Lighting a Spark with John Wamback
b'John Wamback, Director of Creative Services/Operations, is this month\\u2019s Human of Workhuman. He is in the process of building out a project management team to support marketing and other areas of the organization. He chats with Mike Wood about his penchant for Christmas lights, and how he is being a spark at the office.\\n\\nCome to the Island\\nJohn has been inviting Mike to his \\u2018island\\u2019 in Worcester since he joined the company three months ago. He explains that the \\u2018island\\u2019 is really 80 acres of property that includes a pond and an island. Local residents pooled together to buy the property to prevent Norin Company from purchasing it and turning it into a corporate retreat. It\\u2019s run like any association, John says. You pay your dues and you have access to all the facilities, including the island. It\\u2019s a family club, but the men have a regular monthly get-together. Mike comments that these get-togethers are important.\\xa0\\n\\nObsession with Christmas Lights\\nMike talks about the Be The Spark campaign in their office. It is about how they can spark joy in their colleagues\\u2019 lives. He has heard that John is into Christmas lights. He asks him about it. John relates how he and his father started stringing white Christmas lights around the bushes in their yard. Every year they added more and more lights, and today he strings about 2800 lights. He does this on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it\\u2019s become bigger than Thanksgiving now. Friends come over and they have a big party. His father passed away two years ago, but he continues the tradition because it keeps him connected to his Dad. It means a lot to his mother that he carries on the tradition.'