“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” —Ronald Reagan
In 1958, Patricia Bay Haroski registered National Boss Day as a holiday with the United States Chamber of Commerce. Her purpose was to designate a day to show appreciation for her boss and other bosses. She hoped to improve the relationship between employees and supervisors. In honor of National Boss Day, the VMSI corporate staff would like to personally show our appreciation for our corporate executives who lead us to success! Each department was asked to write about their respective bosses and their thoughts are below.
Ken Konkol, CEO, is responsible for setting and overseeing VMSI’s strategic direction, establishing corporate policies and procedures, managing the overall business and financial performance of the company, and to ensure our mission, “To be the BEST DECISION our Clients make”, is unequivocally achieved. Ken is a mentor, who takes the time to guide, train, and understand his employees. He is the captain of our command, and his willingness to “get down in the trenches” with us is one of his best traits as a leader. His teamwork mentality, sense of humor, work ethic, and genuine care for those he leads have earned him the respect and appreciation of everyone he works with. Ken sees the full potential in those around him and provides his subordinates with the tools to reach it. Understanding the value and importance of having a strong team, Ken is quick to provide encouragement, support, praise, or guidance. We’re fortunate to have him at VMSI and we’re all thankful to have him as not only a boss, but a mentor and friend.
Jackie Perley, Vice President of Operations, is a true superstar at VMSI. She provides operational support to ensure individual and corporate success. With a role that touches all VMSI departments, she is an integral resource for our employees and customers, providing support in all aspects of operations: finance, government compliance, information technology, as well as industrial security and background screening. She is a wealth of knowledge for everything, VMSI-related and life, and the go-to person when there is a question about anything. She is a wonderful resource and always willing to share her knowledge and experience. Her work ethic is incredible and admirable. Her problem solving and critical thinking skills are incredible and insightful.
Paige Meade, Vice President of Corporate Growth, is responsible for overseeing all pre-award business development and proposal operations, strategic marketing initiatives, and fostering overall employee engagement. Paige helps us to navigate our course, guiding VMSI in new and unchartered directions. Since Paige’s return in March, she has reengaged all the corporate employees and rebuilt office morale. She instituted weekly “Something Good” meetings, which remind us all to be proud of our accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem. She is always appreciative of our hard work and is quick to express it with kind words and gestures. She motivates us toward our goals, lays the groundwork for our success, and then steps back and watches us shine, like a true leader. She willingly rolls up her sleeves and assists her team, and other teams, with anything they may need, from proposal assistance to business development meetings to (the much dreaded) pricing meetings. Paige always helps us when we are in need, guides us to be better and more efficient, and leads us as a team to success. She is a major asset to both the Corporate Growth Team and VMSI and we are all so lucky to have her!
Maria Morales-Hankins, Human Resources (HR) Manager, is responsible for a number of HR functions, including payroll and administering human resources programs that include Affirmative Action and EEO, benefits and compensation, employee onboarding, and regulatory compliance. Maria has really stepped up and into the challenges of her new role. It is always a pleasure (with a healthy side of sass) to work with Maria. She is a beacon of knowledge, and always has an answer to any question, and if on the rare cases she doesn’t, she’ll help track down the answer! She is a fantastic leader with amazing organizational skills that help keep everyone on track. Not only is she a great leader, but she always lends a hand wherever needed.
Heather Earley is VMSI’s Program Manager who provides direct support to all customer engagements assisting our corporate Program Management Office (PMO) to ensure service execution. Her desire to train, lead and help grow all of those around her, while continuously working hard as a PM, does not go unnoticed. With her uncanny skill in communication, her ability to manage tasks and people with kindness, and her overall team mentality, she inspires us every day! She’ll spare any moment to answer questions (big or small) and isn’t afraid to get her hands in the mix with ideas and assistance on many projects, whenever needed. She goes above and beyond to lead by example, and VMSI could not be more blessed to have her.”
We would be remiss if we did not mention our big boss and chairman, Shane Moore. Without him, VMSI would not be what it is today!
From your VMSI Family, THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!
