A Year of Heartwarming Stories
Lisa Noury, Managing Editor, Bayer Scapes, Bayer U.S. Communications
About a year ago, we launched Bayer Scapes. Okay, so it was a year and a week or so ago to be exact. It was an intriguing premise — creating an external channel for Bayer U.S. employees to tell their own stories. We suspected but never fully imagined how many inspiring stories our employees had to tell. I was put in charge of managing the content.
I’m extremely proud to say to date (not counting this one), 57 employees have used Bayer Scapes to blog about different aspects of our business — pharmaceuticals, consumer health, crop science, animal health and much more. It’s the “much more” that’s inspired me the most.
Take safety for example. We got wind of a heartwarming story from Jessica Walker, a nurse by training, in Pharmaceuticals. Jessica, along with the help of two other good Samaritans and a highway patrolman, rescued a driver from the cab of an overturned fuel tanker. While we were in the process of getting Jessica’s story, we heard about similar story from an employee, Victoria Arnold, in Animal Health. Victoria, a veterinary nurse by trade, noticed a flashing light on the side of the road while driving home one night. It was coming from an overturned SUV in a creek bed. Victoria crawled inside the vehicle to get to the driver, check her vitals and comfort her until rescuers could arrive. What are the chances two Bayer employees had similar rescue stories to tell? I hope you take a moment to read the combined blog because their efforts are truly impressive.
And then there’s the crisis in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria. Doing the Right Thing in Puerto Rico, penned by Ray Kerins in U.S. Communications, Government Relations and Policy, conveys the true spirit of Bayer employees. Bayer has a small operation in Puerto Rico. With the holidays coming so soon after the devastating hurricane, we learned our employees’ children wouldn’t have any presents for the holidays. Read the blog to find out the rest, but suffice it to say those kids got toys — and more! Again, impressive Bayer employees making things happen for the betterment of others.
And just backing up a bit chronologically to when Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey and Irma happened. What a horrific hurricane season it was! Passionate About Pet Rescue is the story told by Robyn Keiter in Animal Health. Robyn watched as about 10,000 pets were left behind and as many as 70,000 died in Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. She decided she wanted to make a difference by getting involved. Owning two dogs myself, I got very emotional when hearing these numbers. Take a few minutes to read Robyn’s story of how she helped in both Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Once again, a super impressive Bayer colleague going above and beyond to help others.
So, these are just a few examples out of many more blogs by impressive Bayer employees. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me personally and professionally learning about the many ways Bayer employees are making a #BetterLife for people in our communities. Every week I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next blogger to tell their story — because I know I will continue to be impressed. I’m humbled that I get to play a role in sharing their stories with all of you.
