Heather Cole’s only full-time position has been with Haskell, but that’s only part of her long affiliation with the company.
Cole, Haskell’s Manager of Operations Support, is in her 17th year as a Haskell team member, but her connection dates back to childhood. Her father, Charlie Salem, was a project architect, in the mid-1980s, for the headquarters building on the banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. He retired as a Vice President-Group Principal in 2018 after 35 years.
Cole has held multiple positions with the company. She often deals with Haskell’s global personnel and leads outside activities and fundraisers that are vital in giving back to the community.
“I think my talent is people,” she said. “My favorite thing about working at Haskell is the people, so I have found roles that help with that. In my current role, we're doing a lot of training. We just launched our project delivery onboarding, which is new this year, where we're bringing new team members into the Jacksonville office every month and doing an in-person onboarding that is specific to project delivery.”
In addition to her role at Haskell, Cole, a Jacksonville University graduate with degrees in dance and education, has taught hundreds of young girls the art of dance. She also sits on the board of Community Health Outreach (CHO), which provides acute healthcare, dental, and food services to those in need.
For her contributions in and outside her career, Cole recently received Haskell’s Living the Values Award, which is given quarterly to team members who embody Haskell’s corporate values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust.
The recognition and presentation of the award came as a surprise – she was invited to a last-minute meeting, where she entered to find her father, her husband, Haskell Chief Civil Engineer Kevin Crump, and other colleagues – and were especially meaningful given her longtime ties to the company and its culture.
“I saw my dad, and I got a little teary-eyed,” she said. “But then there was a roomful of people. So, you kind of have to gather your emotions. It's very humbling because, of course, they read Mike McLauchlan’s nomination letter, which is written on the award.”
In his nomination letter, McLauchlan, the Director of Field Technical Training, cited Cole’s focus on improving things for everyone at Haskell.
“Heather has built a strong TEAM in AEC Operations Support and continues to assist with training efforts. She is a trusted ambassador for Change Management and has led many training modules, which provide a great SERVICE to others. Heather shares her contagious energy to many corporate fundraising campaigns, and even co-chaired Haskell’s annual United Way effort. Heather tenaciously drives towards EXCELLENCE and perfection in all that she does. You can TRUST Heather to get something done as she will give it her absolute best!”
Cole credited Haskell and her various supervisors for the chance to take on a variety of roles in different parts of the enterprise.
“I have found new opportunities,” she said. “I think that's why folks want to jump around to other jobs is because they may be feeling like they've reached their capacity at a company or they're not getting the opportunities that they want.”
“If I could talk to the younger generation, I would say that you have to be an advocate for yourself, and you've got to tell your manager or supervisor what your goals are. Even though it might not be your time, you shouldn’t wait around for someone to find an opportunity for you. Pursue professional development, work on your skillset and communicate that there are other things you might want to do or try. I truly believe Haskell provides those opportunities.”
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