John Sadl Award Winner – Linnie Cherry

On February 22nd, 2017 we held our annual year-end party at which our whole company gathered to celebrate our 2016 accomplishments.

During this event, we recognized our 5^th recipient of our highly esteemed “John Sadl Award.”

John Sadl was a valued and beloved member our team, husband, a father of two, and a friend to most people he met. In February 2012, John died tragically in a snow skiing accident. John had an intense drive to learn, grow, and serve. He was not one to stand around and accept the status quo. Instead, he regularly stepped in when a situation wasn’t living up to his high expectations and did something productive to help.

Woodard awards one team member each year who, over the course of the previous year, lived our Core Values, just as John did. We want to recognize a person who mirrored the caring and compassion with which John served his family and friends, as well as someone with John’s intensity and curiosity to learn and grow, every day.

In order to be considered for the John Sadl Award, one must first be nominated by their co-workers. Once all nominees have been submitted, the Executive Team narrows it down to a handful of finalists. Each finalist is shared with the company, including a summary of all of their nominations. The final decision is then turned back over to the company, with each Woodard team member having the opportunity to vote for the one finalist they feel is most deserving of the John Sadl Award.

This year’s award recipient is 10-year Woodard veteran, Linnie Cherry! In August 2006, when Linnie first joined our team, she started in our Fire Restoration service line. Over the last 10 years Linnie has become a certified Crew Chief in not only our Fire division, but also in our Water and Carpet Cleaning divisions as well! Her husband Lee says, “She enjoys working at Woodard – she never misses a day! The only time she will miss a day is to stay home and take care of her family.” She is always diving in head first to help out others at Woodard. When another area of our company is in a rush, she is one of the first people to step up and volunteer to help in any way necessary.

Linnie is often referred to as the matriarch of the Fire Restoration team. She has a passion for training her team and helping them to grow into leaders. A majority of new employees tend to look to Linnie as a mentor, their go to person for learning more about the industry, as well as a friend to lean on. Linnie’s compassion is contagious to anyone she meets. She is regularly making sure her team is not only doing well at work, but in their personal lives as well. “My wife has the biggest heart and cares more for others than anyone I know. Woodard has only made her a better person because Woodard cares, too,” continued Lee.  If a team member is sick, she is there by their side checking in on them and seeing if there is anything she can do to help.

Thank you, Linnie, for your compassion, hard work, knowledge, and constant dedication to your team and Woodard. We are so honored to have you in the Woodard family!

Here’s a glimpse into what Linnie’s coworkers had to say about her:

“It is hard to choose one Core Value for Linnie because she demonstrates them all! Her vast knowledge of Fire Restoration, Water Restoration, and carpet cleaning has put her in a position to serve in a variety of roles throughout our company. Linnie uses this extensive knowledge and her leadership role as an opportunity to serve an ever-growing number of customers and Team Members.”

“While there is so much going on around her every day, Linnie keeps a happy and fun attitude as well as a calming presence. I said to Linnie once, ‘how do you do it? You never stop! I worked 4 hours doing only a portion of what you do and I am sore all over!’ She just laughed.”

“In addition to her contributions at work, Linnie is one of the strongest people I have met. She approaches each challenge with faith, strength, and grit. I have seen first-hand the love, care, and concern she has for her husband, Lee, and her family, and that has inspired me to better a husband and father to my 3 daughters.”

Oh behalf of everyone here at Woodard – Congratulations, Linnie!