Celebrating Exceptional Employees: The Recent Winners Of Our Standing Ovation Awards!

Each quarter, co-workers nominate peers who they feel follow our core company values. COO Sarah Hagan and CEO Trevor Gruenewald take time to publicly recognize the winners and runner-ups of these awards at our quarterly town hall meeting. Those recognized also receive "High5" points that are redeemable as cash. These awards are a great way to bring our company together and remind one another of our company values. 

Crave Greatness—Thomas Pook 

Our Crave Greatness Award recognizes innovation and the development of new ideas, processes, or tools that allow our team and customers to succeed. Thomas Pook, development lead, is our most recent Crave Greatness winner!  

Thomas is working on a new platform for our Manufacturing division. The nominators gave three big reasons why Thomas deserves this award: dedication, innovation, and value creation. Thomas continuously shows his passion for his role, whether that means late-night debugging code or collaborating with colleagues. His outside-of-the-box thinking has streamlined processes and opened new lines for development. This, along with automation, has saved the team countless hours on code generation, workflows, and repetitive tasks. The processes and tools that Thomas has created have been integral to the team’s everyday workflow, saving them time and boosting productivity.  

Own the Outcome—Katie Crawford 

Our Own the Outcome Award recognizes a peer who prioritizes the good of the company. This co-worker will go beyond their individual responsibilities to drive performance and better serve our customers. Our Own the Outcome winner is Implementation PMO Manager, Katie Crawford !  

Katie has an excellent ability to take ownership of her outcomes and drive results in all the roles she has had here at ECI. She approaches every task with a positive outlook and unwavering commitment to excellence. What sets her apart is her ability to take full ownership of the projects she takes on. Rather than simply completing tasks, Katie takes the initiative to ensure the desired outcome is not only achieved but surpassed. She is resourceful, resilient, and an exceptional team player. Congratulations, Katie!  

Deliver Awesome—James Richards 

Following through on commitments, doing what you say you're going to do, and going above and beyond when doing so—this all describes a Deliver Awesome Award winner. After receiving more than a handful of nominations, we are pleased to announce the Deliver Awesome winner, James Richards , account manager! 

Always striving to exceed expectations and deliver results, James continuously brings a positive and creative attitude to work that inspires those around him to do the same. He is a true team player and is willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need—regardless of team, department, or problem. In fact, James set up a monthly check-in meeting with one of his peers to help them learn to network and position themselves to succeed. He is a mentor to many and always takes on the task of helping others. 

Strategic Sales—Greg Forrest 

Our Strategic Sales Award is given to an individual on the sales team who exceeds quota expectations, drives our company’s strategic initiatives, and demonstrates leadership, creativity, and grit! This award is not voted on by peers but rather awarded by COO Sarah Hagan and CEO Trevor Gruenewald. Our newest Strategic Sales Award winner is Gregory M. Forrest , account manager.  

Greg has worked as an industry expert for over 10 years, rather than taking a purely sales approach, Greg reaches out to customers on a business level, becoming a trusted adviser for his customers. In doing so, he has achieved strategic sales, especially on the ecommerce level, and has helped his customers’ businesses grow and succeed.  

Embrace Community—Justin Buchanan 

We love to see our team giving back. Because of this, we award the Embrace Community Award to a peer every quarter living out this mission. This individual donates time, energy, talents, and treasures toward making a difference in the community around them. It is a privilege to announce the Embrace Community winner, Justin Buchanan , software/systems architect!  

Justin is a world-class engineer and architect, but his true character is empathy, selflessness, and caring. In the last four years, Justin and his wife have taken in dozens of foster children, some as young as one day old. Sometimes, given only one hour's notice, Justin’s family might be a temporary home for a week or nine months. Many of the children Justin cares for are escaping situations out of their control and tend to exhibit behavioral problems that are met with care and empathy. Being able to take in, clothe, and care for children who inevitably end up leaving shows incredible character. Being a parent is often thankless work, so to Justin and his family, thank you.  

Value Creation—Ryan Peterson 

Every day, we have an opportunity to improve. Our Value Creation Award recognizes an individual who questions the processes and tools we use daily to find the most efficient way to do the job. They demonstrate creativity that creates incremental economic value for all stakeholders. The most recent Value Creation winner is Ryan Peterson , lead software developer!  

Ryan is described as creative, thoughtful, and innovative, especially in his approaches to enhancing the platform. He is goal-driven and wants to provide the customer, as well as fellow teammates, with the best experience possible. By using feedback to creatively drive platform improvements, he is able to strengthen the value for our customers. He works tirelessly, which raises the bar and drives excellence for his team.  

Congratulations to our first round of winners in 2024. We cannot wait to see everyone who is nominated this year!