When she confirmed up for operate on her initially working day at Acme Brick, Julie Sowards could not have recognized her new career was heading to change into a 38-12 months ride to the pinnacle. Nonetheless, that’s precisely what has happened.
On March 1, 2022, Acme CEO, Dennis Knautz announced the winner of what will be an once-a-year award for excellence – The Pinnacle Award. “With this award, we want to figure out an associate who has demonstrated a lengthy-term determination and contribution to the good results of our business. No a single epitomizes this extra than Julie Sowards.”
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An Wonderful Career
“I actually never believed I would have so substantially pleasurable in a occupation,” Sowards explained. “The qualified benefits have been astounding, and in numerous approaches, humbling. Any good results that I have loved has been the outcome of hundreds of other persons, my friends and colleagues at Acme Brick. They have helped me, and I have tried using to help them.”
In an overview of what Julie Sowards has attained in her vocation with this 130-12 months-old corporation, Carol Kiburz, Vice President of Human Resources at Acme stated, “She began her occupation with us as a receptionist and an administrative assistant for Dave Martin and John Harp.
“Julie’s passion and superb intellect authorized her to turn into a “subject matter expert” (SME) for the Mideast Area (in Springfield, MO). Later, she assumed the function of head SME for the complete organization. In this function, she handles the teaching and implementation of new insurance policies for different departments and new hires, which most not too long ago provided the “Smarter Commerce” (a new process for credit score card processing) program as effectively as get entry and pricing analysis for the Midwest area.
“Julie is the style of associate who never claims ‘No’ and is usually there to support. She has mentored new associates into their roles by likely to their place in person. Her list of work duties is pretty much limitless: payroll, buy entry, credit rating, dispatch, non-brick purchase orders, manufactured brick allocations, SME duties, schooling, mentoring, gross sales rep aid, office supervisor, and administration.
“Her determination to Acme is second to none,” Kiburz concluded. “Julie is actually 1 of Acme’s greatest belongings. We are delighted that she has received the 2022 Pinnacle Award!”
Embracing Change
More than the span of her tenure at Acme Brick, Julie has noticed a large amount of modify and, unlike many staff who come to feel awkward with a consistently expanding product mix, administration engineering and shopper anticipations, she relishes it.
“The SME’s of our firm truly embrace modify,” she reported. “That’s a part of the career description. Our corporation administration can make choices about extra products or new enterprise technologies that will greatly enhance the expansion of our company, and it’s our task to completely fully grasp it and then encourage this to the subject.
“Ultimately, the professionals in each individual of our places of work make this course of action do the job. Hopefully, we do a excellent task of mentoring our co-employees and conveying any new practice, but at the close of the working day, they carry their immense techniques and dedication to guaranteeing success.
“Almost every single day, there is one thing transforming in our business enterprise. It is this style of obstacle that can make me psyched to get up and go to work!”
The 2022 Pinnacle Award winner and 3-a long time veteran was questioned the obvious concern: How has Acme Brick changed in the past 38-a long time?
“The major improve is that we’re no extended just a brick company,” Julie mentioned. “The range and types of solutions we now present operate the gamut of the ‘home improvement’ classification.
“This signifies our sales associates will have to be qualified to enable customers understand the functions and positive aspects of a much broader range of goods – from flooring to out of doors entertainment appliances to lower upkeep landscaping products. It also signifies our accounting, promoting, source chain management, credit procedures and each and every other part of our business will have to be expanded in order to exceed our customers’ anticipations. It’s a significant challenge, but these changes have made us a superior organization.”
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