Spherion Owners Award Inaugural Sandy Mazur Excellence in
Leadership Scholarship
Franchise
Owner Community Honors Graduating High School Students Pursuing
Higher Education
ATLANTA – The Spherion Owner
Community announced today the winners of the inaugural Excellence in Leadership
Scholarship. The scholarship, which is in honor of former Spherion President Sandy
Mazur, highlights the contributions made during her distinguished 18-year
career at Spherion.
The
annual scholarship honors two graduating high school students who best
represent the qualities of excellence, leadership and passion that Sandy put forth
daily during her tenure at Spherion. Her willingness to “go the extra mile” for
others has inspired the network of more than owners to donate funds in her name,
in order to celebrate graduates aspiring to further their education with
college, technical or skilled training.
“I’ve
had the privilege of leading Spherion for many years, and have seen firsthand
how compassionate and dedicated our owners are each and every day. I’m truly
grateful that they would unite to contribute to the higher education of high
school graduates with this scholarship in my name,” said Mazur. “It’s an incredible
feeling to be able to support the next generation. I’ve always been a big
proponent of ‘paying it forward’ and to be a part of this annual scholarship is
an amazing honor.”
The
Spherion Owner Community, led by owners Michael Chalmers and Beth DeLaney, coordinated
with nonprofit The Richland County Foundation – which disburses grants for
charitable organizations – to review over 220 applicants and choose the ten
finalists. From there, Chalmers, Delaney, Mazur and two other representatives
from the Spherion Owner Community, David Miller and Teri Nichols, chose the
winners. With the names and locations removed, the group of five reviewed the
applicants and, solely based on their merits, selected Jaden Johnson and Ellie
Furnish as the scholarship recipients.
“Ellie
and Jaden represent the best of the qualities that Sandy possesses,” said DeLaney,
owner of Spherion Mid-Ohio. “We’ve been inspired by Sandy’s legacy and are delighted
to be able to recognize the achievements of Ellie and Jaden as they move
towards furthering their skills with higher education.”
Making
time to tutor his basketball teammates and volunteer at various community
events and food pantries, Johnson earned an award for volunteering over 250
hours per year for the past two years. Johnson also created a permanent
“Blessing Box” at a nearby church that allows the community to put
non-perishable food and toiletry items for those with food insecurity to pick
up at any time for free. A recent graduate from Urbana High School, Johnson is
planning to attend Northern Illinois University to pursue a career in
Mechatronics Engineering.
A
successful leader in her community, Furnish was captain of the varsity soccer
team, nominated to be a Peer Tutor and joined the National Honor Society where
she helped organize multiple fundraisers and lead multiple retreats as a member
of the 4.12 Leadership Training Program. Furnish recently graduated from
Greencastle-Antrim High School and is planning to attend Geneva College to
pursue a career in Middle-level education with a concentration in Mathematics.
With
almost 75 years of experience, Spherion provides communities with local
ownership and national resources. Spherion has a recognized history of
innovating in the industry by developing an on-site workforce management
solution, using technology as a medium for recruiting, utilizing interactive,
voice-response technology to pre-screen job candidates, introducing remote
workforce support and establishing the staffing industry’s only fully
integrated, web-based operating system.
For
more information about the Sandy Mazur Scholarship or to make a donation,
please visit: https://www.richlandcountyfoundation.org/donate/sandy-mazurspherion-excellence-in-leadership-scholarship.
About Spherion
Founded in 1946, Spherion is a leader in the recruiting and staffing industry
with 70+ years of experience connecting job seekers to employers that prove a
mutually successful match. A pioneer in the staffing industry, Spherion is a
workforce leader with extensive experience and a history of success in helping
companies find talent solutions they need to thrive while helping individuals
find employment opportunities that enable them to live better lives.
Each staffing office is individually owned and operated, with each
owner ingrained and invested in their respective communities and local
economies. Today,
the brand services the workforce needs of more than 4,000 businesses nationwide
and operates more than 200 offices across the country.
To
learn more about Spherion services, visit https://www.spherion.com. For information about the
Spherion franchising opportunity, visit https://www.spherion.com/franchise/.
About
the Richland County Foundation
The
Richland County Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization, was
established in 1945 as a way for individuals to pool and invest their gifts for
the long-term good of Richland County and its residents.
The
Foundation helps people in Richland County give back to their community by
investing their gifts for charity wisely so that grants can be made to improve
the quality of life for all the county’s citizens. Working together with
donors, the Foundation meets important needs today and plans for a strong
future.
For
more information about the Richland County Foundation, please visit: https://www.richlandcountyfoundation.org/.