Staff Spotlight: Purchasing Manager Jeff Wilson

As purchasing manager at Awards4U, Jeff Wilson orders the components of every product in the Awards4U showroom. While he doesn’t physically put the awards together, he helps get them together.

And with 27 years working at the company, he knows a thing or two about bringing the right pieces together to create finished products — be they plaques, trophies, awards — or even a family.

Jeff is an essential member of the Awards4U team, and he’s also a critical component of a team much closer to home: his family. His wife and daughter are sources of joy, solace and motivation.

“The two women in my life are what keeps me moving every day,” Jeff said. “They’re the reason I get up and do the things I have to do.”

While his family gives him a reason to work hard, Jeff’s work life and home life aren’t completely separate. When Jeff leaves for work each morning, he doesn’t have to say bye to his wife — because he’ll see her at work. Jeff and his wife, Joni, work together at Awards4U, where she is general manager.

“Where we work is a family atmosphere,” Jeff said. “It’s nice to work for a company where they treat you like family.”

The couple didn’t meet at Awards4U, but they did meet while working together, this time at a Bennigan's restaurant franchise in West Palm Beach. Later, they moved to Tallahassee so Joni could attend FSU and later take a managerial position, before adopting their daughter, Jordan, from South Korea.

“When we brought Jordan home, Joni was only going to take three months off from her job at the time,” Jeff said. “But just beforehand, we decided that she wouldn’t come back to work and would just enjoy our child. We never looked back.”

Jordan, who is 13 years old and going into 8th grade, is an avid soccer player and enjoys playing the violin. Jeff and his wife take an active role in their daughter’s life, regularly attending soccer games and practices.

“My favorite thing to do is to watch my daughter play soccer,” Jeff said. “For me, that’s my outlet. I take an hour and half a couple of times a week to watch her practices, and the we go to games on the weekends. It’s a great way to get away from the office.”

The Wilsons are currently waiting to find out if Jordan will get called back to join a travel soccer team, but no matter what the outcome, Jeff is a proud dad.

“Jordan deserves an award for not giving up,” Jeff said. “She makes straight A’s. If she doesn’t get something, she learns from it, then she gets it and then she moves on to the next thing. She’s a hard worker.”

From meeting his wife to welcoming their daughter, all the right pieces came together, and Jeff’s family was formed.