Outstanding Performance Award

Shawn has won one of the two Outstanding Performance Awards that WOW awards its employee's with twice a year!  What an honor!

He went out to lunch the other day with Ryan, his boss, and Matt, the new VP of Operations over the Evansville Region.  He wasn't really sure why they were taking him to lunch, but he thought it was because of an error in a sales contest that he found to his favor.  Turns out it was to let him know that he had won this award and to tell him about the benefits of it!  His boss Ryan had wrote a letter nominating him, and over lunch, Matt read the letter and Ryan took a video of him while Matt was reading it to him.  I can only imagine the look on Shawn's face!  I'm sure he was honored!

After they told Shawn all about it, they wanted him to call and tell me all about it.  The awards ceremony is in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at a really nice resort called the Lago Mar.  The trip is an all expenses paid trip for two that includes round trip airfare out of Evansville, rental car, 3 days and 4 nights at the Lago Mar resort, $450 in hotel credit (half of that can be used at the spa :)), and $500 cash!  There is an awards banquet the first night there and the rest of the time is free time. 

Then I asked him when it was.  He said next month.  My heart deflated!  Are you kidding me?  I work at an accounting firm.  Next month is April.  You know...April 15.  Taxes are due!  We aren't allowed to take any vacation days from December 15 through May 15.  It's like the forbidden sin!  Well it used to be like the forbidden sin.  In the last year or two, they've put in place a new rule that if your work schedule permits and you get it approved by your supervisor, that you can take some time off, but honestly I've only heard of one or two people actually doing it.  So I thought, well if it's after April 15, then I'll ask to go.  Then he told me the dates....April 11-14.  My heart was definitely deflated!  I immediately told him I wouldn't be able to go.  I was sad for him and sad for me!  I wasn't even going to attempt to ask.  We even talked about other people that he could possibly ask to go with him in my place.  Then I thought well, I'm at least going to ask, all they can say is no.  If I didn't ask I knew I would regret it. I drafted up an email to my boss Lisa and our boss Rod.  I even talked about it with another co-worker.  Then Saturday right before we left work, my boss, and friend Lisa, asked when were the dates again.  I told her.  She told me that if I wanted to go, and Rod said it was OK too, that I could, that we would be fine and that she would want to go if it were her situation.   I couldn't believe it!  Thank you Jesus for answered prayer!  I immediately emailed Rod and told him about the situation and asked if I could go and told him we could talk about it more on Monday if he wanted too.  I had told them both that I could come in the Sunday before we left, and that I would definitely work late on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before we left too.  I checked my work email from home a couple times over the weekend to see if he had replied to my email.  Then Monday morning I got an email from him.  I was afraid to open it, but when I did, I was so excited!!  He said that if Lisa was fine with it, he was too and told me to have a great, relaxing time and to congratulate Shawn!  I.WAS.STOKED!  What a blessing!! 

So I'm looking forward to the morning of April 11 when we board that plane for sunny, Florida!