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Employee Appreciation
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September 6, 2015
Herald & Review photos, Lisa Morrison The weekly meeting at Coziahr Harley Davidson gives staff a chance to show off new merchandise for everyone to see.
Cool Box, food highlight meetings Notes celebrate extra effort by Coziahr staffers DONNETTE BECKETT H&R Staff Writer
Tim Coziahr works on breakfast sandwiches for the employees attending the weekly Saturday meeting. He uses two loaves of bread, several pounds of sausage, ham and bacon to keep the employees happy.
Moments before the weekly Saturday morning meeting at Coziahr Harley Davidson, Mike Wheeler was told he had a Cool in the Box. “I don't know anything about it,” he said, unsure what he did to garner the recognition. For 16 years, the motorcycle dealership has placed a box in a central location allowing employees, management and customers the opportunity to insert a handwritten note for a job well done. “It's usually about something somebody
did that was a little above whatever their normal job title might be,” Wheeler said. “But I have no idea what I did.” Many of the notes start with a simple introduction, such as “That was cool when...” The box has helped new employees feel a connection to the company. “These people are like a family to me even though I haven't been here that long,” Morgan Brown said. Brown has been employed by Coziahr for only two months, but she already has received a note in the Cool Box. After a few weeks, the owners will put all of the Cool Box notes into a bag and draw one out. The name that's drawn wins a gift certificate to a local restaurant, gas station or the dealership. Brown received one of the dealership's gift cards. “I like a lot of the clothes here,” she said. “I've already bought a few things.” The Cool Box adds some fun to what could Continued on Page 3
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September 6, 2015
2015 Employee Appreciation
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Employee Appreciation
LAYOUT Jill Koehl
THANK YOU! Breakfast sandwiches are ready and waiting for employees as they enter Coziahr Harley Davidson. Continued from Page 2 be a boring meeting. “We usually get smiles after a note is read,” co-owner Debbie Coziahr said. “And you've got to have humor. Laughing is huge.” The group of 30 full-time employees and four part-time employees arrive before the business opens on Saturday to discuss business opportunities, bike sales and each departments highlights and concerns. They start the day with breakfast prepared by co-
owner Tim Coziahr. “It's more fun than boring,” Debbie Coziahr said. “We try to keep this positive.” A positive attitude is what helped Wheeler receive his Cool in the Box. Earlier in the week, the technician took time to assist a very upset customer in a good way. “He was irate,” Wheeler said after reading his note. “I just got him out the door to cool off.”
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CARING FORYOU AND ABOUTYOU IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
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I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to My Crew that I have working for me now. I must say, they make a good Team and a good addition to Just One More and taking care of our Customers! It means a lot to have employees you can Trust and Walk Away and see that they care as much as you do about the Customer Service that they Provide! Without Our JUST ONE MORE Bartenders, We wouldn’t have Our Customers. Thank You to Our Customers! Jan
So, to April, Donna, Kelly, Amber, Carrie and Curt, I SAY,
T hank You!!! April
Thank You...
to our dedicated and hard working Eagle Ridge employees!
217-872-1282 875 W. McKinley Ave. Decatur, IL 62526 www.eagleridgeslf.com
Donna
Kelly
Amber
Just One More Welcomes Brian, Our New Tuesday Night Wing Man! Don’t forget Our Gaming Machines!
Brian
Managed by BMA Management, Ltd.
Dedicated to Enhancing the Lives of Older Adults & Their Families, While Providing Love, Compassion & Dignity.
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Carrie
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Employee Appreciation
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September 6, 2015
Hand-written notes add personal touch Farm Credit finds benefits worth the effort DONNETTE BECKETT H&R Staff Writer
Herald & Review photos, Jim Bowling Farm Credit Illinois sales and service specialist Sara Foley is pictured with handwritten notes of encouragement written by employees to other employees in the company.
Thank you to all Air King employees for your hard work and dedication. pp y do. We appreciate all you
Diane Triplett is often referred to by her fellow employees at Farm Credit Illinois as the Card Captain. She sends greeting cards to customers and co-workers to show they are remembered on special occasions, whether good or bad. The simple show of appreciation brings those involved with the company closer together. “The company motto is helping farm families succeed,” she said. “And we do focus on family.” Although the employees may receive a special card from Triplett, a sales and service specialist, they may just as easily find words of encouragement from the senior management in their mailbox. “It's pretty neat to get a note from the bosses,” Sara Foley said. “Again, it's a family here.” According to Fred Spannaus, certification chairman for the Decatur Area Society for Human Resource Management, managers tend to underestimate the value of handwritten notes.
“People are motivated and encouraged when they know that their work is valued,” he said. “Sincere appreciation can be more effective than monetary rewards.” Spannaus suggests a well-done note should contain three elements. First, it should describe the situation or problem that preceded the positive action. Second, it should state exactly what the employee did. And last, it should mention the positive impact of the employee’s action on the work unit, the company, its customers or whoever benefited from it. “Sending constant 'attaboy' and 'attagirl' notes devalues them and makes them totally ineffective,” he added. Farm Credit Illinois is based in Mahomet. With about 200 employees to oversee, including eight in the Decatur office, the six managers have found the simple act of writing a personal note to an employee can make a difference in a productive day. “You feel good about being recognized for who you are and what you contribute to the company,” reginal manager Brian Wright said.
The men and women of Parke are truly our company’s most valuable asset. On this Labor Day we want to express our sincere gratitude to all of those current and former employees of Parke Warehouses and Parke Toll Processing for their hard work and dedication through the years.Thanks for all you do!
(217) 429-5255 1800 East Garfield Avenue | Decatur Illinois
(217) 423-9949 Decatur ~ Champaign ~ Bloomington ~ Springfield
Air King Inc. Heating & Cooling • 24 Hr. emergency service ALL makes and models Residential and Commercial
THANK YOU
Thanks to our amazing team of staff and volunteers, the Decatur Family YMCA is able to succeed in our mission. Everyday our team goes above and beyond to serve our members and strengthen our community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
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September 6, 2015
Employee Appreciation
Wright has learned that a note doesn't have to be written on a fancy greeting card. “I spent 40 seconds writing on a post-it note,” he said. “You don't have to take a lot of time to do it.” Just a few seconds of positive support can last a long time. Decatur Family YMCA building coordinator Antwane McClelland gives credit to the hand-written notes as one of his sources of motivation. “It makes me feel good,” he said. “It carries me to keep doing great work.” YMCA members are encouraged to write notes to the employees or the facility. A bulletin board is placed in a central location for others to read any note. Many are positive, while others are considered constructive criticism. “I love member feedback,” said Matt Whitehead, CEO of the Decatur YMCA. “And the members appreciate when we post the feedback.” McClelland understands that feeling. He often has a note posted on the bulletin board. “I appreciate the members taking time to say good things about me,” he said. dbeckett@herald-review.com| (217) 421-6983
Handwritten positive messages between employees at Farm Credit Illinois come in many different forms.
DECATUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS – D I ST R I CT 6 1 –
We at Speed Lube would like to
thank all our employees
for their hard work and dedication. We could not provide such great customer service and quality work without them. 926 E. Eldorado speedlube.net
Thank you to all Decatur Public School employees for their tireless efforts in serving our district families. You are appreciated!
217.362.3000 | www.dps61.org
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Employee Appreciation
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September 6, 2015
Submitted photos The board game Hungry, Hungry Hippos came to life in the Peerless Cleaning and Restoration Services warehouse during a recent employee appreciation event. Pictured, from left to right, are Markie Miller, Brittany Kacsir, Crystal Tatro, Paulo DeLeon, Eric Rosenbery, Debra Whitney, Sarah Creek and Staci Babb. Todd Garner, company vice president, looks on.
Peerless cleans up with happy employees Staffers credit owner for setting positive tone NICOLE HARBOUR For the Herald & Review Katie Eytchison never expected to find a second family in her workplace, but that’s exactly what she discovered when she began working at Peerless Cleaning and Restoration Services last year. “I’ve never worked anywhere like this,” said Eytchison, a customer service representative. “Everyone is invested in everybody else and it feels like a family to me.” Whether its pulling together to help accommodate a co-worker’s need for time off, supporting each other during long days or enjoying Christmas parties and cookouts together, the Peerless staff is there for each other. They credit Brad Wike, the company's CEO and president, with inspiring a positive workplace culture. “My favorite thing about this job is that we have a CEO and a management team that really cares about its employees more than I’ve ever known or dealt with before,” Eytchison explained. “I think Brad is sincerely invested in all of us … his office is right across from me and he says hi to me every morning and asks me how I’m doing. “He’s the CEO of a company and if I need to talk to him, I can walk into his office and he encourages that,” she said. “For someone
Quartus Stitt, left, and Charlie Cloyd play Bags as during the employee appreciation event. like me who’s in an entry-level position, to have that time with the CEO, that’s really unusual but great.” Peerless General Manager Debbie Whitney echoed Eytchison’s sentiments. “I wouldn’t willingly go work for anybody else at this stage in my life,” said Whitney, who’s worked for Peerless the past 12 years. “I had an experience a couple of years ago and he was like, ‘Hey, no worries. Take care of what you need to take care of,’ and we try to make sure that is extended to all of our employees. And he sets that example, he really does.” Founded in 1945, the Decatur business started out small, employing only four people and specializing in household care and dry cleaning services under the ownership of Harold and Jean Bird. Thirty-three years
later, Scott and Linda Wike purchased Peerless and today, 12 years after their son, Brad, bought the company, Peerless continues to grow and evolve. It now employs more than 40 people in its Decatur and Springfield offices and specializes in dry cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning, air duct cleaning, fire and water restoration and mold remediation. From cleaning up trauma scenes and handling raw sewer backups and flooding to dry cleaning clothes in a stifling dry cleaning plant and helping restore homes and their contents after fires, Peerless employees work hard and have high expectations to live up to. “Many of the things we do for people occur when things are chaotic or not good, and we want to make sure that you know and you
believe that once the job is done, that everything is better or at least back to its aswas condition. I would like to think that people feel like if they’re ever hired us, that there was value there,” Wike said. Built on the values of world-class service, loyalty, courage, integrity and winning, as well as a company mission of enhancing the lives of Peerless employees and customers, Wike said the company’s original core values and mission are still integral to Peerless today. “My mom and dad provided world-class service – they treated people like they wanted to be treated, lived the Golden Rule and gave back to the community,” he said “They lived all that … and about eight years ago, during a strategic planning meeting, we identified my parents’ core values (and saw that those were still present in the company) but also thought the core values of loyalty and winning are who we are now. “We provide emergency service and work 24 hours a day 365 days of the year,” Wike continued, “and that impacts our employees’ lives. So if we want someone to come onboard, we want them to have a winning attitude because the work is not always fun, but it’s what we do and our customers are counting on us.” While Peerless’ reputation is largely built upon excellent service and hard work, Wike and his employees still embrace fun and laughter whenever they can. “We like to have fun and work hard,” Whitney said. “We try to have employee appreciation things a couple times a year, at least. We had a hog roast (in mid-August) and so we closed at 1 p.m. and we headed to Continued on Page 7
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September 6, 2015 “They represent us at every point and they’re very important. I think that’s why this is a collaborative effort. We know they represent us and we care about them, and in the service industry, I think you have to.” “I feel like we have a lot of loyal people here and people who share the same vision that I have,” agreed Wike. “They do whatever it takes for our clients and the customers, and that makes me really proud because not a day goes by that I’m in the community or doing something socially that somebody doesn’t come up to me and say, ‘You have the best people,’ or ‘How do you find those people? How do you keep those people?’ and those things make you really proud at the end of the day.”
our warehouse and played human ‘Hungry, Hungry Hippos’ and some games. “We raised money for United Way by letting our employees throw pies at our faces and (Wike) stood there and took his pies to the face and then took a hose after everybody when he was done,” she continued, laughing. “So we like to have fun, but we also work hard, and I think that shows.” With picnics, cookouts, Christmas parties, Halloween events and quarterly meetings during which employees learn about the company’s financials and are recognized for their outstanding work, Eytchison said Peerless employees always feel valued. “Brad and the management team is really good about giving kudos when people do things they think are really exemplary of the core values of the company, so everyone knows you’re doing a good job and that’s really nice,” she said. Whitney and Wike said they couldn’t be more proud of their employees. “The employees are absolutely the Owner Brad Wike is all smiles as he awaits a pie in the face from general backbone of the manager Debra Whitney. Wike, Whitney and Garner all served as human targets company and what we for whipped cream pies to raise funds for the United Way of Decatur and Mid do,” Whitney said. Illinois.
“A special thank you to the 27 employees of Wallender-Dedman Printing, Inc. and William Street Press for your dedication to excellence in all of our products.”
Employee Appreciation
We appreciate the Dedication, Passion, and Loyalty our staff exhibits each and every day.
Thanks for your hard work!
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“A New Beginning For Your Retirement”
1293 South 34th Street Decatur, IL 62521 www.tanglewoodvillage.com
(217) 423-5838 Jett Lappin Trisha Lung Kim Machlan Doug Mayberry Connie McCoy Jon McCoy Mark Murphy Carey Ogden Tom Polley
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WALLENDER-DEDMAN PRINTING, INC. 1605 Brant Ct. • Decatur, IL • 217-423-7748
1605 Brant Ct. • Decatur, IL • 217-422-0075
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Employee Appreciation
September 6, 2015
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