Meet Modu-Loc’s 2020 Employee Award Winners

Modu-Loc employs some of the most passionate people in the industry, and we strive to recognize our team members for their commitment and efforts. One of the ways we do this is via our employee awards program, which includes several different awards.

The award of distinction is the Don Rintoul Founder’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented annually to an exceptional employee who has consistently demonstrated the ‘Modu-Loc Way’ during their tenure. Nominees must have a minimum of 5 years of employment with the company, and the winner is someone who lives and breathes our core values every day.

Last year, we introduced the Core Values Awards, which recognize individual team members for consistently demonstrating a specific core value. The 2020 Don Rintoul and Core Values Awards winners were nominated by members of Management and our Regional Steering Committees. Winners were selected by members of the Leadership Team.

This year, we decided to add a new award to the program to recognize compassion, dedication, and hard work. This award commemorates the mother of one of our Toronto team members, who lost her brave battle with ALS last year. Aptly named the Kuchurean Memorial Award, it is presented to an individual who makes continuous efforts to care for and improve the lives of others.

Awards were presented to recipients last week at Modu-Loc’s 2020 National Meeting in Las Vegas, NV. Nearly 50 team members from depots all across Canada were there to honour and congratulate the award winners.

Without further ado, our award winners were…

Terrence Campbell (Don Rintoul Founder’s Lifetime Achievement Award)

Terrence has been with Modu-Loc for 12 years, and is one of the longest-serving “Fence Guys” in the entire company. Terrence was our Excellent, Reliable Service winner as part of the 2019 Core Values Awards program, and we are honoured to be able to present him with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Terrence is a great ambassador of Modu-Loc and our core values. Modu-Loc is truly his family, and that was evidenced by the fact that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when he accepted his award! He is always there to help his colleagues and make sure that everyone he works with is taken care of, both on a professional and personal level. This extends to the way he deals with our customers, as he has also been known to treat them like family. This work ethic does not go unnoticed, as Terrence is often highly praised by our clients.

According to one of our customers, “He is always so helpful with a smile on his face.”

In his role, Terrence is seen as a leader. His reputation extends far beyond the geographic boundaries of his home branch (Cambridge), and he has become a household name in every other region of the company. His paperwork is impeccable and is held up as a gold standard in our Fence Guy training. He was elected as the regional representative of our Joint Health & Safety Committee thanks to his stalwart commitment to safety. Terrence has been a mentor, a coach, and a friend to just about every coworker of his.

Congratulations to Terrence Campbell on earning the Don Rintoul Founder’s Lifetime Achievement Award – it is well-deserved!

Eric Dion (Collaboration & Teamwork Award)

When we think of Collaboration & Teamwork, we can’t help but think of the amazing dynamic between Eric Dion and his colleague, Sarah Bourgie-Sabourin. Eric is the Sales Representative for Quebec City, while Sarah is the Sales Manager in Montreal. Eric is the kind of coworker most of us dream of, in that you can fully entrust him with your own clients.

He frequently covers for Sarah when she is away, and there is never any doubt that her customers will receive the same care and attention that Eric would provide to his own clients. The customer service he provides is so exceptional, some clients will continue to reach out to him even when he is no longer their point of contact.

Beyond being a great teammate to his fellow Sales employees, Eric is a shining example of the collaboration we all strive for between Sales and Operations. He has a stellar relationship with his regional Operations Manager, Etienne – who, incidentally, won the Collaboration & Teamwork Award last year! Eric is known to go out of his way to help his peers and his customers, and is no stranger to delivering bases or privacy screen to lighten the load of his friends in Operations.

As one of his coworkers said, “Over the years, he has become not only a colleague, but a friend I can count on, no matter the situation.”

Tanya Minshull (Stability & Dependability)

Tanya was Modu-Loc’s first official Customer Service Representative, and she quickly became a staple at the Toronto depot where she works. Not only can Tanya be relied upon to take on just about any task, but she is quick to voluntarily offer assistance when she sees that someone needs it. If she knows that a teammate is swamped, she will lend a helping hand without being asked.

Tanya manages relationships with many of our event customers, and regularly goes above and beyond to ensure complete client satisfaction. She has become the go-to person for client issues, and is never afraid to do whatever it takes to ensure a positive customer experience. She will take it upon herself to dig through old files, comb through email threads, and escalate issues up the chain if it means rectifying a problem for a customer. Customers and coworkers alike know that they can rely on Tanya to produce a solution if there is ever an issue.

In addition to her regular job, Tanya serves as a member of the Regional Steering Committee for her area. This requires her to fulfil responsibilities above and beyond her regular duties, including attending bimonthly conference calls. She is an active participant on committee calls and a reliable representative, always prepared with feedback and ideas to help take the organization to the next level.

Melissa Jack (Integrity & Trust)

We are lucky to have an incredible team of Customer Service Reps, and Melissa is no exception. Having moved from Calgary to Vancouver to fill this role, Melissa quickly became a major asset to one of our oldest branches. This past year was a testament to Melissa’s work ethic, as the Vancouver depot saw a large spike in jobs and Melissa handled it all effortlessly.

When a key team member’s father passed away, Melissa was there to keep everything on track. Her sense of humour and calm demeanour keep everyone at the depot grounded and in good spirits. Most importantly, when Melissa herself needs support, she isn’t afraid to ask. Integrity & Trust is about trusting our employees to make good decisions and use the tools they have available to them, and you can count on Melissa to do just that.

Melissa is frequently called upon to provide input or feedback on new processes. Her colleagues trust her judgement and know they can depend on her to provide honest feedback. She demonstrates integrity by ensuring she gathers all of the necessary information before making a decision – rather than doing something just because she is told to do so. As her colleague puts it, “If I know Melissa is involved, then I know that means something will be done well.”

Pedro Trindade (Family & Well-being)

Known to some of his colleagues as “Big Brother Pedro”, Pedro is truly a family man. Not only does he take excellent care of his wife and twin girls, but he looks after his work family, as well. In his role as Dispatcher at the Toronto depot, Pedro had the challenging task of trying to balance the needs of our clients and our crews. He would always go out of his way to accommodate employees’ appointments, vacation request, and other personal commitments. If he noticed that a particular crew member was feeling drained, he would schedule in some downtime for that person.

Now that he is the Operations Supervisor, he can dedicate additional resources to ensuring that everyone is taken care of – whether that means supplying them with the tools they need or simply lending a sympathetic ear. He is very handy, and regularly lends his skills to Modu-Loc to make small improvements around the office. He is also always ready and willing to give his colleagues advice based on his vast experience.

Perhaps the best example of Pedro’s dedication to Family & Well-being was the time he helped a coworker move. Pedro gave up his personal time on a weekend to move her possessions from her old apartment to her new home 90 minutes away! He then made an additional stop at her parents’ place another hour away to drop off some furniture.

Pedro is a great father, husband, coworker, friend, and handyman!

Rob Palbom (Vision & Innovation)

Rob started his career with Modu-Loc as a Fence Guy in Toronto, ultimately working his way up to Regional Manager for the Calgary area. His climb up the corporate ladder is certainly thanks in part to his vision and creativity. He has a knack for thinking outside the box and coming up with some brilliant ideas.

One example of this is Modu-Loc’s Barn Burner, an annual customer appreciation event held the first Friday of Calgary Stampede. What started as a relatively small gathering of around 50 customers and partners has grown to a 150-person event that raises money for local charities. This event is highly anticipated every year, and is a great opportunity to bring together employees from depots across the country.

Rob isn’t just a visionary. He actually executes on his vision, and knows when to ask for support in order to bring his ideas to life. Furthermore, he encourages creativity in his team, and uses his innovative thinking to try and make Modu-Loc a better place to work. Rob brings his outgoing, positive, friendly attitude into everything he does, and we’re lucky to have him!

Morgan Falkenholt (Excellent, Reliable Service)

Originally a Fence Guy in Vancouver, Morgan moved across the country to join our growing Montreal team. His leadership qualities and commitment to our customers quickly earned him a position as the Operations Supervisor. Our Montreal depot has seen a tremendous amount of success over the last 2 years, and Morgan took on just about all of our event customers to ensure they continued to receive the excellent service to which they’d grown accustomed.

Morgan led the charge on supporting one of the largest event series in Montreal this past year, taking point on all of the organizing and planning that comes along with such a massive event. He worked closely with event organizers, the Operations team, and the field staff to ensure the events went smoothly.

Morgan is a true leader, setting an incredible example for his team members. He is an active member of our Joint Health & Safety Committee, and is highly respected by his peers. He possesses a “can-do” spirit that enables him to see problems as opportunities, and turn concerns into solutions – a trait that is certainly appreciated by our clients.

Cody Moffat (Safety & Accountability)

Cody has a reputation for being a stickler when it comes to safety. Not only does he hold himself to the highest standard of Health & Safety, but he enforces it around the Toronto depot, where he works as the Shop Supervisor. Cody is not afraid to hold others accountable to ensure that policies and procedures are followed by everyone, from our front line employees to the President of the company.

We trust Cody to onboard and train many of our new hires in Toronto, recognizing that he will take all the time necessary to make sure they understand our standard operating procedures. He is also a certified forklift trainer and a member of our Joint Health & Safety Committee, and uses those platforms to share his knowledge and expertise with his peers.

Cody doesn’t just preach Health & Safety – he practices it. His quick thinking and propensity for action have helped him in situations where someone else’s life was in danger. In one example, Cody rushed an ailing coworker to the hospital. In another, Cody intervened when he witnessed a stranger suffering from a medical crisis while operating a vehicle on the highway. In both cases, Cody’s quick actions prevented potentially devastating outcomes.

Joanna Bieda (Kuchurean Memorial Award)

When the Kuchurean Memorial Award was introduced, it was from a perspective of legacy. ALS ties together our President, who sits on the board of ALS Canada, and one of our Toronto team members, who recently lost a parent to ALS. Our Toronto employee was inspired by the care and compassion his family experienced during the illness of his mother, and wanted to commemorate her memory by recognizing this spirit of caring in others. Following discussions with our President, the decision was made to create an award that highlighted how the positive actions of one person can leave a lasting mark in the lives of others.

The winner of the inaugural award was Joanna, who has been with Modu-Loc for 5 years. In her role as Marketing Manager, she has had the opportunity to work with employees from various departments and depots across the country. Joanna treats everyone around her with respect and compassion, and truly endeavours to improve the lives of others. This is certainly true when it comes to her relationships with her coworkers, but also extends beyond her professional interactions.

This past holiday season, Joanna organized a donation drive to support a family in need for Christmas. She brought together employees from depots across Ontario, and their combined efforts meant that a young family of three could enjoy Christmas presents and a number of basic necessities. This is the kind of positive and lasting impression we look to celebrate with the Kuchurean Memorial award.