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The Wayland Town Crier reports on the first Barn Raising™ |
Barn Raising™ is the creation of founder, Dana Aaron. Dana has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. After 20 yrs. of progressive and pioneering experience in educational administration, he became Vice President of Business Development for Sodexho, where he had responsibility to develop strategies for new and emerging markets. In 1997, he founded Aaron and Associates to help organizations and institutions develop innovative and successful management strategies and solutions.
The seed for Barn Raising™ was sown when, in March of 2003, Dana discovered that a friend of his was looking for work. Dana asked if he could be of any help! Shortly, thereafter, Dana received a call from a restaurant informing him that a business card he had dropped into a fish bowl at the reception desk had won a reception for 25 people. Dana suggested that his friend be the “guest-of-honor” at the reception. The idea was simply that invited guests would each do something that would help his friend find a new job: contacts, job leads, suggestions, etc.
To make maximum use of the event, however, Dana recognized preparation was important. A focused, concise, and memorable presentation on the candidate’s goals, skills, and needs was the best way to elicit meaningful help. Dana brought his skills in developing specialized programs and management recruiting to bear. A pilot Barn Raising™ program quickly evolved. Working closely with the candidates over seven weeks, the framework for Barn Raising’s™ seven-step process emerged.
Since the first Barn Raising™ event on May 12, 2003, more than 300 people have gone through the program. At present, Barn Raising™ is taking about 20 new barn-raisers into the full programs each month (see our calendar) as well as providing individual career services. The program is continually refined in response to feedback and measurement. Barn Raising™ is growing, thanks to support from local businesses and government grants; thanks, also, to the media coverage. In 2007, we are challenged to demonstrate greater corporate support in order to continue receiving government assistance.
Having established an effective program, Barn Raising™ is working hard to develop a business model to support and deploy the program to more individuals in more communities. [see our Event Calendar]
Barn Raising™ is also seeking senior-level executives to serve on its Advisory Board. If you would be willing to serve, or know someone who would be helpful in our efforts, please contact us directly.
Barn Raising™ has ambitious plans for the future. Visit our website often to follow our progress. |
