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George H. Kaye Award for Demonstrating ELI’s Values

Steve Paskoff recently announced ELI’s Accounts Payable Manager, Gloria Wright, as the recipient of the fourth annual George H. Kaye Award. As an essential part of ELI’s accounting department, Gloria is responsible for managing ELI’s accounts payable responsibilities. Her focus and dedication allow our team to concentrate on the needs of our vendors.
In addition to her day-to-day duties, Gloria participated in the design and implementation of a new accounting system in 2016. The new software allows the ELI team to integrate sales and finance into a single platform, greatly helping the efficiency of the company, and is currently ELI’s FinanicalForce Administrator.
“I’m honored to recognize Gloria Wright as the winner of this year’s George H. Kaye award. The Kaye award goes to the ELI team member who, in the prior year, best demonstrated George’s qualities reflected in ELI’s values of teamwork, accountability, honesty and inclusiveness. Throughout 2016, Gloria managed to excel in her role and take on additional responsibilities that were a tremendous challenge. She handled these requests with grace and enthusiasm. Additionally, Gloria was always eager to help others within her department and the company. I greatly appreciate her patience and the care she takes in processing our payables.” – Steve Paskoff, President and CEO.
Gloria’s name will be added to the George H. Kaye award plaque prominently displayed in the ELI Learning Center. Her work ethic represents George Kaye’s legacy of strong character and professionalism, and we congratulate her on the award!

John H. Stafford Award for Operational Excellence

During the awards ceremony, Steve Paskoff also recognized Julie Waters, ELI’s Client Services Manager, with the third annual John H. Stafford Award for Operational Excellence. Julie will be celebrating four years at ELI this year and is a central member of the ELI Sales team. She works with all of ELI’s Directors of Client Development to manage and service clients across the nation.
During 2016, Julie expanded her role by helping implement a new Learning Management System (LMS) and transitioning ELI clients to the new platform. This transaction was filled with complexities and Julie expertly managed the process, all while helping the Sales team deliver strong results. As the internal administrator of the new LMS, Julie led clients through webcasts and performed training to help clients get the most from the new technology.
“Julie is someone who always looks for ways to be helpful. She has become a crucial part of our Sales team and assists in a wide variety of ways. From working to identify bottlenecks to helping us avoid road blocks, her dedication keeps us one step ahead. This year in particular Julie’s work on our new LMS was crucial, and clients have expressed their thanks for her expertise in this area. It’s important to note that none of this was in her job description. She saw the need and stepped up. These actions embody John’s professionalism and integrity.” – Steve Paskoff, President and CEO.
Our congratulations go to Julie Waters for her work over the last year and for helping our team achieve success. Her name will be added to a plaque prominently displayed in the ELI Learning Center. Just like John Stafford, Julie went above and beyond, exceeding expectations and putting the team first.

About the George H. Kaye Award

ELI established the George H. Kaye Award honoring the ELI team member who, over the past year, best demonstrated ELI’s values of inclusion, integrity, client service, and overall team contribution. As Vice President of Human Resources at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, George Kaye engaged ELI on its first assignment. Over the past 27 years, George became a dear friend to ELI’s President and CEO, Steve Paskoff, and the Paskoff family. He was also a mentor to ELI leaders, a colleague, and a trusted advisor. George was honest, fair, candid, funny, loyal, inclusive, kind, humble, and courageous. He had an unflinching commitment to his values, his family, and his friends. George passed away on February 14, 2014. At ELI, we will keep his legacy alive in our daily work and through this award.

About the John H. Stafford Award

Former ELI Chief Operating Officer, John H. Stafford, passed away unexpectedly on May 11, 2013. John was a seasoned business executive known in the computer consulting and technology business for his level head and calm nature. He was considered a trusted leader by his colleagues and loved by family and friends. John loved his alma mater, Notre Dame, and worked with fellow alums in Pittsburgh to raise money for scholarships so others might experience Notre Dame. He is remembered by a scholarship that bears his name. John was smart, direct, candid, honest, inclusive, and cared about people. He spearheaded several technological innovations at ELI to improve our business systems. He had integrity and was devoted to his wife, four children, and seven grandchildren. ELI established the John H. Stafford Award to honor a long-tenured team member who demonstrated operational excellence, as John always did.