Staff Spotlight: Meet Diane & Alyssa
This month our Connected blog features our welcoming front desk receptionists, Diane Kosloske and Alyssa Akerman. And, bonus!, they both also double as two of our evening hosts. Diane has been welcoming members and guests since January 2014, and Alyssa joined the team in October 2018. We hope you enjoy getting to know them, or more about them, this month.
Diane Kosloske, Front Desk Receptionist & Host
My Family: My family is my life! They give me inspiration each and every day! My husband, Mike, and I have three sons, Cory, Shane, and Kyle. Cory is married to Katie, and they have two children, Ruby and Kirby, who I babysit on Thursdays during the school year. They live in Monticello. Shane is married to Tana, and they live in Fargo with their three sons, Karson, Emmett, and Brooks. Kyle is married to Amber, and they have a very energetic dog named Fry and live in Colorado Springs.
Interests outside of work: Spending time with family, traveling, doing word searches, playing Wordfeud with our three sons, playing cards (cribbage, hand & foot, solitaire) and board games, and feeding the birds—cardinals, finches, and woodpeckers, to name a few. We have lots of feeders!
Favorite part of my job: Greeting and welcoming people as they come in the door, seeing the smiling faces of the CDC children—even on their less smiley days—and getting to know the families of the children. Answering phones, preparing mailings, and numerous office duties round out my days.
Favorite weather or season: I have lived in Minnesota my entire life, and I find I like the warmer weather the older I get. The spring when flowers are blooming and trees are budding is a favorite time for me.
If you came to my house for supper, we’d eat: Tater Tot Hotdish, some kind of salad, and dessert. We always have sweets in the house, as Mike loves them.
Favorite sports team: I grew up with my Dad always listening to the Twins on the radio, so I like to listen or watch them on TV, as well as go to a game. I enjoy watching the Vikings on TV too.
Alyssa Akerman, Front Desk Receptionist & Host
My family is the most important group of people to me, in the entire world. My husband, Alex, and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary, but we have been together for ten years. We have a wonderful son, Maxton, who is almost one and a half years old. We have an eight-year-old Miniature Schnauzer, Sofie, and a two-month-old mixed-breed puppy, Kona. We currently reside in Ramsey. My brother, Austin, who is a year younger than me, recently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an apprenticeship. My dad lives in Virginia, Minnesota, and my mom and stepdad reside in Maple Grove.
I have many interests outside of work. I enjoy morning runs, pushing Maxton in the stroller, and walking the dogs. I have recently rediscovered my love for reading novels, and I love watching movies. I recently started my own craft business, FearLyss Crafts, so I have been focusing a lot of energy on building my inventory for that. I also enjoy baking. I probably have too many pans and too much baking equipment, but it’s all in good fun!
My favorite holiday is probably Christmas, followed closely by Halloween and Independence Day! Christmas is a special season for me, and sharing it with Maxton makes it even more special.
If you came to my house for supper, we would probably have a pasta dish of some kind. I could live off pasta happily, but Alex prefers variety in his diet! So, we have limited pasta to Wednesday nights! If not pasta, then a chicken dish of some kind, and any type of dessert you can imagine, from crème brûlée red velvet cake to mint chocolate chip cheesecake…whatever floats your boat!
Favorite sports team: I am an avid sports fan, and I closely follow the Minnesota Gophers volleyball team, North Dakota State University football and volleyball teams, Minnesota Wild, and Nashville Predators.