Mike Safford

Sign Shop Manager
Hartford, CT

I am nominating Mike Safford, Sign Shop Manager, as Propark’s Leader of the Month for the East Coast. A few months ago, I became involved in sign shop operations, after having worked in the sign shop myself from 2002-2004. As you might imagine, much (everything) has changed since that time. I have been completely amazed at how Mike, almost single-handedly, caters to the entire country. I don’t think there is a Propark account that Mike hasn’t had some involvement with over his 19 years in the Sign Shop.

Mike literally does it all – from design, to printing, producing and laminating, to packaging, shipping, tracking and follow-up. He works with Propark managers, outside sign vendors, suppliers, and more. He displays complete mastery over his domain and maintains a positive attitude with everyone he encounters. From the day that I became re-involved in the Sign Shop, I asked Mike to keep me copied on emails so I could get greater visibility into what he does. Since then, my inbox has become inundated with emails from Mike, following up with all managers across the country with proofs for approval, lightning fast turnaround on production, shipping updates, and quality customer service. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told Mike that I literally don’t know how he is able to do everything that is required of him, all by himself. He seems to not feel any pressure as he expertly navigates the complexities and nuances of each individual job for which he is responsible. It’s really quite amazing.

Since my involvement, we have put numerous new processes in place, including the complete tracking of all jobs, cost-calculating of all individual signs produced, and the immediate creation of invoices as jobs are completed, all of which allow us to track a variety of metrics and most notably our profitability and NOI versus budget in close to real-time. Mike has taken on these new responsibilities with not only relative ease, but also with positivity, accuracy and timeliness. Simply outstanding.

Mike is an unsung hero. He doesn’t look for praise or accolades. He puts his head down and he goes to work and he does an outstanding job. His ability to balance the needs of our managers across the entire country, simultaneously and largely independently, is just impressive. Mike Safford has done nothing but exemplify true leadership and its evident to me that he’s been doing so for a very long time. He is very deserving of this honor and it is my belief that, while he doesn’t seek accolades or recognition, he is long overdue to be celebrated by the company to which he has given so much through his hard work and dedication over the last two decades. I thank the voting committee for their time and consideration. It’s appreciated very much.

Nominated by: Dennis Safford, Assistant VP of Marketing

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