The following timeline is provided for you to track the history of Warden Associates, Inc., (WARDEN) from our creation to the present. Please click on each group of years to reveal events critical to WARDEN for that year.
A recounting of our history can not be a simple description of projects or revenue. That has never been what we are about. To know us is to understand our founder, visionary and President/CEO, JoAnn G. Warden.
JoAnn was born with severe physically disabilities in Sendai, Japan. Her parents moved to America the next year. She overcame many natural and artificial obstacles to attend regular public schools, graduate from college and start a professional and family life (both involving her husband, Dale). After college, she was hired by the Department of the Navy as an auditor and accountant and received many promotions and honors. In 1988, JoAnn turned down another promotion to give birth to both her son and to the idea of starting her own business. Both births went well, with Alan being born in December, and Warden Associates commencing operations on February 13, 1989.
Understanding her strength, morality, honesty, and loyalty sets the foundation for appreciating the firm that she has built. That firm is Warden Associates, Inc. (WARDEN), a management services company by profession, comprised of a family of professionals. Throughout the years, WARDEN has reflected JoAnn’s opinion that right is right, wrong is wrong and the pursuit of increased profits and market share does not change these facts. She is specifically proud to be involved with assisting medical professionals and organizations in improving processes that assist in the critical health care industry. Please read on to learn more about this American dream come true.
1989-1995 2003-2007 2010 - Present
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History ___________________________________________________
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1996-2002 2008-2009
1989– JoAnn set up shop in the kitchen with a computer. Most of the keyboard work was done with one hand, while she fed baby Alan with the other hand. Dale started on April 1st (think about it). Primary travel that year was to Oklahoma for the FAA and a national study for 11 computer centers operated by GSA. The FAA work included medical procedures for flight requirements.
1990 - All four associates moved to Oklahoma City to work on studies related to process improvement and technology application for the FAA. We soon branched out into writing proposals for IT and environmental services companies and medical requirements. This work provided many commercial projects and assisted in learning Federal, State, Local and commercial acquisition practices. We also provided a wide range of management reviews to the Department of Justice to provide integrated business solutions.
1991 – This year gave rise to the job category of "Traveler," as we went to over 20 cities on work for civilian government agencies. Associates averaged over 200 nights on the road. The primary clients were the FAA Academy on Oklahoma City, OK, and the DOJ computer centers in Rockville and Dallas. This included medical management systems.
1992 - The year for growth of our IT group. Our claim to fame was: (1) creating bridge software between financial and operational systems for hospitals, (2) creating bridge software to allow Phillip Morris, Inc., to measure the weight of tobacco beetles shaken into a trap and deduct it from the price of the tobacco leaves; and, (2) applying bar code technology to track the migration of gypsy moths through state forests. These IT innovations were packaged with the Organizational Engineering methodology to create our core mission of providing clients with Integrated Business Solutions that balance management, technology and processes.
1993- We started our Peace Corps work that included support to medical programs. WARDEN provided support to the application processing and marketing divisions. The international theme was continued that year with travel to Central America in support of the DOJ projects. Noemi Baldwin formally accepted a position after supporting us from the beginning with technical assistance and friendship. The "World HQ" moved into the basement with dedicated phones and growing technology.
1994 - The travel continued with a trip to Sacramento, Anchorage, and Honolulu, all within the same week! We taught strategic planning in Guam and Saipan and ended the last of the great Oklahoma jobs. The largest projects were for the FAA and DoJ and related to support of national acquisition programs.
1995 - JoAnn took time off during her second, and final, pregnancy with Devan Ann. The core group of seven performed numerous small commercial projects related to Business Process Reengineering (BPR), including medical management processes. At this point, 75% of the projects and 40% of the revenues had been from commercial clients. Bob Bush accepted a part-time position – for the next 12 years.
1996 -This was a year of renewal in many different ways. A survey job for the SBA employed 27 associates over a 6-month period. A-76 came back to life - and the rest is history. At this point, only 19 of 136 projects had been related to A-76. A-76 implements process improvement and technology application methodologies to a wide range of commercial activities, including medical management.
1997 - The study work really grew. Bob Bush lead a project for the Selective Service System that resulted in significant process reengineering, but avoiding A-76, and completed one of the first A-76 reviews at Lakehurst. Bob Eckhart joined on for "some travel" and lived at Aberdeen Proving Ground for the next year. His efforts in methodology development and recruiting lead to the foundation for WARDEN A-76 reviews and recruitment of Pete Hodges. Bob Eckhart also patented the term "MudFarmers." Dan Kruse was among three associates that started our largest contract to date, providing DLA with acquisition services in Richmond (DSCR). We started support for the Defense Distribution Center (DDC) at depot sites and with permanent support at New Cumberland.
1998 - JoAnn incorporated in the State of Virginia and Warden Associates, Inc. was established on January 5th, 1998. We grew to over 30 employees, led by the DSCR job and A-76 projects. The list included Dan French, Larry Saunders, and Dave Gutowski as new travelers. Thommie Morrison started as a well. In our tenth year, we believe we finally reached new-start status. For a small firm, we received respect in the A-76, acquisition, and medical management industries. We had regular work at Aberdeen, Pine Bluff, Warner-Robbins, Pax River, Red River, Watervleit, Edwards AFB, and NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. Semi-annual conferences and the annual picnic became the social events of the year.
1999 - We won an auction where we were the only bidders for the office on Old Keene Mill Court in March 1999. Inter and Intranet communications were established to continue our tradition of telecommuting. These significant investments were conducted without debt, except for the mortgage on the building. Our unbelievable luck in recruiting continued. Charlie Pendergast, Lanny Gore, Dale Coker and Ken Stebritz all signed up for the road. Kathy Garrity was hired to do that road thing, but JoAnn hijacked her and made her the Executive Officer. Many 98 projects bled over into 99 and new work sprung up in great places like Ft. Campbell, Portsmouth, NH, Lakehurst, Dahlgren, Ft. Carson, Hill AFB, and Cherry Point. Many projects continued to include medical management processes. The conferences and picnic only got better.
2000 - The new millennium brought in many milestones. We reached 53 Associates and topped $3 million in average gross sales. Dun & Bradstreet reported on our past performance, as rated by our clients. A score of 1 is perfect and 2 is industry average on a 5 point scale. WARDEN was rated an outstanding 1.12 with a perfect 1 on delivery and attitude of personnel. But that week in February was the worst. In seven days we lost Mac McClernan and Lois Lavery to heart attacks. Mac’s work ethics were reflected in his final assignment at NAVSEA. His work was praised by the client and produced an in-house retention. Lois is missed on a daily basis for her professional support and deep friendship. The work at Ft. Campbell, DDC, and Norfolk continued to grow.
2001– The year that will always be remembered for September 11th. Incredibly, we had no one in the air on that day and all the travelers got home in a reasonable time. Our veterans, although more than willing to serve, were not called upon for more sacrifice. We mourn for all the victims and their families, including our friend Bob Elseth. However, through the greatness of this country and the result of faith, the year that changed everything left WARDEN very much the same. The success of our firm and our ability to mourn and carry on life as before, while producing quality work, is a reflection of the American spirit and culture.
2002 - JoAnn challenged us to diversify from DoD to civilian agencies and emphasize our growing specialty in medical management processes. The response was aggressive proposal submissions that resulted in work at NIST, Treasury, GSA, NASA, SBA, and HHS. The early work brought in ten associates. Then we got the NIH award. We had over 20 senior and new associates together, where the approach forced teams to form and leaders to emerge. We bought the office next door and connected the two spaces on two levels. The Peace Corp project finally ended after nine years.
2003– This year was highlighted by the growth in Richmond and the completion of the "fast-track" reviews at NIH. With additional projects in civilian agencies such as; HHS, CDC, GSA, FNS, and IRS, diversification and the medical management emphasis continued. However, the DoD projects went on at DDC, DoDEA Navy and DSCR. The PWS Development Engine (PDE) and the MEO development Engine (MDE) evolved from typewriters to master documents through Excel spreadsheets to an advanced database that again put us on the cutting edge. The Picnic was moved to September and many new hires attended the A-76 conferences.
2004 - The IMA support through MPRI and the Forest Service projects both began to grow as the CDC and NIH projects started to slow down. Other clients included the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Defense Acquisition University, the Federal Detention Trustee, several regions in the General Services Administration, the Transportation Security Agency, DoDEA, and the SBA. Medical management services were provided to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Springfield, Mo. Dialysis clinic and the Rochester, Mn. Laboratories.
2005 – The Medical management services continued for BOP. The IMA support expanded into the regional offices and resulted in Bob Eckhart getting to sleep at home. The process improvement and technology application methodologies continued improve and become more integrate – using technology to drive process improvements. We started with 51 projects, completed 40 and ended the year with 30 larger projects in progress.
2006– Several old friends returned and new friends were added to the experienced staff. The BOP, Army, HHS, DoI, Navy, GSA and SBA led our client list as we completed over 50 projects. The management team continued our superior evaluations in financial audits. The operational process continued to be improved through the high quality work of the professional staff.
2007 – This year started with a focus on the future. Specifically, JoAnn committed to taking WARDEN wherever the associates wanted it to go—in terms of products, services, growth, and opportunities. The result was broadening the general management consulting and acquisition support services into medical related organizations such as BOP, NIH, FDA, CDC, and AHRQ. Unfortunately, the year was marked by the death of Bob Bush on June 28. Bob lost his long fight with cancer but won in his plan to live his life to the fullest every day.
2008 – Our 20th year of operations included many old clients and Associates even as we moved into the future. Many long-term clients found ways to retain our services as we awaited the outcome of the election. Regardless of the politics and programs, our Associates were seen as value-added. We started our Six Sigma black belt training and continued to invest into new skills and systems, specifically the medical management practice continued to expand within the public sector in BOP, HHS and DoD.
2009 – We consolidated around HHS and DoD and continued the preparation for diversification in services. Several associates retired and some moved on to government positions. Highlights included excellent contract management evaluations from GSA (MOBIS) and DCAA. The HHS medical management program support work was performed at NIH, CDC, FDA and AHRQ.
2010 – Our legal status as a 21 year-old firm comes with both maturity and the ability for new ventures. On June 16, we announced our new practice to provide medical management services to private sector clients. The new emphasis also has lead to relationships with American Business Systems, Saratoga Medical Center, and Q5 Group. We are very excited about bringing our history of quality and customer service to the medical industry that is so critical to the economic and actual health of America. Many new tasks are underway and many clients are assisting in building a path to our future. As a perspective client or Associate, we invite you to join us in this journey.