This past Friday, we were able to celebrate and recognize our hardworking team at Fire Dawgs! We had breakfast together at our Indy location and presented the following awards to our team. Congratulations to all of our 2020 Fire Dawgs Award Winners! We look forward to another year of working with the best team around.
2020 Fire Dawgs Award Winners
Manager of the Year
Brycen Spangler
Reward: $100 Gift Card and 1 Paid Week Off to be used in Q1 or Q4
This award, like others, was a tough choice due to multiple qualified candidates. However, when I stacked up those eligible, it was clear why and how our winner had separated himself from the pack. 2020 delivered a fair amount of adversity. In his transition to leadership in 2020, he tackled the training and development of team members, managed technicians during a pandemic, dealt with team members losing loved ones, reduced disposal, and managed all that while also delivering our strongest year in company history. This year’s Manager of the Year is Brycen Spangler.
Most Valuable Dawg
Herman Johnson
Reward: $150 Gift Card and 1 Paid Week Off to be used any time of the year
To qualify for this award, you need to bring the stats. Just like an MVP, you need to have a good Sportscenter stat reel. For starters, you needed to have over 100 days in the field as a Certified Crew Chief. Next, you need to have Gross Profit over 60%. Last, you need to have a PPH over the set range of $138.89. Of those qualified, the winner this year had the highest tracked GP and the highest tracked PPH. He did that with the third highest amount of days in the field as a CC. However, the numbers were still close amongst the Top 3. When the stats are close though, it always helps to bring a little something extra to the team. A little style, charisma or what I like to call a little “seasoning” – This year, the Most Valuable Dawg goes to the one and only Herman Johnson.
Tough Dawg of the Year
Peyton Kimes
Reward: $100 Gift Card and 1 Paid Week Off to be used in Q1 or Q4
A Tough Dawg demonstrates a number of my favorite qualities: unrelenting, unwavering, resilient, persistent, reliable, gritty… TOUGH. To qualify for Tough Dawg of the Year, one must first have won Tough Dawg of the Month throughout the year. The winner must also have a track record of timeliness, being in uniform and living out “The Fire Dawgs Way” with their actions. This year’s winner truly, with his actions, continuously embodies one of our favorite sayings at Fire Dawgs: We are Tough Dawgs that Get IT Done. 2020 Tough Dawg of the Year goes to Peyton Kimes
Rookie of the Year
Spencer Mountcastle
Reward: $50 Gift Card and 1 Long Weekend to be used any time of the year (2 Paid Days, Break from Friday through Monday)
Last year’s winner, Brycen Spangler, will read and issue this year’s award winner:
To qualify for this award, one must have achieved the rank of Certified Crew Chief, served in the Crew Chief role for more than 50 days in the field and demonstrated a willingness to lead and follow. Through their actions, this team member will have demonstrated the ability to be coachable and able to abide by our Guiding Principle and Mission Statement. In short, this person is an up and comer in the organization. Last year’s winner was Brycen Spangler.
Utility Dawg of the Year
Andrew Mountcastle
Reward: $50 Gift Card and 1 Long Weekend (2 Paid Days, Break from Friday through Monday)
The Utility Dawg of the Year is an award that is given to someone who is willing to get the job done, no matter the circumstances. When you ask, they respond. Worth noting for this award is that “who” you ask is someone that is qualified to do the job. This individual was always willing and capable. In 2020, we made a late push to open a new market. Immediately, we were confronted with an outside the box opportunity that was no match for this Dawg. His ability to lead in a new territory in Bloomington and doing new types of jobs is what you come to expect from this man’s capabilities and work ethic. This year’s Utility Dawg of the Year goes to Andrew Mountcastle.
The Dalmatian Award
Rob Merz
Reward: $150 Gift Card
This is ½ new awards that we added to our End of Year Awards, The Dalmatian Award. Just like in a Fire Department, a Dalmatian symbolizes all things firefighting. It symbolizes the firehouse, a group of firefighters, firefighter culture, the firefighter way and so much more. It’s no mistake that the Dalmatian is part of our brand today at Fire Dawgs. So, it is necessary and fitting that the Dalmatian Award becomes part of our fabric. The Dalmatian Award at Fire Dawgs will go to the person that best represents our brand in the public eye. Someone who makes the extra effort to promote, represent and support FDJR and the Fire Dawgs way. Nobody did that better in 2020 than “The Fort Wayne Fire Dawg” and his now signature pose. This year’s Dalmatian Award goes to Rob Merz.
The Hydrant Award
Curtis Macy
Reward: $150 Gift Card
This is the second of two new awards for 2020, the Hydrant Award. A Hydrant is a part of our RIT 10 Operating System. In our operating system, we set Hydrants. Just like a fire hydrant in a city for a fire department, if a hydrant is maintained, it will supply the fire department with water for life and supply the operation with life in its most needed times. In our business, a hydrant is a system, process or fixture that, if maintained, will supply our business with water, or success, for life. I couldn’t think of a better hydrant set in our business this year than the Fort Wayne operation. While there are two leaders responsible for its placement and maintenance, there is 1 person that was tasked with a major workload to get this mine up and running. This year’s Hydrant Award goes to Curtis Macy.