October 1, 2020
PROVEN ACCOUNTABILITY, INTEGRITY & ACHIEVEMENT
Dawn Ussery | Our One of a Kind Human Resource Passionate About All Things People
Heading Paraco’s recruitment across all functions and tiers, Dawn Ussery is Paraco’s Senior HR Generalist reporting to Kim Furphy, Director, Human Resources. Since joining Paraco in March 2019, Dawn has worked tirelessly to build out and enhance this vital and demanding function, successfully developing a strong rapport with Paraco hiring managers as well as with outside vendors. She has also leveraged available technology, advancing and enhancing our online recruiting efforts and streamlining the overall process. Kim, who has nominated Dawn for this month’s spotlight, is proud to recognize that “Under Dawn’s guidance, managers have become more engaged stakeholders and true partners in the hiring process. Continuing along this vein, Dawn led the HR team in the development of the ADP Onboarding module, streamlining the onboarding process for new hires and eliminating paperwork, ultimately reducing costs and saving time. In addition, Dawn chairs the Wellness Committee and constantly looks for ways to engage our employees and ensure they are aware of all the offerings our vast array of benefits can provide.”
Dawn perpetually explores new ideas with other committee members, looking to expand initiatives for the benefit of all Paraco employees whether it be delivering heart-healthy treats or coordinating walking challenges. A true team player who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “no”, Dawn always readily jumps in and rolls up her sleeves, no matter the task at hand. As Kim describes, “Dawn will cheerfully participate and dive into any team’s endeavor whether it be ADDs training or assisting on an Accounting project. Her smile lights up the room and her laugh is infectious. She ‘listens to hear’, an essential skill enabling her to easily relate to people, effectively communicate with others and garner their trust.”
These are all compelling contributions, not just for the HR team, but for Paraco as a whole. With a high level of commitment, compassion and enthusiasm to her role and to the Paraco family, Dawn never shies away from a challenge, and she never hesitates to offer assistance when she thinks there might be a need. Coupled with her unparalleled work ethic, Dawn is a superb role model for everyone she comes in contact with and someone to be admired.
Megan Carr | A Solutions Lifeline Engaging Long-Term Success
Megan Carr is part of our Finance team acting as Senior Manager, Business Intelligence & Analytics and reports to Kevin Watson, Chief Financial Officer. Her role has been an integral part of our organization’s overall success since she joined Paraco back in 2014. Owning the accuracy and reliability of reporting and analyses, Megan provides data and insights essential to supporting our daily operations and business development. Facilitating a culture of data governance across all organizational levels, Megan collaborates with the leadership teams throughout the organization on a self-service strategy that allows our customers to self-serve easily and seamlessly across channels. Kevin expresses how Megan “showcases her skills and commitment on a daily basis with data mining and data science to develop solutions for long term success and is willing to jump in to assist on critical projects without any hesitation.”
Christine Snyder, Sales Administrator, and Art Ravo, Vice President – Supply Chain have worked closely with Megan for several years. Christine says “Through Megan’s roles as manager of the Onboarding Team and one of the main developers of DOMO, we spent countless hours working to make sure data integrity is maintained throughout the company for new and existing customers. Megan is one of the first persons I would reach out to assist with issues knowing she will treat mine as well as anyone else’s as a priority to help solve it.”
Art says of Megan, “The Business Intelligence (BI) department Megan heads up is regularly pulled in numerous directions while dealing mostly in broadly defined and sometimes vague requests for data. Through her knowledge of the business and ADDs System, Megan consistently delivers well-defined reports and DOMO cards that capture everything the user requires and some things he or she didn’t even know they needed.” Art also recognizes Megan’s excellence in communication and forethought, stating “Megan’s work spans across many management levels and she has excelled at communicating efficiently up and down the chain-of-command. This makes her one of the handful of truly “go-to” employees at Paraco. When Megan left for maternity leave, she left me in charge of a well-trained, well rounded On-Boarding and BI team that barely required my attention. It was clearly indicative of her leadership and team building skills. Megan is the consummate professional.”