Photo By Shayna Gosney | Keyporters visit a “Dungeons & Dragons”-themed table hosted by the Information...... read more read more
Subscribe
After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport reprised its annual Keyport-Con community-building event, Aug. 30. The event was a fun, convention-style gathering where various departments creatively showcased their work in an effort to foster learning, networking and in-person connections among the workforce.
Keyport-Con’s facilitator, NUWC Division, Keyport Acting Strategic Planning Officer Melissa Berry, said the event strengthens community bonds within the command in multiple ways.
“Keyport-Con is all about sharing information, teamwork and helping each other—creating multiple professional development opportunities as well as networking and collaboration across the command,” said Berry. “It was great to see so many folks come out to gather as a united team to make this event a success.”
Keyport-Con also provides a platform for various departments, divisions and special working groups within NUWC Division, Keyport to showcase how they’re actively implementing the Navy's "Get Real, Get Better" mindset, which emphasizes a proactive and innovative approach to problem-solving and improvement.
“In the context of ‘Get Real, Get Better,’ this event embodies the ‘always learning’ mantra while creating transparency and awareness as to what is going on all across Keyport,” said Berry. “It creates an environment for learning and growth for everyone. Creating and hosting a booth is no easy task, so the folks hosting the booths are bolstering skills they may not use frequently in their day jobs. Truly, this is an event for the workforce, and hosted by the workforce to showcase their work in a fun and engaging way.”
This year's Keyport-Con marked the third iteration of the event. The first one, held in 2018, was a spoof on comic book conventions. However, starting with the second Keyport-Con in 2019 and continuing with this one, participants have been given complete freedom to choose their own creative themes, a freedom Berry said has added to the excitement of the event.
Keyporters rose to the challenge with gusto, as evidenced by the wide range of imaginative themes on display. One group channeled the television comedy series "The Office," complete with character impersonations and a delightful poster that seamlessly superimposed employees' faces over those of characters from the show.
The Human Resources team, opting for a pirate theme, crafted a wonderfully clever bit of wordplay with its transmutation of "HR" into "H-Arrr." The team’s creativity, commitment to its theme, engaging activities and effectiveness in conveying valuable information about HR processes and programs earned it the event’s top award.
There were also fun riffs on Disneyland, Legos, "Dungeons & Dragons," ‘80s rock music, a restaurant, a ‘70s disco recording studio and the “Monsters, Inc.” and “Little Mermaid” films, among other things.
For the first time in Keyport-Con history, this year's event began with a race in the Keyport Lagoon featuring boats ingeniously fashioned from cardboard and duct tape. Each boat held a pair of individuals working in tandem to beat the other boats. Impressively, all boats managed to stay afloat, with the “Aqua Dynamics” vessel from the Environmental and Non-Destructive Branch winning first place.
This new addition to Keyport-Con drew inspiration from a similar race NUWC Division, Keyport’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program held for school-age children. Berry said the Keyport-Con version of the race was meant to raise awareness about the STEM program’s K-12 education efforts and encourage employee involvement in these efforts.
"There are many opportunities for Keyporters to volunteer in our K-12 STEM outreach in the community. One way is to help mentor the cardboard boat races like these for the high school students, offering guidance on the engineering processes and boat-building methods used to ensure their boats remain afloat," said Berry.
Lonny Schmitt, who works in the NUWC Division, Keyport Corporate Business Office—where he serves as Command Records Manager and Command Conference Program Manager—emphasized the value of Keyport-Con from a networking perspective.
“It would be my hope that by expanding employees’ knowledge of what Keyport does, and specifically what different groups are working on, if someone has an idea, even if it might not be a fit for their area, they’ll be able to reach out,” said Schmitt.
Rapid Prototyping and Fabrication Technology Division Head Stephanie Schlosser said that in today’s post-COVID environment, in which employees are teleworking much more than in the past, many people are grateful for the chance to reunite with coworkers during events like Keyport-Con.
“A lot of people are excited that we’re having events where people can come out and physically be here and interact,” said Schlosser.
Participants from across the command expressed their enthusiasm for next year's Keyport-Con, with some saying they’ve already begun planning their teams’ themes and setups for next year.
Berry said she hopes to expand Keyport-Con's reach next year by involving some of the command’s detachments that weren’t able to participate this year.
-KPT-
About Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport
NUWC Division, Keyport provides advanced technical capabilities for test and evaluation, in-service engineering, maintenance and industrial base support, fleet material readiness, and obsolescence management for undersea warfare to expand America’s undersea dominance.
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2023 21:51 |
| Story ID: | 452785 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 632 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Keyport-Con returns to NUWC Division, Keyport after three-year break, by Frank Kaminski, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
