

Visiting Codeword NYC

I wanted to go see Marcus' office, so while Gram was in town, we trekked over to midtown.  Actually there is a bus about two blocks from our apartment that goes within two blocks of the office.  Super convenient with two little boys.

Codeword

Chase loved the zen sand gardens

And of course he had to try out Daddy's computer

Ty liked the couch and the pens - definitely Codeword's youngest employee

Happy in the office :)

Glad we were able to see the office finally - it's only been four months...

Four Years at CK

CooperKatz was the company Marcus interned with back in 2011.  We were so excited when they offered him a job, and we were moving to New York that December.  Now four years later, after many work projects, different account assignments, some work trips, holiday parties, summer outings, ... and of course two kids for us, we've made the decision to try a new adventure.  

I took some screen shots of the CK website to immortalize Marcus' time there :)

There's Marcus on the website - can you spy him?

His picture on their website

His bio (as of probably 2013)

Marcus' last day was New Years Eve...

The desk of a busy guy

And now, it's empty.  :(

It's a bittersweet feeling.  We're really looking forward to some of the opportunities coming up for Marcus, but CooperKatz has been such an important part of our lives for the last four years (and a summer).  It's a wonderful company full of so many great people - and many friends.

Last Day of Work at CooperKatz

CK Holiday Party

We always look forward to the annual CooperKatz holiday party.  The company is great, and we get to try a restaurant in Manhattan we wouldn't otherwise visit.  This year, the party was at Adoro Lei.  It was a fun (and delicious) night!

Here are some pictures of the restaurant/bar from their website:

Anne, Dorothy, and Ralph

Every year, each employee is recognized personally and given something to represent that.  You may remember the model cars, hats, and other themes from the past.  This year, the theme was constellations.  Here is what they said about Marcus:

Marcus Hardy is the constellation ... Centaurus!

The Centaurus constellation of the Southern Hemisphere contains two of the sky's brightest stars - and represents one of the most powerful creatures of Greek mythology. And like the sharp-minded Centaur, Marcus demonstrates some of the best aspects of our industry. He possesses a keen intellect, a fierce independent spirit, a powerful will and the ability to execute and drive success under any circumstance. He is one of the stars of the Fiserv team, and saddled up many years of success for DiaiAmerica.

They were all given pictures of the constellation and a beautiful book about them.

Hors d'oeuvres were passed around throughout the evening.  And dinner was then family style on the tables.  It was amazing.  I particularly loved the pizza appetizers.  Adoro Lei is known for their pizza - well deserved!  I don't have pictures of that.  Nothing showed up with the dark lighting.

Here are two more pictures we received previewing the night:

calamari fritti, kale salad, and caesar salad

hot cherry steak

And just so I can dream about the deliciousness later, the menu:

Hors d’ Oeuvres from 7 - 8pm

Truffle Rice Balls: Artisanal truffle cheese rice balls with almond and panko crust

Adoro Sliders: Veal and pork meatballs with sheep’s milk ricotta

Chef Assortment Pizza’s

Charcuerite Board: Chef assortment of cured meats and cheeses

Calamari Fritti: Fried Calamari, fried zucchini, fried carrots, fried caper berries

3 Course Dinner Selection Family Style

1st Course: Classic Caesar Salad, Chianti Kale Salad, and Citrus Pear Salad

2nd Course:  Chicken Madonna, Espresso Tuna, and Hot Cherry Steak

* During the second course we will also be sending out family style sides for the group. Roasted cauliflower, Roasted fingerling potatoes, and mixed mushrooms

3rd Course; Nutella Fingers, Tartufo, and Cheesecake 

tartufo

Thank you CK for another great holiday party!

And in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the 2015 CooperKatz Holiday Video!

Merry Christmas :)

Florida with ANA

Every year Marcus gets to go an help produce the Association of National Advertisers' annual conference. He's the scriptwriter. For the past two years, it's been at fancy resorts in Florida. This year, it was at the Marriott World Center - you can see the resort and pool here. Marcus worked the show Tuesday to midday Saturday - but he did get to go for a swim after.

The show hall is massive - one of the largest rooms in the country with no support beams of any kind.

And because he was in Florida, and just outside of Disney World - he visited the Boardwalk Resort, where his family are Disney Vacation Club members. A nice, nostalgic night for him on a day rehearsal was done early.

And he brought us back a mickey pumpkin - isn't he cute?

CK Summer Picnic

We always look forward to the CooperKatz company events.  The summer picnic is such a blast.  We didn't think we would be able to go this year due to the Ty's due date, but the picnic had been rescheduled for late August.  It worked out well for us because all four of us were able to drive upstate for a beautiful day.  We rented a car and everything :)

Chase immediately gravitated to the chalk (and bubbles)

Ty found an endless amount of willing babysitters - He slept so well cuddled up with many friends, including Rachael

The yard behind the house
Marcus and Chase are the dots all the way to the left - they were flying Marcus' drone.
I'm the dot all the way to the right in the pink shirt.

Kids love bubbles.

Marcus always stalks the food plans before we go.  He was definitely not disappointed.  I think he was drooling the entire drive up dreaming of his meal -- brisket (And several other delicious BBQ foods)!  CK knows food.  Good food.

One of the desserts was a birthday cake to celebrate birthdays of several CK employees.  Apparently Chase thought that included him.

I love Chase in this picture - he wanted to be part of the special birthday group :)

Looking forward to more fun CK family events!