Story #6 - LULU Awards

Story #6 is a memory of employee appreciation at SSM.

You may recall a comic strip character from the 1950’s called Little LULU and the expression for something great being described as "that’s a LULU."

In 1986 SSM received permission from Western Publishing Company, Inc. to use an illustration of Little LULU for use on a certificate awarded to employees. LULU winners were those that demonstrated performance well past the normal expectation. The LULU awards concept and name was originated by our founder and former President, Lewis J. McCoy, Sr.

According to the family, “Our father had a great sense of humor and enjoyed the comics. He thought of the idea to call the award the LULU standing for “Laudatory, Unique, Lofty, Useful”. .

The first awards were presented during the 1986 Christmas Party to six SSM employees. The tradition continued on until 1996.

Eligibility of the award included:
-Can’t be an Officer or Department Manager
-Must have worked 12 months and at least 1,000 hours during the 12 months prior to voting.
-All employees eligible to win, are eligible to vote.
-You can’t win 2 years in a row.
-Employees pick up to 3 employees, excluding themselves.

There are several current SSM Employees that were recognized as a LULU award winners:
-Karen Sandman (1988, 1991)
-Craig Momose (1988, 1990)
-Mark Stabolepszy (1988, 1994)
-Donna Noll (1989)
-Darryl Jenkins (1992)
-Eileen Kaley (1993, 1995)
-Tom Rowe (1990)

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