DocuWare celebrated two significant milestones last week -- its 35th anniversary and the official opening of a new US office in Beacon, NY. Dignitaries from the city of Beacon and Dutchess County were there to show their support. Beacon Mayor Lee Kyriacou, Frank Castella Jr., President & CEO, at the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and Sarah Lee, CEO of Think Dutchess were among the guests.
The move to Beacon was delayed by COVID and employees and management alike are happy to finally call the state-of-the-art building their new home! An international company that hires locally and supports area businesses, DocuWare’s DMS helps over 17,000 customers (close to the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden) around the world and around the corner.
“We’re proud of 35 years of experience and innovation that includes being one of the first companies to offer a full-featured cloud ECM solution,” DocuWare Group President Dr. Michael Berger says. “DocuWare’s 95% customer retention rate shows that our software meets the needs of businesses in today’s evolving hybrid environment," he continues. "Along with the anniversary, we were very pleased to celebrate the opening of our US office in Beacon. We’re delighted to be part of the business community here.”
To commemorate 35 years of helping businesses digitize processes and reduce the impact of excessive paper usage, DocuWare partnered with One Tree Planted to plant a tree to welcome new customers as well as one for each employee.
Competition for a cause
This year, DocuWare’s annual team-building event benefited the Salvation Army Beacon Corps Community Center Food Pantry. According to data from Feeding America, in DocuWare’s new home in Dutchess County, 26,130 individuals, including 7,050 children suffer from food insecurity (which is defined as being unsure of where your next meal is coming from.) Closer to home, 1 in 5 households in the City of Beacon are considered food insecure. Contributing to the effort to eliminate hunger aligns with DocuWare’s commitment to support people, education and our environment through local programs.
The team-building event, which was coordinated by corporate team-building consultants Impact 4 Good, took place at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY. DocuWare staff was divided into teams that each built a miniature golf hole from cans of food. Each miniature hole incorporated design elements from bridges in New York state. The theme was chosen because bridges connect things, the event connects people, and the team-building activity connects participants to the local community. After the rounds of golf, the canned food was boxed and sent to the local food pantry.
Beacon Salvation Army Corps Captain Jessenya Wiand was on hand and thanked DocuWare for its contribution. “Corporate donations enable us to help more families who depend on the foodbank to meet their basic needs,” she says. “In a healthy community there’s give and take between businesses and the people who live there. Local citizens are the ones who work in and support these businesses, and in the best cases the relationship is reciprocal.”
In addition to running the food pantry, the Beacon Corps offers after-school programs, annual family summer camps, services for seniors and developmental disabilities services, addiction rehabilitation and other services. If you're interested in volunteering at the food pantry or any of their other programs, contact them here.
After a tour of the CIA campus, the 35th anniversary celebration and team building ended with a dinner at Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici that was prepared and served by students who are the next generation food and hospitality industry leaders.
It was a great day for recognizing DocuWare’s achievements, building comradery by working toward a common goal and giving back to the community we live and work in.