The Greatest Boss Contest
October 17 is National Boss's Day and iBossWell, Inc. is pleased to report that America is filled with a lot of great bosses. The winners of The Greatest Boss contest, a nation-wide essay competition sponsored by iBossWell, prove that.
Celebrating Great Bosses
"We wanted to identify and celebrate great bossing," said Denise McNerney, president and CEO of iBossWell, "the women and men selected for recognition certainly embody what that means: clear vision, a commitment to transparent communication and high emotional intelligence. We hear so often about the bad bosses, it was heartening to read nominations about people who have tremendous positive impact on their employees and their organizations. The selection process was definitely challenging!"
The contest invitation list included more than 20,000 organizations/contacts. More than 200 leaders were considered for the award, and 24 were selected for recognition as winner, runner up or honorable mention in two categories Non-Profit/Government Organizations and For-Profit Organizations.
Greatest Boss Award Winners:
Non-Profit/Government Organizations
Winners:
- John Buck, Elizabeth Richardson Center, Springdale, AR
- KJ Langlais, Evergreen Living Innovations, Olathe, KS
- Lougene Marsh, Johnson County Health Department, Olathe, KS
Runners Up:
- Candy Casey, Columbia Center, Inc., Mequon, WI
- Lisa Cook, Ku Aloha Ola Mau, Honolulu, HI
- Rachelle Jackson, Community America Credit Union, Overland Park, KS
- Laura Luckert, MRIGlobal, Kansas City, MO
- Laura Simoldoni, New Jersey Judiciary, Hackensack, NJ
Honorable Mention:
- Dr. Hank Dasinger, United States Air Force, Maxwell AFB, AL
- Jerry Hoffman, Missouri Department of Corrections, St. Joseph, MO
For-Profit Organizations
Winners:
- Mark Bartle, KIRA, Inc., Ft. Carson, CO
- Griff Docking, New Directions Behavioral Health, Leawood, KS
- Diane Roberts & Dr. Deborah Brome, Global Evaluation and Applied Research Solutions, Decatur, GA
Runners Up:
- Kevin Lyons-Tarr, 4imprint, Oshkosh, WI
- Robert Shackelford, Agilent Technologies, Columbia, MD
- Kristin Tyson, Bank of Kansas City, Overland Park, KS
Honorable Mention:
- Rudy Alvarado, Advancia Corporation, Oklahoma City, OK
- Tim Birk, Performance Benefits, Centennial, CO
- Don Haggstrom, Russ Reid, Pasadena, CA
- Nithya Ramkumar, Wipro BPO, Bangalore, India
- Steve Sanghi, Microchip Technology, Inc., Chandler, AZ
- Sandy Savage, Cross Country Automotive Services, Medford, MA
- Shelly Van Dyne, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, Bloomington, MN
- Ralph Varnum & Kirby Deeter, Varnum, Armstrong, Deeter, LLC, Lenexa, KS
The Greatest Boss judges panel reviewed the nominations looking for bosses who:
- Lead with a compelling vision, who make a plan, and inspire their teams to transform that plan into success;
- Support employees to achieve their best and to grow personally and professionally;
- Teach for the future by sharing knowledge, skills and insights that ultimately shape an employee's worldview, or positively impact the outlook of their organization.
The contest selection panel included:
- Leigh Branham, Founder/Principal of Keeping the People, Inc., Overland Park, KS
- Margaret Reid, PhD., Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science at the University of Arkansas
- Denise McNerney, President and CEO of iBossWell, Inc.
"The name of our organization, iBossWell, says a lot," McNerney said. "Everyone wants to either be bossed well, or to boss well. As a company focusing on leadership and organizational development we have deep appreciation of just how important that is, and, how challenging it can be. We're pleased to honor those who are Great Bosses and to share their stories."
