Message from the President (January 2018)

Mehrdad Ghorashi
President

Happy New Year to all! I hope you celebrated the start of 2018 in good spirits with family and friends.  As we take on a new year, many exciting new challenges and opportunities lie ahead.

I shared many of our goals and initiatives for 2018 with you at our company meeting in New Orleans, as well as the company’s vision to continue evolving while enjoying the benefits of working together instead of independently. This will not be an easy task. It will require everyone to invite and welcome changes as we continue to take steps forward this year and for years to follow. It will certainly require the entire Champion family’s hard work to create a unified company, so I ask for each of you to commit to working together to make a difference. We are excited to see how the pieces come together as we prepare for the near and distant future.

Champion’s outlook for 2018 looks strong. With many opportunities, goals and initiatives planned, it looks to be a very eventful year.

I hope that everyone has a safe and productive year as we progress into 2018.

Thank You,

Announcements (January 2018)

 

2017 CHRISTMAS PARTY RECAP

Saying this year’s Christmas Party was fun and eventful, would be an understatement to say the least. Not only did we enjoy the company of our co-workers and families, we had a nice surprise when it snowed here in Louisiana making it the first time in 10 years we’ve seen snow. This made it tricky for some to get here and impossible for others. So, for all of those who could join us and those of you who could not,  please enjoy the party pictures by clicking the link provided.  Champion Technology Services, Inc. 2017 Party Photos

 

2017 Year End Award Winners

Please be sure to enter your future nominations throughout the year for the quarterly Excellence awards, and the annual Champion award, Collaborative Way award, and Team Excellence award at this link: Acknowledgement & Appreciation.

 

The “Champion” Award

This person fosters positive energy, creativity and teamwork across all departments / locations with a goal of furthering the company values, and supporting the company mission. This person demonstrates a passion for the business and its success.

Asa Ange: “I am humbled and greatly honored to be the Champion Award recipient. At Champion I have been given the opportunity to develop and grow professionally along with the company and among an amazing group of peers. It is truly a blessing and a privilege to work with such a talented group of individuals. Thank You!”

 

“The Collaborative Way” Award

This person exemplifies the principles of the Collaborative Way, which include Listening Generously, Speaking Straight, Being For Each Other, Honoring Commitments, and Acknowledgement / Appreciation.

Dan Ward: “Receiving this award speaks volumes about the extended Champion family that I have been blessed to be part of, never did I expect to hear my name get called for such a prestigious award as the Collaborative Way Award. I’ll spend my future with Champion dedicated to truly earning this award each and every day.”

 

 

 

The Team Excellence Awards

This is a group of people at Champion that exemplify the Champion value of Excellence. It can be for a project, an office, a committee, or any other grouping of people within Champion.

3M SOSHO Project Team

2017 Team Excellence Award

 

We asked some of the team members to reflect on aspects of the project that they found either challenging, complex, rewarding, fulfilling, exciting, or unique either from their personal perspective or from that of the team.  Below are some of those responses. 

 

 

Ed Bentin:  “ The most exciting aspect of this program was being challenged with programming ~69 sequences (initially expecting only 12) via numerous engineers while developing and maintaining standardized sequence interface requirements as close as a month before the hard-dated FAT. The reward came when the FAT finished on time and the customer left happy with work we presented.”

 

Lindsey Pecot:  “A unique aspect of this project for me was designing and verifying a SIL 2 loop for high temperature protection. I was familiar with the ExSILentia software and doing SIL verifications, but I needed assistance determining and specifying the appropriate devices for the application.”

 

Michael Shelley:  “I was interested to see the amount of sequential logic on a DCS project. Previously I’d used Sequence Control Modules (SCM) in Experion as standalone, usually small parts of a project, but here they were the main focus. There was a lot of interaction between different SCM’s, and it wasn’t always what was expected. Seeing it work properly was very satisfying.”

 

Daniel Quebedeaux:  “A challenging aspect was the sheer size of the project in terms of I/O count, number of Interlocks, and number of sequences. Adding to this challenge was a tight schedule and constant changes from the customer. I/O was constantly being added and removed, and sequences were being modified, from start of development through SAT.”

 

Richard “Dickie” Garon:  “The biggest challenge was the many and continuing additions and modifications to the original project scope, then trying to incorporate the new hardware and components into the panel build. It certainly took a real team effort to deliver, install, test, trouble shoot, manage changes and finally complete the project. The most unique aspect was the decision by 3M/Ceradyne to UL-certify the completed cabinet hardware, components, labelling and wiring after everything was completely built and wired.”

 

Garrett Kopcso:  “It was unique for Champion to do all of the instrumentation work, which I think turned out very well for the customer and Champion.”

 

Service Awards – Celebrating Service & Excellence (January 2018)

15 Year Service Award Recipients

Mehrdad  Ghorashi
President
Baton Rouge, LA
15 Years in January

10 Year Service Award Recipient

Chris Kuhlmann 
Automation Engineer III
Lake Charles, LA
10 Years in January

1 Year Service Award Recipients

Bo Hock
Automation Engineer I
Baton Rouge, LA
1 Year in January

Michele  Derise
Application Specialist
Lafayette, LA
1 Year in January

Service Awards – Employee Spotlights (January 2018)

 

Bo Hock

Q: What project was particularly interesting, exciting, or challenging that you would like to reflect on?

A: One of the first big projects I started working on was the Phillips 66 River Parish project. I was brought on by the Lake Charles office to work on some cause and effect matrices for the project, which was my first big take on exploring PLC’s. Little did I know that a few months later, I would be asked to come help with SCADA I/O checkouts on the same project. It was a large project that allowed me to learn about so many different kinds of instruments in the field and how they can interact with PLC’s and SCADA

Q:  What company/office sponsored event did you enjoy the most and why?

A: The most recent Christmas party was one of the only events I could make this year, but it was a lot of fun. It felt freeing to talk to coworkers in a more casual setting. Plus, we found plenty of things to do in New Orleans while we were down for the party.

Q: What would you like to be working on here at Champion in the future?

A: I would like to end up in some kind of project management or supervisor position in the long run to help improve efficiency when it comes to following standards and providing successful products to customers.

Q: What is your favorite Champion work-related memory?

A: I was one of the engineers on the Naphtha Splitter project for REG, and just recently we went through the SAT for that project. It was my first project that I was able to see from conception to execution, and it was incredibly satisfying to see everything working in the programming on-site .

Q: What is something that you’d like to see Champion do in the next 15 years?

A: I’d like to see physical expansion into areas farther north. This would help grow the national recognition of the company, and it would allow more diversity in the projects Champion takes on.

Q: Why did you decide to join Champion?

A: In college, I was always looking for the perfect balance of software and hardware configuration, and Champion fits that bill exactly. I started as a co-op in the spring of 2015, and ever since then I really liked the atmosphere and the idea of programming the projects I had helped with. It’s hard to say Champion has been anything but a first choice since finishing my co-op .

 

 

What’s Been Happening (January 2018)

 

CURRENT EVENTS (January 2018)

Jan 22

LEADERSHIP 2018 KICK-OFF MEETING
Jan 22-26 – Leadership 2018 Kick-off Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Champion’s leadership team will meet to review the progress and drive action for the Balanced Score Card initiatives of each organization and the company as a whole.

Feb 1

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON (TX) ENGINEERING 2018 CAREER FAIR  

10:00am – 4:00 pm – event will be held at the student center. Hosted by: The Cullen College of Engineering. The Houston Office will showcase our exciting career opportunities during this event.

Feb 7

LSU’S SPRING 2018 ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY CAREER EXPO 

11:00am – 4:00pm – event will be held at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Baton Rouge Office will showcase our exciting career opportunities during this event.

Feb 13

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
2018 CAREER FAIR

9:00am – 2:30pm – event will be held at the Student Recreation Center. The Houston Office will showcase our exciting career opportunities during this event.

Feb 14

LAMAR UNIVERSITY (TX) ENGINEERING 2018 CAREER FAIR

2:00pm – 5:00pm – event will be held at the Mary and John Gray Library, 8th Floor, Lamar University. The Houston Office will showcase our exciting career opportunities during this event.

 

 

 

JANUARY IS NATIONAL BLOOD DONOR MONTH.


The blood you donate gives someone another chance at life.

GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE
DONATE BLOOD

Visit www.redcross.org for more information.

Angel-Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Greens

            TOTAL TIME:  30 Minutes              SERVINGS:  4 Servings

It has been said that “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” Why not start this year with a good, quick, healthy recipe that is sure to be a hit until the end? 

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Kosher salt
  • 8 ounces angel-hair pasta
  • 8 cups chopped escarole, kale, and/or Swiss chard
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

How to Make:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs, adding the greens to the water. Drain and rinse under cold water; transfer to a large bowl.

Combine the shrimp, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 3 minutes per side. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes.

Add the shrimp mixture to the bowl with the pasta along with the basil and lemon zest and juice; toss to combine.

 

 “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

-C.S. Lewis