Goodwill Celebrates Success Stories
Southern Oregon Goodwill® hosted an awards luncheon on Thursday, May 09 at Inn at the Commons for community members, Goodwill team members and volunteers to recognize achievement in employment, community business partners, and personal growth.
The Goodwill Stories Behind the Store Celebration honored Goodwill program participants who overcame odds and found their full potential through work, community support, or education in 2018.
It featured keynote speaker, Janie Gullickson, Executive Director of the Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon, who is a former national Goodwill Graduate of the Year. She shared her personal trials and triumphs of finding the road to recovery through a recidivism work program offered by Goodwill of the Columbia-Willamette. Janie’s story inspired and educated attendees about the power of work and the importance of our employer partnerships.
We also celebrated two community partners who helped us achieve our mission and a Goodwill employee of the year for embodying the Goodwill mission.
Garrison’s Home received the Enabling Employment Award for providing work-experience for Travis Green, who craved more community interaction with a job. Garrison’s hired him, gaining an employee who has redefined their understanding of how a job can change a life.
Mountaineer IT in Yreka, CA received the Opportunity Award for giving Dennis Cisar an opportunity to work in computer technology after nearly four decades in janitorial, landscaping, and retail jobs. A paid internship from Far Northern Regional Center allowed Dennis to work at Mountaineer IT where Lloyd Thompson coached Dennis with interpersonal and technical skills with support from Goodwill.
Victoria Cornett received the Personal and Professional Growth Award for improving her earning potential and removing an educational barrier when she passed the GED exam with help from Goodwill’s GED test preparation program. A single mother of four, Victoria then earned two levels of CNA certifications, landed a job, and is now more confident in her ability to shape a positive future for her family.
Medford retail store manager, Missy Varney, was awarded the 2018 President’s Award for Southern Oregon Goodwill. The award highlighted her excellent customer service, her observance of best practices and constant representation of Goodwill’s core values.
The Goodwill Stories Behind the Store Celebration is an awards and community outreach event in Southern Oregon Goodwill’s region, which covers Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, and Klamath counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County in California.
The event was made possible thanks to corporate sponsorship of local companies like Hart Insurance, Regence Blue Cross and Blue Shield, U.S. Bank, Adroit, Buffalo Industries LLC, Garrison’s Home, Harry & David, Herb Pharm, KDP Certified Public Accountants, Moss Adams, Shop’n Kart of Ashland, Signcraft, Sustainable Leadership Consultants, United Way of Jackson County, and Willamette Dental Group.
