The Golden Bruil

Meet Shannon Bruil

Director of Field Operations and Perry Burkhart, Jr. Award of Excellence 2023 Winner

Model of Servant Leadership

“We landed on Martin Luther King Day, January 15th, 2024, in Houston, TX, and we finished on about April 26th, right here in Western Washington.”

Shannon Bruil is describing the details of the labor-intensive project that he personally helmed for over a year to implement new software for the company. This meant he spent 4 months traveling to every single one of Burkhart’s 22 regional branches for up to a week at a time to oversee training and roll out of the new system. For others, this might be considered far above and beyond. For Shannon, this is typical of the way he embodies leadership — by rolling up his sleeves and digging in.

He credits his success to a lifelong philosophy of servant leadership that he applies not only in his work but also in his personal life.

“Use your time and talents to help others…I’ve been coaching for 25 years, and I help run a nonprofit program.” “So that’s that servant leadership piece that I’ve grown up in, both at church and with my wife as a schoolteacher and my kids.”

Shannon Bruil has been with Burkhart for 20 years. Greeting coworkers with a warm smile and unwavering attention, he always makes time for others, regardless of how busy he is.

“I just like to fly under the radar and make sure that things are happening the way they’re supposed to be and taking care of the people that are taking care of the customers.”

President Lori Isbell awarded Shannon the 2023 Perry Burkhart, Jr. Award in late May, during the ‘On-Site Day at Corporate’ breakfast meeting in front of fellow Burkhart Associates.

“I think one of the first things that went through my mind was, man, I’m getting an award that represents a whole group of people that helped me accomplish something pretty cool.”

“I look at this award as a team award. I mean, I know that it was handed to me, but I’m all about – team sports is my background, sports is my life, coaching is my life, and having a great team around me, behind me, with me to help with this is the reason it’s been successful.”

Shannon also had a unique perspective, having been at the company long enough to have worked directly with Perry Burkhart, Jr. before his retirement: “I almost feel like it’s extra special that I knew him and got to work with him. I knew what he represented and what it means. So, it’s an honor to win something that has his name on it.”

Here is the submission written for Shannon’s award nomination:

Shannon Bruil led the rollout of D365 Field Service across all of Burkhart in 2023. He spent dozens of nights away from his family to personally train every Service Tech, Service Coordinator, and Service Manager in the company.

He was truly focused on the needs of his fellow Burkhart Associates.

Shannon led the transition from Clearview to D365 by example. He dug in and pulled hundreds of pages of reports to support each branch with the transition, ensuring that all unbilled work was accounted for and that they were set up for success on the new system. He continued to assist with this throughout 2023.

Shannon’s support and leadership for Field Operations contributed to many branches’ record Service Revenues in 2023.

During the rollout of D365, he promoted timely billing and accurate timekeeping with everyone he spoke with. These efforts set a firm foundation for Service profitability.

While spearheading this project, Shannon made sure to bring everyone along on the journey. He supported frank and frequent feedback from the field and advocated for targeted changes that would improve their experience using the software and better enable them to serve Burkhart clients.

Shannon is carrying the spirit of Continuous Improvement into 2024 by staying in constant contact with the field and their needs.

He continues to drive adoption and best practices. Shannon’s investment into this initiative is paying back financially and building stronger relationships across branches and departments.”

 

 

About the Perry Burkhart, Jr. Award of Excellence

The Perry Burkhart, Jr. Award of Excellence was established in 2020 as the highest award at Burkhart. President Lori Burkhart Isbell grants this award every year, named in honor of her father and the company’s immediate past President.

To earn this award, a Burkhart Associate must exemplify distinction in their contributions, commitment, and achievement in the following categories:

• Made a financial impact to the company’s bottom line
• Modeled servant leadership
• Encouraged a supportive and interactive work community

Previous award winners include Danny Pecka, Account Manager in 2022, Phil Salerno, Director of Equipment, Merchandise and Technology, in 2021 and Jennie McQuillan, Senior Compensation and Benefits Manager in 2020.

 

Please join us in congratulating Shannon on this well-deserved recognition.

 

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Written by Dawn Kahl

Published in Catalyst – Q4 2024.

 

Category: Burkhart Culture

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