Hallie Kennedy is a Contents Technician with Paul Davis Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada. She carefully restores customer possessions that have been damaged by a disaster, from drying and fluffing a child’s favorite stuffed animal doused by a flood to cleaning soot from a treasured kitchen table that generations of family gathered around.
In her year and a half at Paul Davis, she has made significant contributions to her team members and customers. In fact, her colleagues nominated Kennedy unanimously as a Difference Maker!
We talked with Kennedy recently and noted five attributes that make her the inspiring team member she is today.
She had no previous restoration experience but Paul Davis provided everything she needed to excel. Kennedy worked as a barber and hairstylist before joining the Halifax office. She mastered contents restoration processes rapidly. Today she is one of the top technicians at this location, bringing tenacity, a can-do attitude and a great work ethic to the job each day.
Every damaged item is equally important to her. “We handle every item with the same attention and care, no matter what it looks like or seems to be,” Kennedy explains. “We don’t know how important or sentimentally valuable an item is until we discuss each one with the owner. It reassures them to know that we never discard anything without thorough communication.”
She uses technology to its fullest to create some seemingly miraculous restorations. Kennedy appreciates the advanced technologies that enable her to restore many items to better condition than they were pre-disaster. “For instance, chem sponges erase soot so effectively, sometimes it’s hard to believe items were ever in a fire,” she says. “We have many tools and products and systems that only restoration professionals can access and they produce truly amazing outcomes.”
She realizes a possession may be more important than its condition or ability to be restored. Even if technicians can’t fully restore an item, sometimes the homeowner still wants it back because it has sentimental value. On one recent project, a woman wanted to keep a very damaged chest of drawers made by her husband, who was deceased. “We cleaned it up the best we could,” Kennedy says. “She cried when she saw it.”
She has always enjoyed helping people: “It’s my natural inclination to help people,” she says. “So, finding a position that is fast-paced and rewarding where I can help vulnerable people solve big problems? This job fits me perfectly.”
Are you a Difference Maker like Hallie Kennedy? Do you have a strong drive to help other people on the job and in your daily life? We are looking for people who have a winning spirit to serve others, a history of achieving great results and values like integrity, persistence and compassion. Contact us today to learn more about how a career with Paul Davis can fulfill your professional and personal goals while making the world a better place. Join The Differences Makers™!