100 Best Companies for Working Mothers :: 2008 List

Hallmark is officially one of the best companies in America for working mothers. That’s the conclusion of Working Mother magazine, which named Hallmark to its 100 Best Companies list for 2008.

The list recognizes companies nationwide that are “leading by example, giving women the programs, choices and support they need to shine at work and at home.”

Now, I'm not a mom yet, but I hope to be some day (a long, long time from now...). I also have a lot of friends here at Hallmark who are moms. For all the mothers here, and for potential future mothers, it is empowering to work for a company that supports family and work/life balance.

Here are some quick facts about Hallmark's benefits for working mothers, and you can click here to read more about Hallmark and the other 99 2008 winners.

Quick Facts
-31,412 total employees (nationwide; approx. 5,000 at KC World Headquarters); 25,951 women (nationwide; no data on number of women at KC World Headquarters)
-57% Women among top earners (nationwide); 1,162 women managers/executives (nationwide)
-Hallmark was the only Kansas City-based company honored on the 100 Best Companies for Working Moms list
-While based on the business needs of each area, Hallmark’s policies support flexible work hours, job sharing, telecommuting, voluntary time off and leaves of absence for all employees
-All employees can take advantage of many family-friendly programs and learning opportunities, strong healthcare benefits, and generous paid time off

Johnson Co., Kansas

A Forbes Magazine article published at the end of June 2008 ranks Johnson County, Kansas #3 on the list of America's Best Places to Raise a Family.

"Home to Kansas City suburbs Overland Park and Olathe, Johnson County ranks third on our list because of its affordability and accessibility. Family-friendly perks include an average commute of 20 minutes, 5,000 acres of parkland and over 4,000 recreational programs annually."

I'm a proud Johnson County resident, and can attest to the livability of my city, Merriam, KS. I'm an outdoorsy farm girl from Iowa, so I am thrilled with the hundreds of miles of biking and running trails, lakes, and open space in Johnson County. I'm currently renting a brand new, spacious, three-bedroom/two-bathroom townhome for $975/month, and my daily commute to Hallmark is only 10 miles (15 minutes).

I also enjoy numerous social hangouts, including KC favorites like Tanner's, Barley's Brewhaus, and The Beach Bar and Grill, which is right next to Shawnee Mission Beach Volleyball Club. And what girl doesn't love to shop! Here are a couple of the places I frequent: Oak Park Mall and Town Center Plaza.

Finally, though I don't have children yet, but I have friends who do, and they have found excellent schools for their children in Johnson County. Click here to learn more on Johnson County schools.

Growing up Creative?

I was home in Iowa this past weekend for a family reunion -- 75 people from my extended family converging on my parent's farm for a three-day-weekend of food, fun, and fellowship. While in the midst of four generations of my family, I came to a wonderful realization that I'd like to share. I'll get to it in a bit, but first, a little backgound...

When I came to Hallmark three years ago, I was immediately in awe of the amazing talent around me. A naturally curious person, I began to ask my co-workers about their creative backgrounds. Many people had gone to specialized art schools or private art colleges. Several people spoke about amazing internships or past career opportunities at top design firms in New York or LA. Almost all of my colleagues mentioned "growing up creative," which was a new and interesting concept to me: some designers here have famous artists in their families, some were influenced by their parents who were fine artists themselves, some even had one-on-one training by famous artists or designers. I started to become intimidated: Why had I decided to study design? How did I even get a job at Hallmark with the amazing talent already housed here?

My co-workers all spoke of something that, at the time, I didn't think I had: a creative upbringing. As a farm girl from Iowa who attended a state school (Iowa State University - Go Cyclones), I quickly began to feel that I was in the shadow of these life-long, specially-trained designers and artists.

It wasn't until my family reunion last weekend that I came to a conclusion: Could it be that I actually had grown up creative? As part of our family reunion activities, my dad had created a 5 ft x 16 ft wooden puzzle, cut into 80 pieces. Each family member was to take a piece of the puzzle and, starting with their name, design a piece that represented them. As I watched four generations of my family creating their pieces, I started to realize that even though none of my family members are classically trained artists, and none of them have gone to a specialized art school (and certainly none of them had a design internship in NYC) each of them in their own way is indeed creative. My dad drew an illustration of his favorite place on earth - the White Cliffs of Montanta, complete with him in his canoe! My 3rd cousin wrote and illustrated her story about being adopted and about her love for her grandparents. My 88 year old great-uncle drew a picture of the state of Iowa, and labeled all of the places he had lived during his life and memories from those places. My brother-in-law, who is probably the least "artistic" person I know, drew a history of his teaching career using the school colors of each school where he has taught.

It wasn't just the puzzle pieces designed that weekend that showed our creativity. It was the dinners that my mom cooked for 75 people each night, it was the hymn sing on our deck with my 2nd cousins making up harmonies to classic hymns, it was the storytelling around the campfire and looking at the rock formations on the river during the early morning canoe floats. And it was evident during Sunday morning church in the hayloft of my family's barn where we all gathered, 8 months old to 88 years old, to celebrate all of the joy we had been given because of each other and our individual personalities, woven together, to make our unique, and yes, our creative family.

I discovered last weekend that creativity is actually in all of us, in many ways, shapes, and forms. It is with us when we are young, and grows and changes as we do. We just have to know how to recognize it and draw it out of ourselves - and each other.