Southern Oregon Goodwill® hosted an awards luncheon on Thursday, April 26 at the Josephine County Fairgrounds for community members, Goodwill team members and volunteers to recognize achievement in employment and personal growth.
The Goodwill Story Behind the Store Celebration honored Goodwill program participants who overcame odds and found their full potential through work, community support, or education in 2017.
We also celebrated a community partner, who helped us achieve our mission, and Goodwill employees of the year for embodying the Goodwill mission.
(Front row, left to right): Annette Rowe, Story of the Year award recipient; Lindsay Kelly, Employee of the Year award recipient; Lynne Anderson, Director of Workforce Development for Josephine County.
Annette Rowe was named Story of the Year in Josephine County. Rowe is a team member at Denny’s in Grants Pass. She came to Goodwill for employment training and to seek a job in the community so she could provide for her husband and family. She needed assistance at work because of difficulties remembering daily tasks. Goodwill paired her with Denny’s where she has an environment of supportive reinforcement and her hours have increased because of her work performance.
Retail Front-End Lead in Grants Pass, Lindsay Kelly, was named the 2017 Employee of the Year. She joined the retail team back in 2011. The award highlighted her excellent customer service, her observance of best practices and constant representation of Goodwill’s core values.
(Front row, left to right): Victoria Poague, Production Assistant; Maria Wicker, Central Point Store Manager; Lindsay Kelly, Retail Front-End Lead; Jayne Shafer, Grants Pass Store Manager.
(Front row, left to right): Lynne Anderson, Director of Workforce Development; Karen Christensen, Employment Specialist; Miriam Seabaugh, Job Coach 1; Paris Martin, Employment Specialist.
Darrel Moore, owner of MrCleanMoore, is the 2017 Community Partner of the Year for partnering with Goodwill to provide work assessments and job opportunities in two counties for people interested in janitorial service careers. He was unfortunately unable to attend the event.
The Goodwill Story Behind the Store Celebration is an awards and community outreach program and is one of five similar events in Southern Oregon Goodwill’s region, which covers Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, and Klamath counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County in California.
The events are made possible thanks to corporate sponsorship of local companies like Propel Insurance, Regence Blue Cross and Blue Shield, U.S. Bank, Banner Bank, Harry & David, and Buffalo Industries (Seattle).
