BARR Team Gathers Together in Kansas City to Celebrate 10 Years
For a decade now, BARR has helped mission-driven companies around the world protect their people, data, and information networks. In honor of our founding 10 years ago, the entire company got together in person for a special event called BARRfest, an opportunity to celebrate and connect face-to-face. On April 3 and 4, associates from San Diego, Salt Lake City, Washington D.C., Dallas, and more, traveled to meet where BARR began back in 2014—Kansas City.
In a completely remote company, getting together in person was nothing short of monumental. Associates across different departments were able to not only exchange greetings and long-awaited hugs, but also collaborate with one another to create new ideas, identify areas of opportunity, and better understand how every role plays an integral part of our 2024 company theme—“Building Our Best BARR, Together.”
The celebration began on Wednesday with a welcome reception and company-wide dinner, followed by an escape room, arcade, and “BARRcrawl” to foster team comradery. Brad Thies, BARR’s founder and CEO, kicked off Thursday’s activities with a warm welcome and the introduction of Joel Goldberg, keynote speaker and TV broadcaster for the Kansas City Royals.
Afterward, BARR got down to business. The morning was filled with departmental updates, two breakout sessions, and a manager development program kick-off. One of the highlights of the day was when every associate rolled up their sleeves to complete a service project hosted by the BARR Belong Foundation Committee.
“BARR Advisory is where passion meets participation. Our company culture is rooted in contributing our time and talent to all of the communities where we live and work. During BARRfest, we were honored to incorporate a special service project to build bikes for children in need across Kansas City,” says Jonnae Hill, vice president of People & Culture.
To round out our two-day event, the BARRbassadors hosted a “culture passport activity,” which allowed all associates to give a “high five” recognizing an outstanding fellow colleague, in addition to providing their feedback for exciting new company culture activities and events. The purpose of this activity was to ensure all BARR team members had the opportunity to have a voice in the growing culture of the company.
As we enter our next decade together, it represents a new chapter for BARR and our people. Never before have we been better positioned to drive our business, our clients, and the industry forward. We are excited to continue to serve as a trusted advisor to clients that prioritize cybersecurity, and we are eager to continue living our Core Values to be the best for ourselves and each other. Together, we will continue to work toward our mission of empowering organizations to create trust. Our mission, and our connection to each other, has never mattered more. This year is our year to build our best BARR. Together.
Are you interested in joining the BARR team? We are growing! Check out our open positions across all departments.