By Meredith Myers, U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program

There once was a man who ran a sandwich shop. Profits weren’t quite where the man would have liked them to be, so to cut costs he stopped giving out a pickle with each sandwich. This disappointed one of his loyal customers so much that he wrote the man a letter asking that a pickle again be included with his sandwich order. The letter moved the shop owner so much that he proclaimed to his staff, “We have to give all the customers the pickle!”

This story is the humorous inspiration behind Linda Gillespie-Gateley’s creation of the Pickle Award. Linda is the Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom manager at the Puget Sound region and wanted a way to recognize those who had gone the extra mile. At a staff meeting one day she showed up with a big jar of pickles and a trophy with a boxer holding a pickle over his head. Linda declared that this new Pickle Award would be a fun, yet sincere, way to recognize the great work being done. Linda did not limit the potential recipients of the award to VA personnel, and recently chose to honor AW2 Soldier Family Management Specialist Leann Stephens with the illustrious Pickle Award.

Leann was recognized for the hard work and extra effort she puts into her job in the AW2 program. She was nominated by her peers within the VA at Puget Sound to receive the Pickle Award for outstanding customer service. Specifically, the VA chose to recognize her for the time and attention she devoted as an advocate for a severely injured Soldier in the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Lewis. Her efforts saved this Soldier from receiving a less than honorable discharge and will enable him to access much needed healthcare within the VA.

In a program where it’s our job to fill in the gaps, to advocate for what is right, and try to be the web that catches the folks who might fall through the cracks, it can be difficult to get recognition for the good work that gets done. And in all honesty, most of the caring professionals that end up in this job are not glory seekers, or ones to blow their own horns. They tend to be pretty humble about the services they provide and deflect the praise that might come. Leann Stephens is no exception to that rule. She is motivated by her deep and abiding care and concern for Soldiers and their families. She works for the best outcome possible, given the very difficult and unanticipated situations surrounding the lives of severely wounded Soldiers and Family members. Bottom line: Leann is trying to do whatever she can to make things better.

Thank you to Linda for honoring Leann, and thank you, Leann, for the great work that you do.

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