Julie Sowards, Acme Brick's 2022 Pinnacle Award Winner

When she showed up for do the job on her initially day at Acme Brick, Julie Sowards could not have recognised her new career was going to switch into a 38-12 months ride to the pinnacle. Nonetheless, which is specifically what has happened.

On March 1, 2022, Acme CEO, Dennis Knautz declared the winner of what will be an once-a-year award for excellence – The Pinnacle Award. “With this award, we want to realize an associate who has demonstrated a lengthy-term motivation and contribution to the accomplishment of our company. No just one epitomizes this a lot more than Julie Sowards.”

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An Amazing Career

“I actually in no way imagined I would have so a great deal pleasurable in a career,” Sowards claimed. “The professional benefits have been incredible, and in quite a few approaches, humbling. Any achievements that I have liked has been the final result of hundreds of other folks, my buddies and colleagues at Acme Brick. They have assisted me, and I have tried using to help them.”

In an overview of what Julie Sowards has attained in her profession with this 130-12 months-previous business, Carol Kiburz, Vice President of Human Resources at Acme claimed, “She commenced her career with us as a receptionist and an administrative assistant for Dave Martin and John Harp.   

“Julie’s passion and outstanding intellect authorized her to turn into a “subject matter expert” (SME) for the Mideast Area (in Springfield, MO). Afterwards, she assumed the job of head SME for the complete organization. In this job, she handles the training and implementation of new guidelines for diverse departments and new hires, which most recently involved the “Smarter Commerce” (a new technique for credit score card processing) software as effectively as get entry and pricing assessment for the Midwest location.  

Julie Sowards, Acme Brick's 2022 Pinnacle Award Winner

“Julie is the type of affiliate who by no means claims ‘No’ and is usually there to aid.  She has mentored new associates into their roles by likely to their area in man or woman. Her record of task duties is almost countless: payroll, get entry, credit rating, dispatch, non-brick acquire orders, made brick allocations, SME obligations, teaching, mentoring, product sales rep guidance, place of work supervisor, and administration.

“Her dedication to Acme is 2nd to none,” Kiburz concluded. “Julie is certainly a single of Acme’s finest assets. We are delighted that she has received the 2022 Pinnacle Award!”

Embracing Change

Above the span of her tenure at Acme Brick, Julie has witnessed a large amount of modify and, as opposed to many employees who experience uncomfortable with a frequently expanding products mix, management technological innovation and shopper expectations, she relishes it.

“The SME’s of our company definitely embrace adjust,” she reported. “That’s a portion of the task description. Our business management tends to make decisions about added items or new enterprise systems that will enhance the advancement of our organization, and it is our occupation to comprehensively have an understanding of it and then encourage this to the area. 

“Ultimately, the professionals in every of our offices make this course of action perform. With any luck ,, we do a superior occupation of mentoring our co-staff and outlining any new practice, but at the close of the day, they bring their enormous expertise and commitment to guaranteeing effects. 

“Almost every single working day, there is something modifying in our enterprise. It is this kind of problem that makes me enthusiastic to get up and go to do the job!”

The 2022 Pinnacle Award winner and 3-decades veteran was asked the noticeable dilemma: How has Acme Brick improved in the previous 38-many years?

“The largest improve is that we’re no longer just a brick business,” Julie stated. “The amount and kinds of products we now present run the gamut of the ‘home improvement’ group. 

“This implies our gross sales associates must be educated to assistance consumers realize the capabilities and benefits of a substantially broader array of goods – from flooring to out of doors entertainment appliances to lower servicing landscaping merchandise. It also signifies our accounting, marketing and advertising, source chain management, credit procedures and just about every other facet of our company have to be expanded in order to exceed our customers’ expectations. It’s a major obstacle, but these adjustments have built us a better firm.”

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