Employees Honor Top-5 Peers for Excellence in 2nd Annual LAVY Awards

Employees Honor Top-5 Peers for Excellence in 2nd Annual LAVY Awards

Agencywide vote narrows down numerous nominees to the best of the best

PHOENIX (Dec. 16, 2022) – Continuing a tradition begun just last year, LAVIDGE presented its 2022 LAVY Awards today to five top winners as part of an agencywide holiday and year-end celebration honoring excellence as recognized by their peers.

The program began months ahead of time, allowing every LAVIDIGIAN to nominate one peer per category whom they felt best embodies the spirit of each including Always Growing, Driving Success, Insightful Feedback, Sounding Board, and Spark of Brilliance. Each submission was required to include details as to why each anonymous nominator felt the person was most deserving.

Senior Marketing Account Executive Kylie Lavidge, who oversaw the process this year, compiled the nominations and shared an online ballot so every employee could weigh in on who to recognize with the prestigious internal awards.

Here are the winners, and descriptions of the category for which they were nominated, whose names and awards will appear on a perpetual plaque in the marketing, digital, PR and ad agency’s Camelback Corridor office in northeast Phoenix for many years to come:

Always Growing, Sarah Slezak, digital media strategist

This LAVIDGIAN is constantly seeking ways to improve themselves—both professionally and personally. They invest in themselves through self-improvement and may be active participants in professional organizations and clubs. They are continually learning about new trends and studying best practices.

Driving Success, Jenn Monroy, associate creative director

This LAVIDGIAN embodies being an employee-owner With an entrepreneurial spirit, they execute key company processes, inspire others, lead by example, and are committed to the success and reputation of LAVIDGE. They enable the success of others by working smart and contribute to the overall success of the agency. This is not limited to any discipline. The award winner collaborates well with others to push the agency forward.

Insightful Feedback, John Zapf, creative director

This LAVIDGIAN is known for providing input in a positive manner, mentoring others with constructive feedback and offering useful suggestions to guide the future of LAVIDGE. They participate in LAVIDGE Loves (sharing public kudos during staff meetings) or simply offer a breath of fresh air by sharing feedback on MS Teams™ or by email or in person that makes LAVIDGE a better place to work.

Sounding Board, Melanee Arnett, digital media director

This LAVIDGIAN listens to understand and asks significant and appropriate questions, whether in one-on-one conversations or in a group. They make themselves available to listen or help when needed. They are active listeners and respond positively. It’s clear that they are paying attention and care because they can repeat or restate what was said.

Spark of Brilliance, Zachary Pothoff, copywriter

This LAVIDGIAN does more than come up with new ideas. They bring them to life. This could include anything from developing a creative solution to a problem, pioneering a new process, or streamlining an existing process to make it better. It could include new ways to generate revenue or save money, better ways to serve our clients, make LAVIDGE a better place to work, or more efficient ways to do our daily tasks at LAVIDGE.

In addition to take-home trophies for the winners, each category nominee was presented with a certificate at today’s upscale luncheon event at Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort’s Pointe in Tyme. All employees who attended had the opportunity to participate in a year-end company raffle and had the chance to pair up for photos in a holiday-themed photo booth in keeping with LAVIDGE’S well-established culture of hosting regular fun and employee team-building experiences.