The Lincoln crew points to their goal board, signifying a perfect year of safety.

LINCOLN Update: At the close of February we will celebrate a perfect year of safety. No lost time accidents. Monthly treats have been provided to keep staff motivated. A goal board is located in the break area that has monitored our monthly progress. Everyone is anticipating the big reward….Pizza! We can contribute our success to leadership providing daily inspirational and sometimes funny safety reminders. Kudos to our staff for scoring many sources to find just the right ones. Congratulations Lincoln!

Check out some of our safety quotes!
• A slip and fall on the ice would not make the trip to the hospital feel very nice.
• A slip and fall can mean a 911 call.
• Get in the high-speed pursuit of safety.
• If you don’t think it can happen to you…listen to person that had it happen to them.
• Anger is one letter away from Danger
• Safety Never Hurts

Eric Rentschler

OFFUTT Update: Everything seems to be finally settling down after a big uproar with schedule changes. We are now heading into 5-day schedules which we hope will provide stability and consistency to our staff and tenants. All of our custodial staff has been extremely busy keeping Offutt clean and presentable. We would like to recognize one employee for his outstanding efforts: Eric Rentschler.

Eric is best known for his positive attitude and personable demeanor. One of Eric’s favorite phrases each work day is, “It’s gonna be a good day today, I can feel it!” Due to the needs of the contract, Eric’s hours have been increased along with his workload. But that didn’t discourage him. He gladly accepted the added responsibility and asks what else needed to be done. He assists his coworkers whenever needed and always has a smile on his face.

Eric stated that he likes the feeling of getting paid and being able to get out of the house and feel productive. When Eric is not at work, he likes to relax by reading books on Kindle, play video games, and collect odds and ends like trading cards. Offutt is very lucky to have such a dedicated member to their team!

ZORINSKY Update: The work never ends at the Federal Building. Zorinsky employees are busy keeping their tenants satisfied and happy, even if that means shoveling snow at 5am! Diane Cich, Project Manager took home the Manager of the Year award at this year’s Annual Dinner. She attributes her success to her hardworking crew stating, “I couldn’t have done it without them!” With Manager of the Year and such a committed crew, it’s easy to see why Zorinsky is thriving!

Glicel works at Offutt Air Force Base on one of Goodwill’s postal contracts. She is often called upon to run to many different locations on base to clean a floor, scrub toilets, wash down walls and clean water fountains.

She always manages to complete her own duties, and she even lends a hand to others wherever and whenever called upon.

Glicel is the type of employee who will come to work early, stay late, or work other odd hours to help a coworker. She is depended on to troubleshoot and help to fix any issues that arise at Offutt.

Government contracts can be tricky, but Glicel has a strong understanding of what needs to be done and how. This helps the contract run smoothly and efficiently.

Phil Johnson, Glicel’s supervisor, says that she is a great asset to Goodwill. Phil is fairly new to his position at Offutt, and he has come to rely on her knowledge of the agency for any questions that may arise, including training participants and responding to the needs of the customer.

Glicel clearly demonstrates many of Goodwill’s core values, including Learning and Customer-Driven. Phil can count on Glicel, and so can Goodwill.

Congrats Glicel!

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

A Metro bus mechanic emailed Michael’s supervisor to praise Michael for returning some very expensive tools that were accidently left on a bus overnight. The relieved mechanic was extremely thankful for Michael’s honesty and integrity (the mechanic used Goodwill’s values to describe Michael!).

Ginny Powell, Michael’s supervisor, was not surprised to receive this email. She has witnessed Michael’s customer-driven work ethic for years.

Ginny says, “I believe that the proof is in the perception. When a person outside of the organization can name one of our values based on what they see of our employees, it proves those Goodwill values are ingrained in what the employee does every day.”

Michael works on the CSD-Metro Bus contract overnight shift. He often works alone, meaning that he often needs to single-handedly solve problems.
Michael works two jobs and gets through the day on very little sleep, but you wouldn’t know that from the quality of his work.

The recognition of Employee of the Month means a lot to him, as he doesn’t always get the day-to-day feedback that those of us who work next to our supervisors do.

Congratulations, Michael!

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

Sarah’s thorough approach to all accounting functions helps Goodwill maintain accurate, clear, and succinct records. This clearly demonstrates Goodwill’s values of integrity and accountability. The Development Department applauds Sarah for helping to get through a learning curve, with two new people who relied on her assistance for various accounting questions. In this sense, Sarah embodies our customer-driven value. She understands that each minute given to help a fellow employee means better service will be given to customers, donors, and the community.

Sarah was truly shocked to be named Employee of the Month. She was told that she and colleague Jeff Bloes would be presenting on a recent conference to the Town Hall crowd. Sarah tried for two days to get out of this public speaking opportunity. She failed, however, and instead was presented with her award.

When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Sarah reflected upon the wonderful people that she gets to work with each day.

Two-time winner Urick doesn’t spend every waking moment at Goodwill. She enjoys time at home with her husband and their three boys. Their “favorite” family activity is studying! Sarah is working towards her associate’s degree in accounting from Metro. She is excited to complete the degree and learn more about the exciting world of accounting, all while helping Goodwill advance our mission.

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

“Nate doesn’t just go above and beyond once in a while, he is doing it each and every day,” lauded Database Manager Jeffrey Bloes, Nate’s supervisor.

This is just one of the reasons that Goodwill honored Nate with the Employee of the Month award for September and why he’s now one of the nominees for 2012 Employee of the Year.

Nate is described as an awesome co-worker. Although he works in the IT Department, Nate makes life for our Accounting Department members much easier with his attention to detail and quick response time.

Accounts Payable Specialist Sarah Urick praised him, saying, “Nate has really gone out of his way to make sure Accounting has accurate information and will research to find an answer to any problem.”

At Goodwill, Nate gets to work with a myriad of different people. “I get to work with at least one person at every store — managers and assistant managers,” he said. This type of varying work is what makes Nate excited about his job.

Nate embodies all of Goodwill’s core values. He always makes sure that customer purchases go smoothly and are 100% accurate, making him customer-driven.
Nate is accountable, as he takes full responsibility for the entire new goods inventory. He embodies the value of learning by taking it upon himself to make sure he knows all there is to know about CounterPoint processes.

“He cares for Goodwill, he cares for the people he works with, and he cares for his inventory,” reiterated Bloes.

When Nate isn’t making Goodwill a better place, he enjoys spending time with his three dogs, Fendy, Bailey, and Jambi.

Congratulations to Nate for his hard work and dedication to Goodwill’s mission, vision, and values! Keep striving for excellence!

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

But that’s not the story here. This is the tale of James Gibbons, the postal worker who makes Goodwill look good every day at the base’s post office. Supervisor Manuel Santiago calls Jim the “ultimate team player,” noting that he’s always willing to go above and beyond to make sure his assigned tasks are completed with excellent results.

“Jim is an individual who takes action and insures that all work is accomplished regardless of whether it’s his responsibility or not,” says Manuel. “He helps others by volunteering and helping with what needs to be done.”

He can be counted on to make sure all the mail runs are performed on the base, and meters all outgoing mail. These are integral tasks for the mail crews each day, which Jim’s supervisors never have to worry about. His willingness to proactively handle these duties makes the crew run efficiently.

It’s fitting that we write about Jim this month because October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Jim’s hearing is impaired, but he doesn’t let his affect his performance. He is the perfect example of an individual who overcomes barriers and becomes an exceptional employee. Goodwill is lucky to have him.

So join us in congratulating our very own Jim Gibbons. He’s not as well-known as the GII version, but our Postal team wouldn’t be the same without him.

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

Sherri Kallon sure stepped up to the Summer Youth plate this year. Even after Sherri helped organize this year’s Summer Youth Program and found worksites for the participants, she took extra time to visit all of her participants at their sites, often staying well past her regular office hours. That’s why she was our July 2012 Employee of the Month, and another of our 2012 Employee of the Year nominees!

In addition to handling her Summer Youth responsibilities, Sherri spent a whole Saturday connecting with her clients, their families, and others in our community at World Refugee Day in Omaha. The event draws thousands of people to Benson High School, and it is a blessing to have someone like Sherri representing Goodwill.
Sherri has been employed as a youth career specialist since April 2011. Her supervisor, Dylan Malone, says that she embodies Goodwill’s values in every way. She makes sure all of her clients are taken care of, and strives for one hundred percent on all of her reports.

People like Sherri don’t just make the Summer Youth Program work; they make the Goodwill mission work.

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

But that’s okay.

Because Renee Jensen’s fellow employees love working with her so much, they’ve filled her nomination form with a whole pile of compliments. For starters, Renee’s supervisor, Diana Roberts, wrote about her initiative.

“She is a self-motivated individual who lets no obstacles stop her from performing exceptional acts.”

Next, AbilityOne Program Developer Jennifer Croudy’s nomination form highlighted how our Employee of the Month dedicated herself to a special event for Goodwill’s AbilityOne employees.

“Renee volunteered to pick up employees who could not drive and bring them to the AbilityOne meet and greet. She also came early and stayed late to make sure the picnic was a success.”

The nominations go on and on like that. Renee is described as “attentive to the needs of customers,” “seeking opportunities to go above and beyond,” and “helping fellow coworkers with assignments in the workplace.”

It’s very clear why she was named Employee of the Month. There seems to be no superlative that does not apply to Renee in the workplace.

So it’s alright that we all don’t know Renee yet — her deeds (and her fellow employees) speak for themselves and ensure that we’ll be getting to know her better soon.

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.

We here at Goodwill are lucky enough to work with a recent TOYO! Award winner. Erin Swanson, Goodwill’s Planned Giving Director, was given the award at a banquet on Jan 30th at the Century Link Center. You may know Erin as the writer of the “From the Planned Giving Office” columns in the ClothesLine and as the newest member of Goodwill’s Executive Staff team, but she does much more. Erin is responsible for overseeing all fundraising efforts, including direct mail, special events, community outreach, donor relations, and planned gifts. This means that Erin’s schedule is always filled with potential donor meetings, phone calls, and events. In the rest of her time at Goodwill, Erin has begun an overhaul of the Development Department’s organizational and database management systems.

While she keeps busy at Goodwill, Erin still finds time to make an impact outside of our agency. As a graduate of Creighton University, Erin serves on the CU Graduate School Alumni Advisory Board and volunteers her time for the University’s athletic department. She also offers her time to Habitat for Humanity, the YWCA, and the Nebraska Arthritis Foundation, helping organize special events. In addition to being a Jaycee, Erin is also a part of the Junior League of Omaha, serving on the New Member Committee.

In order to receive this award, you have to be nominated. Erin felt she needed to complete the application process, because someone in the community thought enough of her dedicated service to nominate her. Her win was part of a whirlwind 48 hours, which included winning the TOYO!, turning 32, and getting engaged.

Erin is excited to continue working to improve Goodwill’s Development and Planned Giving strategies. We are excited for her to teach us more about fundraising! Congrats Erin!

Then you get to know Linda, and you realize that it’s not just her work on payroll that makes her great. There are so many other reasons why she deserved to be named May 2012 Employee of the Month and now one of our 2012 Employee of the Year nominees.

As our payroll specialist, she works hard, never complains, and in general, is just a great person to be around. Her supervisor, Senior Finance Director Pauli Bishop, says naming each example of her commitment to her work and to Goodwill would take hours because Linda displays that commitment and integrity on a daily basis.

Linda has been a picture of Goodwill’s values since she started in January 2010. She is dedicated to providing superior customer service to internal and external customers. She is reliable and trustworthy with confidential information and takes all deadlines seriously.

Linda is always looking for ways to do her job better and grow professionally. On top of her accounting duties, Linda is quick to volunteer for events like the Woodmen Donation Drive and the Goodwill Golf Classic. She is an all-around Goodwill team player.

The Goodwill Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of Goodwill employees and will be announced at the 2012 Goodwill Annual Awards Dinner on February 9.