The Bear in the Office
If you have ever walked through the Mopar offices and had the strange feeling that someone else might be filling in for you while you were gone, you are not alone.
From time to time, people return from a vacation, a meeting, or even just a long lunch to find their chair occupied—not by a coworker, not by management, and definitely not by anything that would trigger HR—but by an eight-foot-tall teddy bear. But don't assume you'll only find Kim“bear”ly inside the office. She has developed a habit of wandering beyond the cubicles, making surprise appearances at Bring Your Child to Work Day, family picnics, and other corporate events. She has even been spotted at the evaluation track behind CTC, proving that no place is entirely safe from an unexpected visit. At this point, she's become something of a local celebrity around Mopar. The truth is, nobody really knows where she'll show up next... and that's exactly how she likes it.
This is Kim“bear”ly. To clear things up right away, this has absolutely nothing to do with that bear from the movies. Ted is not welcome here; he has far too many HR violations to even make it past the parking lot. Kim“bear”ly, on the other hand, is completely safe for work, highly supportive, and has yet to miss a single deadline or say anything remotely inappropriate.
The Woman Behind the Bear
Kim“bear”ly is named after Kim Klaus, a former Service Engineering Manager who made a lasting impression on everyone she worked with. Kim was the kind of leader who pushed people to be better, but always in a way that carried humor, personality, and a genuine investment in her team.
She had a way of holding people accountable while still making them feel supported, and that balance is not easily forgotten. The bear is not just a mascot; it is a tribute to someone who brought both excellence and laughter into the workplace, often at the same time.
How Kim“bear”ly Came to Be
During Kim’s battle with a rare cancer called angiosarcoma, her team wanted to do something that would lift her spirits. They did not go small. They did not even go medium. They went all in and ordered a giant teddy bear to be delivered right to her office at CTC.
When the box arrived, it did not look nearly big enough to contain what was inside. But if you have ever opened one of those vacuum-sealed memory foam mattresses, you can picture what happened next. As the packaging came off, the bear slowly expanded—growing, stretching, and steadily taking over the room—until it reached its full, glorious eight-foot presence.
It filled the office in the most unexpected way and, more importantly, brought a smile to Kim’s face. That moment alone made it worth it.
A Coworker With a Life of Her Own
What started as a thoughtful gesture quickly took on a life of its own. Kim“bear”ly began moving around the office, showing up in places where she was not the day before. Someone would step away and come back to find the bear sitting in their chair. Others would return from vacation and be told their “replacement” had already reported for duty.
The jokes wrote themselves. People laughed about productivity improving, better meeting attendance, and how quiet their new coworker was compared with the rest of the team. The bear did not do any actual work—at least not in the traditional sense—but it created something just as valuable. It brought smiles, lightened moods, and reminded people not to take everything quite so seriously.