By Brian Staton, CEO and Beverly Prior, President

HMC’s Leadership Award is a recognition program designed to reward and celebrate staff that are expressing HMC’s Guiding Principles. These are the folks who are making a direct impact on the advancement of HMC, the industry or our communities and have consistently contributed outside of their normal responsibilities, initiated and/or implemented positive change or have achieved something special. After careful consideration, we have selected five employees who are prime examples of our guiding principles. Please join us in congratulating our 2014 winners!

Kelly Nicolay, Controller, Ontario
Listening to Learn

Building collaborative relationships and seeking to understand staff perspectives are key drivers for Guiding Principle 01: Listening to Learn—and Kelly Nicolay has proven to be a shining star in these areas.

According to Greg Del Gado, “Kelly has cultivated solid and credible relationships with leadership and employees alike while codifying her leadership skills. A great example of this is when she voluntarily accepted a leadership role in creating and developing HMC’s ESOP education plan and the ESOP Committee.”

Kelly was eager to learn about the opportunities and benefits that HMC can take advantage of as an ESOP by attending a national ESOP conference. She brought back new insights about the value and importance of engaging staff in understanding the ESOP and building an ESOP culture. Kelly then volunteered to create and develop HMC’s ESOP education plan and lead the ESOP Committee. Kelly demonstrated leadership skills in seeking to understand staff perspectives as she listened to learn—she connected with each studio and then initiated programs to support education and engagement.

In addition, over the past year she has been invited to collaborate and participate on the Retirement Committee and Designing Futures Council. When asked to contribute and add value to areas outside of typical controller responsibilities, she jumps right in to listen, learn and develop solutions.

Gricelda Perez, Technical Manager, Los Angeles
Adaptability and Nimbleness

Gricelda Perez stepped up to the plate this past year working on Camarillo and several other projects—she is an outstanding example of an employee that exemplifies Guiding Principle 02: Adaptability and Nimbleness. She continually focuses on problem-solving and breaking down silos to better educate those around her.

Gricelda displayed natural leadership throughout the year and spearheaded her first two projects through DSA approvals. According to Kate Diamond, “Gricelda worked diligently to get the Camarillo project through DSA in record time and more importantly in a timely manner to support the school district’s aggressive construction and occupancy goals. She worked over the holidays to go beyond typical expectations to meet project needs. She took each challenge on with a smile—even when her stress level was at its height, she held the weight of the project and team expectations on her shoulders in a collected manner.”

Thomas Ferrer added that Gricelda is a role model in the LA studio because, “she takes the time to teach and work side-by-side with the team while simultaneously managing her projects. She continually steps up to project challenges and presents new ways of thinking.”

Gricelda’s nimbleness is also apparent in her flexibility to work beyond the LA studio. Last year, she worked on the Quail Hill Community Center project in Ontario with Steve Wilkerson’s team. According to Steve, “Gricelda is self-motivated, diligent and always looking to get things done right without having to be told what to do. She was a strong team member on the Quail Hill project, and her willingness to work out of Ontario and adapt to the project needs made her a valuable part of the team.”

Michael Williams, Senior Healthcare Planner, Phoenix
Innovation and Entrepreneurialism

Guiding Principle 03: Innovation and Entrepreneurialism is available to each and every one of us. It’s not about your title or your role; it’s about your awareness and gumption to make things better. Michael Williams embraces this concept in all that he does.

Michael was hired as a senior healthcare planner in the Phoenix studio to grow the healthcare practice outside of California. When Phoenix went through a leadership change, Michael took the initiative to lead the team. According to Beverly Prior, “He ramped up business development efforts and actively engaged with clients—which resulted in new relationships and new projects. Michael is a great example of leading from where you stand.”

According to Jody Ross, “Michael always has a genuine and positive attitude. He makes an effort to know those that he is working with and for—which does not go unnoticed by clients. His openness, entrepreneurial spirit and drive to understand client needs make him a valuable leader!”

Michael has greatly improved relationships with past clients by going the extra distance to reach out and truly understand their needs—and that makes him a true model of Guiding Principle 03: Innovation and Entrepreneurialism and a valued leader here at HMC.

Jarrett Bucknor, Senior Business Services Analyst, Ontario
Respect For and Development of Our People

Jarrett Bucknor is an admirable example of Guiding Principle 04: Respect for and Development of our People. According to Crystal Morrison, “Jarrett always displays respect for everyone he works with here in business services and throughout the firm.” In the past year, his strength has been promoting and training staff on how to implement project planning, and taking the time to explain the “how” and “why” behind the project planning tools and processes. He traveled to each office to educate staff and he continues to be an extremely helpful and patient resource for anyone who has questions or needs help with project planning.

Michelle Jones added that, “business services would not be able to provide the level of service we do without Jarrett’s innovation and creativity. I am impressed with the quality of my co-worker, not only as a member of our team, but also as an individual who intensely cares about the success of this firm.”

People are HMC’s greatest resource, and we’re proud to have Jarrett who actively contributes to the firm’s culture of respect and development.

Robert Marquez, Project Leader, Ontario
Accountability and Profitability

Accountability is about knowing what we are aiming for and building a culture that supports individual and team success. This creates strong teams and leads to profitability. Robert Marquez knows how to organize teams for success; he is an outstanding example of Guiding Principle 05: Accountability and Profitability.

Robert plays many roles in the Ontario 2 studio ranging from project leader to studio event organizer to Revit technical leader. He is a reliable teammate that can always be counted on to do what it takes to meet any deadline—and do it with a fun, infectious and positive attitude. Robert demonstrated leadership while completing the construction documents for Irvine High School No. 5’s athletic buildings (gymnasium and four small accessory buildings) and coordinating with consultants to meet the project’s DSA submittal deadline. His impact also goes beyond project work—he has built a better team culture by assisting in coordinating monthly “Random Acts of Fun” for his studio, and a Saturday Park Day for Ontario 2 and 3.

Studio colleague Andrew Thompson said, “Robert understands his strengths and weaknesses and comes to work every day striving to improve himself as an HMC employee. He naturally looks for opportunities to learn and grow, and always listens intently when anyone is offering constructive criticism so he can improve and strive for excellence. Robert is one of the most dedicated members in our studio—he literally is the glue that binds our team and helps us be successful and profitable.”

Robert’s continual growth and ability to adapt to HMC’s needs makes him an outstanding representation of HMC and an inspiration for his colleagues.