At AJW, our people drive our success.

Our President and CEO Chris Hansen often compares long-term success to the act of climbing a mountain. As you make your ascent, each step needs to be planned and every foothold carefully considered. Weather can be a factor. Equipment may malfunction. Sickness or injury can strike. And as a result, some may never make it to the top.

Sometimes, in the face of those challenges, you're able to use your resources to overcome the odds and reach the summit. What better resource to have in that situation than a helicopter, which can get you to the top in the fastest and most efficient way possible.

Within our organization, we are fortunate enough to have fantastic people who go above and beyond every day. They are our helicopters, helping us rise to the top in our industry and achieve the goals we've set as an organization. And so we've created the Helicopter Award to recognize these high performers.

Recipients of this reward work in many different capacities across our organization, but they all have something very important in common. To a person, they live and breathe our culture of service and are integral members of our team.

The recipients of this award for the First Quarter of 2016 are:

Armando Abarca, Dispatcher/Expeditor, New Windsor

Joan Davidson, Credit Manager, Miami

Fray Gomez, Plant Manager, Miami

Tammy Huckabee, Laminate Department Supervisor, Sanger, TX

Gordon Hurley, Director of Manufacturing Operations, New Windsor

Melissa Milton, Office Manager, Comfort

Roberto Nava, Metal Fabrication Supervisor, New York

Karen Ramirez, Planning Manager, New Windsor

Jose Romero, Panel Saw Operator, Comfort, TX

Anne Sandsness, Office Coordinator, Auburn

Christopher Torres, Lister, Miami

Sandra Ulloa, HR Manager, Miami

Fabian Velez, Corporate Purchasing, Miami

Thank you and congratulations to each of this quarter's recipients!