Meet Haley Thogmartin, Director of Operations for Viking! I’m doing an Employee Spotlight on each of our Team Members so you can put a face to the voice.
[00:00:00.000] – Sam Ridgeway
So Hello, everyone. This is Sam Ridgeway from Viking Alternative. And one of our people out on social media said, Why don’t you spotlight the employees? So we know who we’re talking to because we always hear a voice, but we don’t actually know the person. We don’t know anything about them. And I said, you know what? That’s a great idea. So I figured we’d start off here with Haley Thogmartin. So, Haley welcome.
[00:00:21.120] – Haley Thogmartin
Thank you.
[00:00:22.040] – Sam Ridgeway
Recording. And let’s just go through some questions so people can better understand. I guess who you are. So first of all, what is your role at Viking?
[00:00:30.720] – Haley Thogmartin
My role or my title is director of operations. So I oversee the schedule. Who’s on everyone’s charts as far as consultations, help our customer service team out answer any questions we have with shipping waiting to the right directions. So if anyone has any issues, I’m able to navigate and to send those to where they need to be.
[00:00:52.660] – Sam Ridgeway
Let’s go with where you live. Where do you live?
[00:00:54.680] – Haley Thogmartin
I live in Tampa, Florida,
[00:00:56.320] – Sam Ridgeway
and why
[00:00:57.500] – Haley Thogmartin
and why it’s close to the water. Why not? You can live somewhere as pretty as Florida is better than Missouri is where I used to live. Exciting new things. Try something new and
[00:01:12.480] – Sam Ridgeway
you get to go out on boats. So you get to go to you here.
[00:01:18.710] – Haley Thogmartin
I do get to see the water. So you can’t really beat that. Beyond the boats, the beach in the water.
[00:01:26.480] – Sam Ridgeway
You’re a single 20 something in Florida. That’s basically what this is. Right. So you just get to live the life of Reilly you get to go do all kinds of stuff, your friend group all the rest of those things. And so I really don’t blame you for having Sandy beaches and Palm Trees. All right. So let’s go back to in education. Where did you go to school?
[00:01:43.640] – Haley Thogmartin
We went to Southeast Missouri State University. Small school in Missouri is a small one. I play softball there. Do you want my degree?
[00:01:52.850] – Sam Ridgeway
Yeah.
[00:01:53.680] – Haley Thogmartin
So my degree is in child development. So it’s a little out of my range working with a Telemedicine clinic, but yeah, so I went there 2 hours from home. Loved it.
[00:02:05.980] – Sam Ridgeway
Okay. Talking about the softball thing. Do you think that being a College athlete, like, prepared you for life after College? Was it more than just the athletics itself, like discipline and other things? Were there other facets that helped you when you got out to do this job or any other job?
[00:02:27.760] – Haley Thogmartin
I definitely think that it taught me a lot as far as the biggest thing that I think would be time management. So trying to balance going to school, playing a sport, having an internship and then coming to a full time job. Obviously, I didn’t know what I would be doing after College, but definitely taught me time management, just being able to prioritize my time, especially since I have a brand new kind of life setting and then teamwork, which is doing your generic answer. But honestly, it has especially being in the telemedicine industry or working with any kind of company.
[00:03:05.840] – Haley Thogmartin
You got to be able to work together to solve certain issues and communication. Obviously, you know, being a division 1 athlete, it was hard to communicate with things that are bothering, you know, things that you need to because you were just totally focused on a sport. And now that I’m focused more on a job, you know, you have to communicate. You know what? We can do better. You know how you can streamline certain things just to be better overall. So overall, it has grounded me just to be able to be a better person instead of just an athlete.
[00:03:36.740] – Haley Thogmartin
I think so.
[00:03:39.580] – Sam Ridgeway
The whole bragging thing. Let’s just go into that like you weren’t just a division one athlete. I mean, you, like, set records and shit like you did amazingly well. So we’re not just talking about the average pitcher that sits on the bench. It does say she’s out there and like, she’s killing it. So anyway, I just wanted to say that because I wanted everybody to know the level that you took that to. That was amazing. So now let’s go back. And what is your favorite part of your job and what is the least favorite part of your job to the least favorite part?
[00:04:14.390] – Haley Thogmartin
I think the least favorite thing about this is it’s telmedicine. So I don’t get to knock on someone’s office store and ask a question. I don’t get to communicate with others as you kind of see you bought with your coworkers, whatever you get to see them outside. Everyone works in a different state and then also being different time zones, which kind of stinks because we have people that work different hours. So when they need you, it could be at 645 in the morning, my time, but it’s 845 their time.
[00:04:44.860] – Haley Thogmartin
So I think the Con of this job is working from home, which is also kind of a pro. Also not being able to communicate and see everybody because we are with each other five days a week, always talking communicating. The best part about this job is it doesn’t feel like a job. So I know that I might be on call at night, but I would love nothing more than the help patients. Again, it doesn’t feel like a job. I actually had a call this morning where someone was like, just stating the fact that, oh, my gosh, you got back to me at 09:00.
[00:05:16.040] – Haley Thogmartin
Well, yeah. Well, first off, I work from home doesn’t really feel like a job. Honestly, like you needed something, and I was there to help. So just being able to help patients say that’s a big pro. But the biggest Con is not being able to see everybody.
[00:05:29.040] – Sam Ridgeway
But isn’t it kind of crazy that it all feels like a family like I haven’t met? Yeah, if I’m being honest, I haven’t physically met with at least three quarters of the people that work for me.
[00:05:39.200] – Haley Thogmartin
Do.
[00:05:39.740] – Sam Ridgeway
You working for me for over a year, but it’s like I know them. I just haven’t ever met them. And one of the things I’m going to do is I’m going to actually just we travel all the time. So I might as well take a to Dallas and see, like, see Miklos or New York and see Kristen or whatever. Yeah, and I think we need to do that as well. So maybe we’ll work on that. But let’s keep going with fun stuff when you aren’t working. What are you doing?
[00:06:05.520] – Haley Thogmartin
At the pool, with my cat. What can I say? What can I say?
[00:06:15.360] – Sam Ridgeway
I don’t know. I don’t know. Okay. It shouldn’t be that bad, but you can’t say, I.
[00:06:21.860] – Haley Thogmartin
Don’T know. I do the Florida things you know.
[00:06:26.870] – Sam Ridgeway
Go out and have one and that kind of stuff and guys invite you on the boat and you go and you’re a good girl and you keep your distance in my distance.
[00:06:36.330] – Haley Thogmartin
Yeah, there’s so many things to do here I actually live on. It’s called Herb Island. Wait, no, I don’t. I live on Pelican Island. I live on something. But you have to get there one way of going one way out.
[00:06:51.930] – Sam Ridgeway
So there’s actually, in your defense, you just moved.
[00:06:55.220] – Haley Thogmartin
I just. I just moved. I don’t know. So there’s a trail that I walk to and from the gym. It’s a mile there and a mile back.
[00:07:04.520] – Sam Ridgeway
Miles in the morning and shit like that too.
[00:07:06.660] – Haley Thogmartin
I mean, I live off a highway that overlooks the water. I’m always posting about the sunrise. It’s so beautiful, but I’m telling you, if you could do it and live on the water, I would. But I mean, there’s so many things to do on this island alone that obviously go to the beach my free time if there’s not a red tide or high tide or whatever the heck it is with the dead fish everywhere. They have beach boat friends. There’s so many things to do just in Florida in general.
[00:07:34.230] – Sam Ridgeway
And then you talk about a pet. But let’s go into the whole pet thing because you love cats or dogs. Which one?
[00:07:42.520] – Haley Thogmartin
I love cats and fun fact, I do not answer the phone after 04:00 Eastern Standard because all you hear is the cat. So try to keep it more professional. It’s almost dinner time. But if anyone ever hears me on the phone and it’s the cat, it’s because she’s probably hungry. I swear I feed her, but she is not starving, I promise.
[00:08:02.100] – Sam Ridgeway
Alright, good. And then let’s end this with what is one thing about you that most people may not know?
[00:08:11.440] – Haley Thogmartin
I’m a pretty open book. Now that’s a hard one.
[00:08:17.280] – Sam Ridgeway
I can’t even think of anything because you pretty much just you just throw it out there regardless of whether you should or shouldn’t or whatever that’s another thing about Haley she is going to tell you how it is?
[00:08:29.770] – Haley Thogmartin
You’re being kind of rude .
[00:08:32.790] – Sam Ridgeway
Stop being a Dick.
[00:08:33.660] – Haley Thogmartin
I wouldn’t say that, but I’m you, too.
[00:08:37.830] – Sam Ridgeway
If somebody comes in there being a Dick, you can say stop being a Dick. I’ll stand behind you on that one.
[00:08:43.140] – Haley Thogmartin
I like this job.
[00:08:44.040] – Sam Ridgeway
All right. Well, anyway, that’s spotlight that’s Haley. Haley in Florida. So I want to thank you for taking time from your busy job to talk to everyone and give them a little more insight on who you are and where you came from. That’s about it. And thank you. Haley.
[00:09:02.100] – Haley Thogmartin
Peace out.
