Well howdy teammates! My name is Trish Stefanik-Wicher. I am a 49-year-young female who was raised in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania. I was born in October of 1962. As you may or may not know, Johnstown is very well known for being "The Flood City." We had major floods in the city in 1889, 1936 and 1977 (yes, I remember that one and NO, I was not around for the previous two).
I have one brother, Michael Santa Maria (yes, we are of Spanish lineage and Santa Maria was my maiden name). My brother currently lives in the Denver, Colorado area and has 3 grown children and 1 grandchild. Growing up with the last name of Santa Maria was a source of great fun for the other kids at school. Why, I remember the names, Santa Claus, Santa Esmerelda, Santa Anna......and everytime we learned about Columbus, I wanted to dive under my desk.
My parents are currently both alive and well and living in Orlando, Florida. My dad retired at age 51 from the Bethlehem Steel Mill, which used to provide Johnstown with 85% of its work force, but after the flood in 1977, there wasn't much left to work with. The steel industry was down and just didn't support rebuilding. Funny thing is, my dad enjoyed retirement for a few years and then a funny thing happened. Once they moved to Orlando, he started working again. This time at Universal Studios Theme Park! He says it's just like going and having a day full of fun. We get to go once or twice a year and just have a blast there.
Now, back to me. I am a mother of 2 wonderful children.....although they are no longer children. My son is 25 and lives in Johnstown and is getting married in February of 2012. My daughter is 23, mother of 2, (yes, makes me a gramma) and currently lives in Buffalo near me.
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| My daughter Brandie is the bride, my son John is the best man, my son's fiancee Ashley is second from the left. |
I am currently married to my husband, D. Mike Wicher who is a life long resident of the Buffalo area. He grew up next to the lake (Lake Erie) in Lakeview, New York, just south of Buffalo proper. He works as an inventory control specialist for US Foods. How'd we meet? MySpace....no kidding. I had seen my daughter always up on her bed diligently working away on what I thought was homework. I then realized, it was a new social media called MySpace. Well, I thought, hey, I can do that too. I got onto MySpace and shortly thereafter, I got a friend request from this handsome man who wanted me to become friends with his nephew's rock band, Junket. We started just talking back and forth and I helped to promote the band and the rest just fell into place. We married on April 24, 2007 at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas! My husband has a 13-year-old son, Shane, from a previous relationship.
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| My stepson Shane and granddaughter Vanessa |
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My husband Mike and me!
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Okay, now to the fun stuff. I am gramma to the most beautiful nearly 5-year-old little girl, Vanessa Dior and the most handsome nearly 5-month-old young man, Vincent Ryder. Vanessa is a mini-me. She is flat out tomboy. Don't bring a Barbie around her. She's into cars!
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| Vanessa Dior |
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| Vincent Ryder and Vanessa Dior |
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| Vincent |
I live in West Seneca, New York, on a quiet street with a park at the end of the street where I enjoy a half-mile walking track, a small creek, 3 baseball fields, a soccer field, basketball courts and a kids playground. We have thee most wonderful neighbors in the world and I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy where I live. We have the gorgeous lake in the summer to enjoy. There are a lot of beach clubs and sandy beaches to play on. Of course, 5 miles up the road is Canada and Niagara Falls. We have the Buffalo Bills Football Team, although, I'm still the biggest Steeler Fan you'll ever find. We have a fantastic hockey team.... and if you live in a northern city, you better like hockey because you spend many a winter night at home in front of the fire enjoying your team play.
I have a 14-year-old pal named Wizar. She is a cocker spaniel and the quietest of my children! She is by my side day in and day out. I love pretty much all animals. I hate spiders and I hate reptiles. Other than that, we're all good.
I have been in the transcription field for over 20 years. I worked in trauma at the Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, Level I Trauma Unit for 8 years. I also got into court stenography and enjoyed medicolegal work there. I worked part-time for many years doing medical transcription and then when I moved to Buffalo, decided to go full time (mainly due to the weather). I was hired about 5 or 6 years ago at TRS, which was acquired by Transcend about 4 or 5 years ago. I then became a Team Lead on the Cook Children's Health System on the Escription platform. Wanting to further my career at Transcend, I decided I'd like to learn more than just one platform and jumped at the chance to come over to BeyondText and work on the Lucile Packard Account.
I've worked at many companies, but I must say, Transcend is the BEST company I have ever worked for. I know what you're thinking. Oh, she has to say that. No, really I don't and I normally speak my mind. Transcend has things I don't necessarily agree with, but what I do admire, is they listen to the employees to facilitate change. It doesn't always happen overnight to our dismay, but they do listen and they do take action. If you use your voice, you will be heard, and I urge you all to have an active participation in this site and at work to make your work experience an enjoyable one.
As your team lead, my job is to be a cheerleader. Motivate, mentor, teach, perhaps annoy on occasion when we're swamped.....but it's my job to cheer this team on. Like you, I am an MLS with a few more duties thrown in. My motto is, "No question is a dumb question!" If you have a question about something, never feel awkward in asking me either privately or on a team meeting or on this site. We all have had questions and we all seek answers. Thus, no question is a dumb question if you are learning something from asking it. I have an open door policy. Call me, IM me, email me, whatever. I am here to serve you. I usually do it with a bit of humor and I enjoy helping others.
So, what else about me? I'm all about having fun. Life is short and you better enjoy it while you're here. Thus, my philosphy is all about enjoying each and every experience we have. I understand not all life experiences are meant to be enjoyable, but work shouldn't be in the category of, "Oh, I hate that". Just remember, this is my job....
