One of the best days of our work year is the day we announce our annual award winners. One of the core values of Event 360 is “Great People” – we hire the best we can, foster their passion and empower them to make decisions. There are so many great people at Event 360 and our Annual Awards day gives us an opportunity to recognize them, especially those who are nominated, and of course the two award winners.
Since 2006, Event 360 has been recognizing employees for their remarkable and undeniable dedication to their duties, co-workers, clients and event participants. Our Rock Star Award and the Heart & Soul Award, now named the Bridget Spence Award, are presented to individuals who embody the core values of Event 360: Great People, Transparent Success, Meaningful Partnerships, Uncompromising Standards, Cost Consciousness and Boldness.
Our Rock Star Award is presented to a team member whose ideas, innovation and hard work have most impacted the company over the past year. Someone who is just an overall…rock star. This year’s award recipient not only organized a caravan of shower trucks last minute in the middle of the night in a mud storm but is described by one of his coworkers as a “… person who seeks out new lands and travels them under his own power. His first response to a challenge is enthusiasm.” Our 2016 Rock Star Award winner is Chris Like! CRM Specialist Chris, a key player in our IT Department, is a “force of nature, lights up at a challenge, creates efficiencies and thrives in making things better for other people.” You’re a Rock Star, Chris!
Our Bridget Spence Award was named after a valued Event 360 employee (and past winner of the Heart & Soul Award) we lost to breast cancer. With this award we honor someone who puts their heart and soul into the work they do. When describing this year’s award winner, her teammate said, “When I remember Bridget Spence, I think about how kind she was to everyone and when she was having a conversation with someone that person had 100% of her attention. This person does the same thing on event, whether it’s coaching volunteers, assisting participants, or working to improve an event and our work”. Another said, “Her passion for our event and for our participants shines through in every email sent, spreadsheet completed, IM messaged, and phone call made.” The praise for our winner continues, “What I appreciate most about her is that she keeps challenging us to perform to a higher and bolder standard through quiet, persistent example.” We are proud to announce Kat Thomas as our 2016 winner of the Bridget Spence Award. Kat is one of our Event Production Managers and supports the programs and participants of the MuckFest® MS series. Congratulations, Kat!
We also applaud our past winners of the Rock Star and Bridget Spence Awards:
Rock Star
2006: Allen Pritchard, Director of Event Execution
2007: Amy DeShane, Director of Donations
2008: Joann Buckley Collins, Senior Copywriter
2009: Brenda Miele, IT Manager
2010: Cyrena Hillyard, Director, Creative Services
2011: Jen Ricker, Event Production Manager
2012: Laurie Schaecher, Senior Data Consultant
2013: Erin Van Ness, CRM Technical Manager
2014: John Diesel, Data Warehouse Manager
Bridget Spence
2006: David Jordan, Director, Information Systems
2007: Rachel Gans, Fundraising Consultant
2008: Bridget Spence, Field Coordinator
2009: Meredith Cleasby, Volunteer Production Manager
2010: Tony Heinz, Director of Training and Internal Communication
2011: Molly Fast, Local Operations Director
2012: Rene Tamayo, Manager of Tour Operations
2013: Ali Finkel, VP, Account Director
2014: Katie Zupancic, Consumer Marketing Manager
These awards barely touch the surface of how grateful we are to our winners and nominees both past and present.
