"NICE WORK" and "Years of Service" Award Honorees

October/November "NICE WORK" Awards

Every month, Sports Awards honors outstanding contributions from their employees with the "NICE WORK" Award. Monthly winners receive a "Nice Work" Acrylic award and Gift Certificate, plus their names will be added to our Feature Plaque in the showroom.

Awarded an unprecedented "Group" NICE JOB Award for October/November were members of our Production and Art teams who, faced with unexpected problems, went above and beyond to ensure a customer's high-priority deadline was met to their satisfaction. Few people outside the Awards industry realize the complexity and multi-step series of operations it requires to produce high quality awards, and these team members, without management direction, huddled and determined what would needed to be done and then scrambled to execute the project, and finish it, all at the last minute. These employees made no excuses, they simply exhibited an extraordinary level of initiative and teamwork, two traits that clearly set them apart as coworkers and individuals. The entire company is proud that they went the extra mile to make us all look good, and for that, we offer them a sincere THANK YOU!

A Special 20-Year "Years of Service" Award

The entire Sports Awards family was delighted to present a 20 Year "Years of Service" Awards to Production Team member Tammy Ackerman. During her twenty-year tenure with our company, Tammy has been flexible and added value to a number of departments by adapting to new production methods and technologies. And her friendly and hard-working attitude has brought her recognition as a popular and dependable member of the Production  Team.

When pressed for comment, Dotty stated "...I don't know what to say... I'M LUCKY TO HAVE HER!"

Thanks, Tammy!

August/September "NICE WORK" Awards

August/September "NICE WORK" Awards

Every month, Sports Awards honors outstanding contributions from their employees with the "NICE WORK" Award. Monthly winners receive a "Nice Work" Acrylic Award and Gift Certificate, plus their name will be added to our feature Plaque in the showroom. Sports Awards will also recognize an "honorable mention" recipient who will receive a Gift Certificate. Our latest winners:

AUGUST WINNER: Stacie Kobus, a Production Team member who volunteered to help finish a thorny last-minute order for a valued customer.

AUGUST RUNNER-UP: John Ledenbeck, a Production Team member recognized for always going the extra mile to ensure the job gets done right!

SEPTEMBER WINNER: Laurie Bandas (pictured above) from our Customer Service Department, who stepped in to address a potential customer issue to demand a higher level of client service from her team.

SEPTEMBER RUNNER-UP: Travis Pedroza from the Art Department, who was recognized as a jack-of-all-trades who consistently delivers fantastic art and innovative designs for a variety of different projects.

Thanks, everyone, from the Sports Awards staff!

So long, Charles!

On June 27th, the Sports Awards staff gathered in our Showroom to celebrate nearly 16 years of service from employee Charles Patton. Not only is Charles a dedicated and professional team member, he is also a dear friend!

The CSR Team treated Charles to a taste of Texas!

The entire staff gathered in the Showroom to share stories of working (and laughing) with Charles over these many years.

VP Jim O'Neill warmed up the crowd by sharing stories of their sports injuries (!) and praised Charles' initiative: "He's done everything... he always speaks up and learns because he always wants things done right."

Production Manager Hank lamented "How will we get through the day without him?!"

Company President Roy Newton added "His leaving us is bittersweet... Charles is an institution and he has always had a huge impression on our outcomes... We will miss him terribly."

Customer Service Manager Terry Goudie summed it up: "I'll miss laughing with you most of all!"

We then viewed a presentation of photographs from Charles' 15+ years of service to the Company.

After the presentation, the entire staff was treated to a delicious Pizza Lunch and we cut into the cake...

Charles, we will all miss you dearly and wish you the best in your new endeavors!

Good luck and God bless!

New "Nice Work" Award Winners

March/April "NICE WORK" Awards

Every month, Sports Awards honors outstanding contributions from their employees with the "NICE WORK" Award. Monthly winners receive a "Nice Work" Acrylic Award and Gift Certificate, plus their name will be added to our feature Plaque in the showroom. Sports Awards will also recognize an "honorable mention" recipient who will receive a Gift Certificate. Our latest winners:



MAY WINNER: Betty Zozaski, a Production Team member noted for saving the day by taking the initiative to solve a problem that virtually saved a customer's award presentation

MAY RUNNER-UP: TIm Woloszyk from the Purchasing Department, who works long, tireless hours in order to meet deadlines and makes sure we have all the inventory we need



JUNE WINNER: Marie Sabatka from our Customer Service Department, who closely checks the quality and accuracy of orders to make sure they're perfect!

JUNE RUNNER-UP: D J Pflaum from the Marketing Department, who was recognized for his willingness to help out in a pinch and contribution to our web presence

JULY WINNER: Roger Burden from Customer Service, who was honored for going above and beyond to satisfy our customers—he's always taking on last-minute jobs: staying late to help walk-in customers and using his lunch break to deliver time-critical trophy orders

JULY RUNNER-UP: Locke Bekiaris, our esteemed IT/Art/Production jack-of-all-trades, who constantly goes above and beyond in every department he touches to ensure the highest quality product goes out every day

Thanks, everyone, from the Sports Awards staff!

Reba and Jesse's Baby Shower

On June 13th, the Sports Awards team gathered in our Showroom to celebrate an upcoming blessed event for Production Team member Jesse and mom-to-be Reba.

The happy parents-to-be were indeed showered with a multitude of gifts for their baby boy!
Afterwards, the entire party was treated to an Italian dinner from LaVilla and a delicious cake.

Jesse commented "I don't know what to say! I'm at a loss for words. This is a very overwhelming time for us and we appreciate all of your kindness. We truly appreciate everything you've done. I love all you guys!"

Thanks to Hank and Charles for hosting the party and Lois and Eileen's assistance in getting everything set up.

Keep Reba and Jesse in your thoughts and prayers!

April "Nice Work" Award Winners and "Years of Service" Awards

March/April "NICE WORK" Awards

Every month, Sports Awards honors outstanding contributions from their employees with the "NICE WORK" Award. Monthly winners receive a "Nice Work" Acrylic Award and Gift Certificate, plus their name will be added to our feature Plaque in the showroom. Sports Awards will also recognize an "honorable mention" recipient who will receive a Gift Certificate. Our latest winners:

MARCH WINNER: Javier Candelaria, a member of our production team recognized for his great attitude and long hours of service during a very busy production schedule.

MARCH RUNNER-UP: Roger Burden, a Customer Service Specialist recognized for his years of experience and expertise in solving thorny issues.

Way to go, Deb!

APRIL WINNER: Debbie Paddack, a Sales Support Specialist who recently received rave reviews from some key accounts touting her 100% dedication to customer satisfaction. 

APRIL RUNNER-UP: Bill Kobus, a key member of our Production staff who handles a great number of responsibilities we may sometimes overlook but are critical to our company running smoothly day-to-day.

 "Years of Service" Awards

Lois Budill, pictured with VP Jim O'Neill

Our first YOS Award was presented to Lois Budill in recognition of 20 years of continued service. Although there is not a single department at Sports Awards that she hasn't been a part of over these 20 years, she has most recently made her mark in Human Resources. Lois does much more than just hand out forms... she is usually found consulting and advising members from all levels of our staff on just about every matter you can think of, all with the goal of making them feel valued and respected. As a result, company management gives well-deserved credit to her for the large number of long-term employees here at Sports Awards. Thanks, Lois!

Pictured clockwise from upper left: Janet with Production Manager Hank Piotrowski, Carmen with Hank, Cesar with Shipping Coordinator Charles Patton and Tony with Hank.

 More YOS Awards were presented to:

Janet Czaja for 15 years service to our Production Department.

Carmen Rosado for 15 years service to our Production Department.

Cesar Aguilar for 10 years service to our Production Department.

Tony Febles for 5 years service to our Art and Screening Departments.  

Thanks, everyone, from the Sports Awards staff!