Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Horizon Point News

Read important announcements and stories about our internal HPC team.

  • Nourish: A Bold New Direction for 2025

    Nourish: A Bold New Direction for 2025

    After a year of “Open the Door” as our 2024 theme, we decided this year as a team that maybe we needed to simplify- our theme and our focus.  As I discussed in my speech Taste and See, turning responsibility into obligation to open the door to anyone and anything brought about a state of too much in 2025.  Like they say, there can be too much of a good thing. 

    So in keeping with tasting and seeing what is good and letting that be the only obligation or responsibility to pursue, trusting that good things will flow naturally from there, we felt as though “Nourish” speaks volumes to what we are pursuing this year and aligns with our organizational values. 

    What Nourish means to us: 

    • Living with intention
    • Nourishing the people closest to us
    • Emphasizing abundance instead of scarcity
    • Pouring into good things allows the outcomes take care of themselves
    • The mindset that capacity doesn’t equal obligation. Margins nourish us to live with intent and pour into the important people and things around us. This helps us see who and what needs to be nourished right in front of us. 
    • Nourishing creates growth 
    • Nourishing leads to thriving 

    Values Alignment 

    And in true HPC fashion, we put the word into ChatGPT and found that nourish aligns well with our values: 

    1. Passion: Nourishing reflects a commitment to fueling enthusiasm and energy in all endeavors, encouraging others to pursue their work with heart and dedication.
    2. Productivity: Nourishing the mind, skills, and workplace environment enables individuals and teams to perform at their best, driving meaningful outcomes.
    3. People First: At its core, “nourish” emphasizes care, growth, and support, putting people at the center by fostering their well-being and development.
    4. Continuous Learning and Improvement: Nourishment encompasses providing the resources, opportunities, and encouragement for ongoing growth and enhancement, ensuring a culture of improvement.
    5. Give Back: Nourishing others extends to contributing to the greater good, whether through community efforts, mentorship, or empowering others to succeed.

    What we will Nourish this year: 

    Leadership Development and Coaching

    We are launching new content in 2025 that includes monthly blog posts and coaching moment videos to help nurture leadership development in companies and communities.  These will be practical strategies to implement, not complex theories or vague guidance. A taste of what we will be doing to nourish leadership development in our area includes facilitating the Cummings Research Park Tech to Exec Program and continuing to deliver Encounter Groups to our clients.  Our customized programs for organizations will now come with a customized website page(s) to provide nourishment even after the in-person component concludes. 

    Entrepreneurship

    We will be launching new content featuring entrepreneurs across our network to showcase the innovation taking place all around us. We will continue to support Alabama Launchpad and the dozens of entrepreneurs that come through the program each year. 

    Career and Professional Development

    In 2024, we launched online courses and will continue to launch more courses throughout 2025. Taylor is now one of the very few people in the country certified to deliver the National Career Development Association’s brand new School Career Development Advisor (SCDA) training, and she will continue to work with the Alabama State Department of Education to certify hundreds of educators across the state in this and other content and certifications. 

    Informed Compensation

    We continue to do a lot of compensation work. We realize that this core hygiene factor helps people literally nourish themselves and their families. Living wages are important and so is making wise business financial decisions to ensure the longevity of our organizations. These can exist together and be nourished together- remember abundance, not scarcity.  We will continue to facilitate the North Alabama Regional Wage and Benefit survey to help companies and communities make informed compensation decisions. 

    Each Other

    We are a family at HPC and each of us needs nourishment from each other. This year, we will be focused on nourishing Taylor as she undergoes surgery and treatment for breast cancer.  Emily is nourishing new life, and we will welcome a baby into the HPC family in May!  We ask your prayers for Taylor and Emily and their families. 

    nourish gift basket
    Taylor’s “nourish” basket from the team!
    Each of us curated a few items that we knew would bring Taylor a little bit of joy and “nourishment”.

    What are you nourishing this year? What do you want to see grow? 

  • SPECIAL FEATURE: Taste and See

    SPECIAL FEATURE: Taste and See

    Last week, Horizon Point founder and president, Mary Ila Ward, was recognized with an ATHENA Leadership Award by the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber during their annual Women in Business Celebration. Her speech deeply resonated with so many women (and men) in attendance, so today we are sharing her words with all of you.
    —
    Thank you for this honor. I am humbled. Many of the women who have won this award are women I look up to and who have been instrumental in shaping a community I love through their servant leadership. 

    Thank you to the Chamber and its staff.  It is a joy to work with each of you. 

    Thank you to my team at Horizon Point for nominating me.  I don’t take lightly what a rarity and privilege it is to get to work day in and day out with such wonderful people who are family.  Taylor, Lorrie, Jillian and Emily- you live out all of our organizational values day in and day out, but this year you have shown me what it truly means to put People First and Give Back.  Thank you for putting me first and giving back to me so fiercely this year when I have needed it the most. 

    There are so many friends in and out of this room to which I will always be grateful for- that have supported me both personally and professionally.  Thanks especially to Whitney and Cindy. 

    Thank you to our past, present, and future clients in and out of this room.  We love innovating the workplace with you. 

    Many of you know that I pretty much hit the jackpot with parents. My parents have been a constant source of support in all seasons of my life and shown what it means to be servant leaders in the community and at home. 

    My in-laws have always been there for me and our family and have always supported us in big and small ways.  Thank you for letting me marry your son. 

    Two of my children are here today.  We spared you all the joy of the five year old being here because he would probably be right up here with me wanting to entertain you all- we opted for him to stay at Pre-K for nap time instead. Paige and Andrew, along with your little brother, you are my reason for breathing most days and a constant source of joy.  Thank you for being you. 

    Drew- man- you are my rock and my better half, thank you. You have always supported my career and community endeavors and been my biggest cheerleader.  I don’t know what I would do without you. 

    The sentiment of Luke 12:48- to whom much is given much is required- has always been a guiding principle in my life.  As you can see by the cloud of witnesses I have mentioned and many more I have not, I have been given much. So much. 

    But I turned 40 this year, and yall, it has kicked my tail.  Forty don’t play or at least with me it hasn’t. Chasing down the “requirements” for 40 years has taken a toll.  I’ve had a year of personal and professional challenges I’d never imagined. Even volunteer leadership opportunities throughout the year have been especially heavy.  And the weight of all of this together has left me spinning. 

    When you feel helpless trying to help the people and the things that you care about the most, sometimes the serenity prayer isn’t all that can pull you through. And the weight of doing what is required of you can’t either. 

    I found out I was receiving this award on a Tuesday afternoon in November. The same day, I had been at the doctor all morning. The reality I am in has gotten to the point where I knew it was affecting my health. I left the doctor with a referral to a cardiologist because of a concerning EKG and a prescription for medicine which I thought I would never be one to need. 

    So the receiving of this award came at a time where I was just about ready to throw in the towel. All of us, every one of us, is carrying around something that is hard, and if you aren’t now, you have or you will.  Let’s all be there for one another.  

    I left the Chamber to pick up my prescription, and as I walked back to the pharmacy, the ice cream cooler caught my eye.  The year has left me not enjoying much, in particular food, so the ice cream cones speaking to me- buy me!- was different.  I hurriedly grabbed them and my prescription and headed home. 

    After dinner, my oldest son went to get the ice cream cones out of the freezer for us all to share.  As he opened the box, he pulled one out and said, “Mom, is this what you meant to get?!”  

    Yall, I’m all for portion control, but what on earth? As you can see, the cone was literally bite sized.  

    We laughed as Andrew tossed one back in a bite and asked if he could have another.  We all had more than one that night. And they were good. 

    Psalm 34:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” 

    As most of us are professional women sitting here in this room, I imagine you chase a lot of “requirements” as well. The list can be endless. But I hope you will join me as we move into a new year with permission to taste and see what is good. To be the good as conduits of grace and light from our always loving God.  Maybe, just maybe, tasting and seeing the good is the only real requirement of us all. 

    My team will have a bite sized ice cream cone for you to savor if you’d like as you leave here today.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” The ice cream is good, even if it is just one bite.  And this award is something I am so thankful to savor as well amidst a year of hardships. Thank you for this honor. 

     

  • ANNOUNCEMENT: Launching two NEW Career Development Trainings!

    ANNOUNCEMENT: Launching two NEW Career Development Trainings!

    Horizon Point has been working on two NEW Career Development Practitioner Training Offerings available Fall 2024. One will be a School Career Development Advisor (SCDA) Training. The other, an Alabama Workforce Challenges & Solutions course.

    School Career Development Advisor (SCDA) Training

    Horizon Point’s SCDA Training is designed for providers who work in many settings and help prepare students for meaningful work and managing their careers. These providers work with other staff to coordinate the design, implementation, and monitoring of school and community-based efforts to improve the chances of students entering the job market with skills, knowledge, and credentials to be competitive.

    The objectives for the SCDA Training are organized into two primary competency areas (1) knowledge of skills related to student advising and (2) knowledge of skills related to working with business and industry. SCDA Training can be offered independently, for those with school experience, or it can be offered in collaboration with Facilitating Career Development (FCD) Training for those who want more information on providing quality career development services. SCDA Training is a total of 48 hours of instruction.

    Register here: https://horizonpointconsulting.com/what-we-do/career-development/scda-training/

    Alabama Workforce Challenges and Solutions

    We are experiencing unique workforce challenges in Alabama, and solutions seem out of reach. As educators, employers, and community leaders, we can move the needle forward and create workplaces that put People First. Our Workforce Challenges and Solutions training focuses on practical methods to get more people working by understanding the challenges and implementing solutions.

    In this workshop participants will:

    • Examine the Labor Participation Rate and relevant labor market trends 
    • Discuss research and data around why labor participation rates are in decline
    • Explore strategies to remove barriers and pull people into meaningful work

    Register here: https://horizonpointconsulting.com/shop/workforce-solutions-alabama/
    *Enter code HPCPOINTBLOG24 for a 10% discount!

    As you can see, this has been an exciting time for Career Development at Horizon Point. We hope that you take advantage of all that we have to offer this Fall!

  • Open the Door. Literally.

    Open the Door. Literally.

    It is 5:34 in the morning, and I am opening my front door to welcome a 17-year-old from Costa Rica.  She’s seen her parents and brother off at the airport to return home, but she is staying. She will be living with us for almost three months.  

    We first met her when she was a sweet seven-year-old who spoke better English than I will ever speak Spanish. Over the course of ten years, we’ve grown to love her family and the prison ministry work they do in Costa Rica. On our trip to Costa Rica last summer to visit, she mentioned she was interested in studying psychology, and I told her she was welcome to come stay with us and see some of our work at HPC before starting college in the Fall.  

    When I share with others our plans to have her live with us, I typically get one of two very different responses.  One: “That’s great!”  or Two:  “Why would you do that?”  The gut response most likely speaks to the person’s level of openness to experience or some other personality trait.  And I appreciate the candidness. 

    And if I’m honest, I feel both of these responses all at once as I literally open the door to my home-This is going to be great! Right along with, What the heck are we doing? All before the sun even comes up. 

    I think she feels the same things too. All at once. 

    And I think such is the way of opening the door to anything worth doing.  Worth learning from.  Opening the door takes effort.  There will be good and bad.  Mistakes and joys.  Excitement and exhaustion. All at once. 

    As we chose “Open the Door” as our 2024 theme at Horizon Point, we were trying to point to just this. The duality of so many things.  Each one of us will spend the next month writing a blog about what this theme means personally.  But I think we all agree opening the door is the way to let light in. And we are all about some light at HPC.  It is who we are and who we strive to be. 

    So today for me, opening the door literally means opening the door.  No metaphor, no hypothetical gesture.  Plan action. 

    And what a pretty morning it was, as the sky opened to light a few minutes after the door was opened. 

    Who or what do you need to open the door to today? 

  • Special Post: Welcome to the Team, Emily!

    Special Post: Welcome to the Team, Emily!

    This week’s post is a special one. Horizon Point is growing again! We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Emily Addison to our team, and Emily is excited to introduce herself to our community of partners, friends, and supporters. Without further ado, let’s meet Emily! 

    Hi, I’m Emily Addison, and I will be the new Operations Specialist for the Horizon Point Consulting team! I live in Florence, Alabama with my son, Wyatt. I have a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Human Resource Management from Auburn University. War Eagle!

    I am truly grateful to be working with such a passionate group of strong women. I have known Mary Ila since we were young, and have often joked that I would have worked for her in kindergarten. Horizon Point’s “people first mindset “ is what sets them apart from the rest, and I am honored to serve in my new role.

    I am excited to use my degree at Horizon Point and to learn and grow with the company. One of the greatest gifts in my new position is the flexibility to work from home or any other place with a wifi connection. Being a mom is one of my top priorities, and I am fortunate to be able to integrate my work and family life.

    I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me on this new adventure with Horizon Point and I look forward to meeting some of you in the future! 

     

    Learn more about Emily and Who We Are.