Employee award salutes your behind-the-scenes superstars
By Andy Kriege, YSN
YourSource News is excited to announce the winners of the second annual High Five Awards, a salute to the unheralded employees who are the backbone of every business.
Each year this award honors five special employees from across the industry for their relentless pursuit of doing whatever it takes to get the job done. These are the good people who are doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes with little or no fanfare, and they deserve a day in the sun. Think of it as a collective “high five” from all your peers to applaud these special workers for all they do.
YSN received scores of nominations for well-deserving workers from across the country and selected the top five to represent the 2023 class of High Five Award winners.
Without further ado, the 2023 winners are:
Danny Tapia, Classic Maytag Home Appliance Center
Tapia has been a dedicated employee of the Woodward, Okla., business for 27 years. Wearing many hats, he is the first person in the building before hitting the road for a day filled with deliveries, repairs and whatever else pops up during an eventful shift that often spills into the evening.
Tapia was nominated by Classic Maytag owner Karen Mitchell.
David Daoud, Furniture Masters
Daoud wears many administrate hats in his role at the burgeoning Central Alabama business, and has helped facilitate the company’s explosive success as it expanded from one to five showrooms over the past two years. Aside from his duties running the operations side of the business, he still finds time to offer guidance and assistance to his teammates whenever needed.
Daoud was nominated by Furniture Masters owner Allen Sayed.
Johnna Conatser, Lafferty’s Home Center
Carefully taking the time for any extra steps needed to do her office manager job right, Conatser handles everything from billing to POS to SOS for the Texarkana, Texas company, and constantly seeks opportunities to learn and broaden her skills. Conatser’s knowledge and skills, combined with her indomitable spirit, have made her an integral component of Lafferty’s success.
Conatser was nominated by Lafferty’s owner Mason Lafferty.
Brandi Robinson, Tempur Sealy International (TSI)
Robinson is a customer marketing manager (CMM), handling all the marketing assets on behalf of TSI for BrandSource members across all platforms. Robinson has consistently and tirelessly gone beyond the call of duty to assure that traffic is being driven to members’ websites and stores, and with a smile all the while.
Robinson was nominated by Paula Higginbotham, national account manager for TSI.
Samantha Flaig, Hein’s Appliance
Lead salesperson Flaig is the driving force behind many of the day-to-day operations at this Shawano, Wis., BrandSource member, and is the delightful ray of sunshine on the end of the line when a customer calls the store. Never one to think of herself, Flaig is the first to step up and cover for someone who is out that day, and is the embodiment of a team player.
Flaig was nominated by owner Chris Matson.
This year’s inductees will be enshrined as the YSN High Five Awards Class of 2023. Each will receive an engraved plaque and will be profiled both on YSN and in the spring issue of YourSource Magazine. In addition, an exclusive news release announcing the achievement will be provided for their hometown press.
Congratulations to each of this year’s High Five winners, and a special thanks to all of you who took the time to nominate so many of your hardworking staff.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
