At the recent JMX Brands Awards Breakfast, CEO Jim Miller presented five employees with the new Mortise and Tenon Award. The leading brand of Amish furniture through its website dutchcrafters.com has a longstanding culture of recognition all through the year in addition to this annual event.

“Today, we’re here to recognize employees for a variety of achievements,” said Miller. “Mortise and tenon joinery, commonly used by our builders, is a hallmark of high quality craftsmanship. It is extremely strong–stronger than the wood itself. Mortise and tenon joints are often unseen support for the framework of beautiful furniture. Our Mortise and Tenon Award recognizes employees who often work behind the scenes to support the overall construction of the company and are critical for overall success.”

Mortise and Tenon Award recipients are Customer Service Specialist Lafe Bianche, System Administrator Matt Dobeck, Bookkeeper Gwen Heaton, Administrative Assistant / HR Specialist Delinda Smith, and Fulfillment Team Member Fang Wang.

Lafe Bianche is in the business of turning lemons into lemonade. Single-handedly and without complaint for most of the last three years, he calmly worked toward solutions that benefit our customers.

Matt Dobeck worked in chat and online sales before his move to system administration last year. He troubleshoots all kinds of issues and manages the migration to new systems. He makes sure all staff have the tools needed to remain productive.

Gwen Heaton’s work ethic is admirable and inspiring. For nearly 14 years, Gwen has handled nearly all the bookkeeping. Her work has included customer service, shipping and logistics, purchase orders and collection calls. Her diligence, accuracy, commitment, and wide knowledge is the oil that keeps our company moving.

Delinda Smith has been with JMX Brands for two years and is currently shouldering the responsibility of three jobs – she is my administrative assistant, office manager, and HR specialist all rolled into one. Delinda is the go-to-person when things go wrong.

Fang Wang stands out as a member of the Fulfillment Team. In six years at JMX Brands, Fang has managed product updates, purchase order reviews, and logistics management. She is responsible for daily operational tasks in shipping, logistics and the warehouse. She manages complexity on the back end with high efficiency and effectiveness.

Criteria for the Mortise and Tenon Award include working at JMX Brands for at least two years, working behind the scenes, often unrecognized, with others in the company depending on you, being detail-oriented, accurate and efficient, and the resulting success for the company may not always be easily quantified.

Lafe, Matt, Gwen, Delinda and Fang, (not pictured) are the first recipients of the new Mortise and Tenon Awards, representing the strong joinery, solid construction and model work ethics of the JMX Brands team.