Please join us in congratulating the 2018 Power of Excellence Award recipients!

In this 3rd year of Edlen’s peer recognition program, we have continued to see increased enthusiasm and participation. We sincerely hope this trend will continue as our aim is to recognize the most outstanding team members in the Edlen family.

As the number of nominations increase each year, the decisions become equally difficult to make. This year, a total of 63 nominations for 31 different employees were received. Of the 31 employees, five nominees have been selected as recipients of the award.

Nestor Hernandez, Warehouse Manager, Miami

Warehouse Manager Nestor Hernandez, part of the Edlen family since 1994, is a leader and mentor to a team of expeditors in Edlen’s busy Miami office. Nestor takes pride in his ability to manage and maintain the inventory in multiple locations, sometimes creating solutions to avoid unnecessary deliveries, saving the company time and funds in the process.

Over the years, Nestor has traveled to the San Francisco and Baltimore branches, and has also worked on events that Edlen produces in Nashville and New Orleans. He says he likes to learn how other offices operate and utilize their equipment based on different scenarios. Always willing to seek self-improvement, earlier this year Nestor asked General Manager Vanessa Alenier if he could enroll in management courses to enable him to improve his management style.

Nestor embodies the characteristics of a dedicated role model, leader and team player. Edlen has been fortunate to have him on the team for so many years.

Shawna, Senior Event Services Manager, Mandalay Bay

A rising star on the Mandalay Bay team, Shawna Moore is also the most unassuming, quiet, humble and hardworking of people you will encounter. Recently promoted to Senior Event Services Manager, Shawna is an inspiration to many.  Liz Henry, Director of Event Services in Las Vegas, praises Shawna’s humility. “She quietly and unselfishly lets others get the credit and helps build our events team. She always ensures the entire team gets recognized.”

She is admired by her co-workers for her willingness to take on the most challenging events, to learn new skills, help others whether with their events, or their own growth within the company. Her ability to remain composed even when dealing with the most demanding clients has been a shining example to newer team members.

Shawna develops relationships with exhibitors and vendors, and as a result, they continually request that she personally service their events. To this end, she has received many show management awards from Mandalay Bay, as well as countless customer compliments, including a very recent letter from the Microsoft Inspire event.

Donica Young, National Sales Manager, Seattle

In three short years, Donica has proven herself to be one of the most valuable members on the Edlen sales team.

Always positive and ready to take on any new opportunity, and happy to assist her coworkers whether in a sales or operational role, Donica’s positivity, conscientious nature and intelligence make her a valuable member of the Edlen family. Her drive, tenacity and commitment to Edlen’s clients are just a few of the reasons why she is a 2018 Power of Excellence recipient.

“Donica is a valued member of the sales team. She has been a significant contributor in the successful production of multiple Microsoft events and has received many accolades from the Microsoft teams. She is tenacious in her approach to seeking new business opportunities and quickly gains respect from her co-workers and clients,” says Mary Ellen Chapdelaine, Vice President of Sales.

Donica’s event experience, positive “can do” attitude is contagious, and makes her a great mentor to the Seattle operations team. Her remarkable focus and ability to plan and execute raises the entire Seattle branch’s performance to another level, and they have all expressed their gratitude for her joining the Edlen family.

Scott Jankovich, Electrician, Las Vegas

Las Vegas electrician Scott Jankovich is thought of in Seattle as “a Seattle foreman with a really long commute.” Traveling to help in the Seattle and Chicago branches several times a year, Scott has demonstrated an exceptional work ethic and teamwork while supporting these and other Edlen offices across the country for many years since joining the company in 2008.

In 2017, Scott spent 99 days traveling to other branches, showcasing his commitment to teamwork. Assisting at ISTE 2018 in Chicago, General Foreman Eddie Rosales said, “Scott’s contribution was a determining factor to the success of the event. He demonstrates exceptional work ethic and teamwork while traveling to support Edlen offices across the nation.”

He consistently demonstrates initiative whether working at home or in another Edlen city. He has presented new ideas for various operations, learned the idiosyncrasies of different venues, other cities’ processes, how they operate and adapts accordingly.

Loresa Novy, Senior Event Services Manager, Cleveland

After five years as part of the Edlen family, Loresa continues to excel as a Senior Event Services Manager at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. She has accepted every challenge that is brought her way and always seeks new avenues of improvement.

Earlier this year, Loresa assisted the San Francisco team for three weeks, and during her time there was able to teach the team things about the functionality they were unaware of. The team were very grateful for her willingness to share her expertise, thereby enriching their skill sets.

She is also highly regarded at the convention center, as she was very involved in the assistance of implementing the newest version of their inhouse online ordering system, providing valuable insight to customer needs.

Loresa’s General Manager, Steve Mariakis says, “I am amazed at what Loresa has accomplished, how quickly she understands a new process and adapts accordingly. Loresa is a professional at her craft every day. I respect her talents, especially her ability and willingness to train new people who come to our company.”

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