April Employee of the Month Debbie "The Miracle Worker" Hurley

Well, April is finally here and with the coming spring ONCORE would like to shine the Spotlight on Debbie “The Miracle Worker” Hurley. This particularly outstanding woman is pretty much responsible for a little bit of everything. For the last three years ONCORE has had the pleasure of having Debbie take care of HR oversight, along with overseeing the Accounting department, the office and payroll as ONCORE’s Controller. On top of all of that, Debbie is also responsible for keeping track of ONCORE’s cost tracking software. Debbie makes sure that all of our bills get paid, that all of our employees get their checks every week and that ONCORE’s accounts receivable are up to date. Due to her regularly going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that the Green Machine runs smoothly, last year, Debbie was very deservingly voted office employee of the year by ONCORE management staff. When she’s not working Debbie spends most of her time with her son Jesse. When he’s not headed to basketball practice he’s on his way to boy scouts where Debbie happens to be the new committee chair for his troop. Jesse has made some significant accomplishments in his own right as he has just been made 1st class Patrol Leader. Congratulations Jesse! Like almost every one of our employees in the Spotlight, Debbie says that her favorite thing about working for ONCORE is the people. She feels that the management takes good care of its employees and that the employees are all wonderful to work with also. It is certainly this attitude along with all of her many talents that grant Debbie her time in this month’s Employee Spotlight. Congratulations Debbie!!

March Employee of the Month Gladys Molina

Once again, the time has come to honor one of our own. This month’s Employee Spotlight shines on young Gladys Molina. This young woman is an exemplary employee to say the least. Starting her road to fame here at ONCORE a mere three years ago as a laborer, Gladys has risen through the ranks and is now a carpenter helper on our OCX jobsite. This May, Gladys will graduate the carpenter apprenticeship program and be a full fledged carpenter in her own right. After a six month run as a laborer, this special young woman decided that she had higher aspirations and took it upon herself to get enrolled in the carpenter apprenticeship program. She is doing exceptionally well in her program and is well ahead of the rest of her class, say reports from insiders within the program. We are very proud of Ms. Molina and wish her even more success in the months to come. When asked what her favorite thing about working for ONCORE was, she replied that she loved the people she worked with and was especially excited to be working for a company that gives so “many opportunities for women in construction.” Like so many others here at ONCORE, Gladys is working to provide for her 8 year old son. When she’s not working Gladys enjoys spending time helping her son with his homework or completing her own homework from her apprenticeship. Every month we pour through hundreds of employees to find the one that is most deserving of the Spotlight. This month, there was one name that shone through the rest: Gladys Molina. We are very proud of you Gladys, people like you make ONCORE what it is today, and that is why you deservingly stand in this month’s Employee Spotlight.

February Employee of the Month Milton Chicas

Not since Milton Bradley™ has there been a Milton with so much to credit his name as our own Milton Chicas. Milton is our jack of all trades down in the yard. When he’s not moving materials from one yard to another, or directing traffic or fixing hand tools, he’s making sure that the office is in good order and everything is clean and stocked. When he’s not working, Milton enjoys spending time on the soccer field playing offense and delivering for his team. When he’s off the field he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Prior to working for ONCORE, Milton spent some time in the restaurant business but decided that his calling was somewhere within the Green Machine. Starting out as a laborer in the field, it was in short order that Milton’s superiors saw that he was destined for something bigger. About 8 months ago, Milton was brought in from out in the field to work in the yard here at the office. Milton says his favorite thing about working for ONCORE is the people. He seems to have really connected with the “family” here and we are all enthralled to have him aboard. With a “never quit” work ethic, it’s easy to see why the management are so pleased with his moving into the office. It doesn’t take a lot to see why Milton stands in this month’s ONCORE Employee Spotlight.

January Employee of the Month Yessica Salinas

If we’ve said it once we’ve said it a thousand times. What makes ONCORE such an amazing place to work is the people. This month, we’d like to take a moment to shine a little light on our own Yessica Salinas. Yessica started working for ONCORE in May of 2006 and in short order has moved from payroll administrator to heading up our claims department. Her day to day activities usually involve following up with and settling worker’s compensation claims and along with this great responsibility, Yessica also manages to assist our Safety Director all while managing our New Health & Wellness Program. Like many other employees here at ONCORE, Yessica has family right here in the company. Her sister Evelyn works the front desk and takes care all of our packages. Yessica’s favorite thing about working for ONCORE is that she feels like she works both for and with family. There is a great deal of respect and appreciation for the employees from the management staff and it’s nice to know that ONCORE promotes from within. When Yessica is looking to relax for a few hours, she enjoys spending time on the paintball field. At least once a month Yessica makes it a point to go out and keep her skills sharp and her trigger finger itchy. Yessica, with the utmost sincerity all of us here at ONCORE thank you from the bottom of our hearts and look forward to watching your career grow higher from here. Quite clearly we can all see why Yessica stands in this month’s employee spotlight.

December Employees of the Month Camilo Granado & Juan Machua

Well another month has dawned on us and there are yet two more ONCORE employees that are worth of note. This month the Spotlight shines on Carpenter Foreman, Camilo Granado and Labor Foreman Juan Machua.

Camilo Granado hails from our Catholic University Housing project. Celebrating his 10th year here at ONCORE, Camilo has been with us almost since the beginning. He put in the time for five years, patiently waiting and honing his skills before he was promoted to Carpenter Foreman. For the past five years he has been continually outdoing himself. Each year his supervisors and the management team here in the office see and hear that he’s just a little bit more efficient and just a little faster.

If any, Camilo said his advice to a new employee here at ONCORE would be to stick with ONCORE, the company has a great attitude and benefits to boot. Do what is expected of you and you will be recognized and promoted. His favorite aspect of working for ONCORE is the people. He feels that he has friends among his co-workers and benefits to take care of his family.

Juan Machua is a Labor Foreman like no other. A man of small stature but enormous output. Juan has worked for ONCORE for seven years and is currently working on closing out our Rocksprings job in Bethesda. Like the vast majority of the management that ONCORE has on staff, Juan was promoted to foreman after showing exemplary skills and character. A leader of men and a collector of wills, Juan is what we all hope for when we promote from within.

A point of pride for Juan has been that the company has enjoyed a great deal of success during his tenure here. He is proud to have been a part of what is quickly becoming the Washington area’s concrete supernova. Juan’s favorite thing about working for ONCORE is that he feels that the salary is good, the management cares about it’s employees and that working conditions put safety at a paramount.

Gentlemen, smile wide, all eyes are on you this month. You’re a credit to the team and we look forward to a very prosperous future together. You deserve every second in this month’s ONCORE Employee Spotlight.

October & November Employee of the Month Cindy Dailey

Bet you thought we forgot didn’t you? Certainly not; we didn’t forget to put out last month’s employee spotlight, it’s just that our current spotlight is so bright she needs two months! Our October/November spotlight goes to none other than the incomparable Cindy Dailey.

Cindy has worked for ONCORE for almost eight years now and has the great responsibility of being our Field Office Manager. Her day-to-day includes visiting jobsites, completing job logs and making sure that all of our Superintendents are smiling and getting everything they need to be productive. And I assure you, this is no small task, though Cindy is certainly up to the challenge.

One of the things that make us all hold Cindy so close to our hearts is her personality. She has a very motherly way of keeping up with all of the new babies in the company. She was a big part of last year’s company baby shower and continues to keep abreast of the goings on in their lives.

Married and with two children of her own, Cindy’s own family continues to grow with her three grand children. Like so many of us here at ONCORE, she loves and is a contributing member to the family environment.

When asked if she had any advice for an up and coming ONCORE employee, her response was to “be open minded.” There are opportunities here that may present themselves whether or not you’re expecting or ready for them. When one of those opportunities comes along, you have to seize it.

By way of hobbies, Cindy is in her own category. A car fanatic to put it mildly, Cindy has retired from racing her ¼ mile drag races and street races, to focus her attention on building street rods with her husband. Cindy, we cannot even begin to explain how much we appreciate all that you’ve done and that you do for us here at ONCORE. It is people like you that make ONCORE such an amazing place to work. Congratulations, why don’t you spend some time in these month’s Employee Spotlight?

September Employee of the Month Zulma Vasquez

We’ve said it time and time again: ONCORE is a company that exists for its employees. Within the organization we have an employee for employees. This month’s Employee Spotlight shines on our own Zulma Vasquez. This little lady is responsible for all of our new hires and our employee benefits. She is usually the first face you see when first hired by ONCORE when our new hires come in to get their safety training before going out into the field.

Zulma says her favorite thing about working for ONCORE is the family environment that she feels here. The employees are more family than co-workers and that makes it much easier to appreciate your job. She also said she likes the fact that people here are promoted based on merit. All promotions and raises are based on skill and performance rather than who’s friendly with whom or who knows whom.

Her advice to new hires is that they are working for a good company and that if you work hard and do what is expected of you, you will be rewarded. Zulma knows this from experience. She started working for ONCORE in 1998, as her first job out of high school in our accounts payable as a part time assistant working four hours per day. Four months later she was promoted to our payroll department as a full time employee. By the year 2000, she was again promoted to field office manager, and then promoted again in 2004 as head of our HR department responsible for new hires and employee benefits.

Zulma, we’re all very proud of you and appreciate all of the hard work that you put into every day. It’s for very good reason that this month’s Employee Spotlight shines on you.

Keep up the good work and I’m sure we’ll see you here in the spotlight again.

August Employee of the Month Maria Antonia Trochez-Brizo

Well, things have been busy here at ONCORE to say the least. The last two months have just flown by. Now that we’ve been able to slow the stage coach enough to catch our breath, we would like to divert everyone’s attention to a very special woman here at ONCORE. Her name is Maria Antonia Trochez-Brizo. She is a carpenter at our Kennedy Krieger Institute project in Baltimore. Maria has come up through the ranks at ONCORE. When she started here in 2000, she was a laborer and from there moved up to carpenter’s helper and just this summer she has been promoted to carpenter. Maria says her favorite thing about working for ONCORE is how respectful the senior management is to all of it’s employees. She is also says she very much appreciates all of the benefits that ONCORE extends to its employees.

By way of advice for any new or up and coming employees is to make sure that all employees, both new and veteran make sure to tie off and make use of all of their safety equipment at all times. There is just too much at stake to be negligent on a jobsite.

Maria is happily married and has two boys and a girl. Vannase is the oldest at 17, while Vannase's brothers Daniel and Erick are 14 and 12.

Maria’s greatest source of pride in her work at ONCORE has been her career path, she has worked from the bottom and made a successful carpenter out of herself in her time here. Outworking many of the men in her field, she has been a member of a very productive team over the last seven years. She is also especially proud of the number of jobs that she has seen to completion and her adaptation to the changing weather patterns in the area.

Congratulations Maria, we’re very proud of everything you have accomplished and are looking forward to seeing where your career takes you from here.

July Employee of the Month Rodney Maltez

As July creeps around the corner and summer comes in full swing, we find yet another exemplary ONCORE employee. There are many examples of dedication and people standing far from the crowd here at ONCORE. Rodney Maltez is one of those employees that employers find themselves wishing they could find 10 more just like him. Donning a positive attitude and a smile for the sake of smiling, Rodney is the kind of employee that makes a business shine. Starting out as a field laborer in May of 2000, Rodney knew he was destined for bigger and better things. He could not have picked a better place to shine. After a few short months Rodney was noticed to have a quick mind and an eye for details. It was only a short time before he was apprenticing for the position of carpenter. He studied hard and took trade classes in form work and carpentry to hone his skills and in time shook his apprenticeship and became a carpenter in his own right.

Still not satisfied, still seeking the bigger and better deal, Rodney has recently become an engineer aid working out of our Silo Condo jobsite, Roberto. Over the last seven years, Rodney has continued to show his supervisors and co-workers that there is no substitute for hard work and a "can-do" attitude.

Matlez's favorite thing about working for ONCORE has been the people. He shares a true sense of comradery among his co-workers. Like so many others here at ONCORE, Rodney feels that the people are what make this company great. We all agree with you Rodney, that's why so many of us have been here for so long.

When asked what advice he would have for a new ONCORE employee who was looking to start a successful career Rodney's response was that you have to work hard and stick to your plan. If you spend your day at work goofing off or being lazy, you'll never any further than where you are. You have to want it and prove that you want it. Your work will speak for itself.

Like so many of us here at ONCORE, Rodney is working for his six month old daughter Yuiliana Maltez. In his spare time Rodney likes to follow his favorite sport, boxing. Cars are another outlet for Rodney who says he loves imports but doesn't discriminate as he drives a Camaro himself.

It's people like Rodney who make these articles worth writing. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, our customers keep demanding an ONCORE!

There's no such thing as a slow day at the office when you're working the warehouse. Trucks are constantly coming and going, deliveries need to be verified and signed for and someone is always waiting for one of those trucks. In order to keep everything moving smoothly, John must devote himself to being able to focus on several things at once. During our interview, John had to see a superintendent, a truck driver, and one of his own warehouse employees all while being grilled in his interview. John handled each instance as if it were second nature. There was no interruption in the interview and none of the others had to wait. This is just one of many reasons that John is under this month's employee spotlight.

On a personal note, ONCORE would like to congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Agurs on their wedding and honeymoon. They just got back from Hawaii in the end of May. John also has one son, Nicholas.

By way of advice for the up and coming ONCORE employee, John offers this: "Be patient. Be ready when it's your time. Be ready to produce. When Bob decides it's your time, he's not going to warn you about it, he's going to throw you in the job because he trusts your capabilities. Be ready to produce." Sage advice from a man who knows as his own career path was paved here at ONCORE.

Short of being a Redskins fan, there's not much more ONCORE could ask of an employee. For now, we'll let the Cowboys helmet in John's office slide, as he is most deserving of this month's ONCORE Employee Spotlight.

Starting out as a carpenter's helper on ONCORE's Restoration team, Pedro's drive toward excellence and his vision of a better, stronger ONCORE have brought him to our headquarters in Bladensburg.

Pedro's day to day responsibilities are nothing short of making sure that the concrete locomotive that is ONCORE continues to run smoothly. Those of us in the office never see him sitting down. If he's not on the phone negotiating the price of materials, he's running though the office trying to orchestrate a delivery to one of our superintendents in the field or putting in a new shelving unit or whatever else needs to be done around the office. Pedro takes his responsibilities very seriously and it is thanks to that dedication to his task that makes him such an invaluable member of the ONCORE family. Although Mr. Delcid is all business, he's never too busy to say or smile a hello as he's running past your desk on his phone.

Pedro's proudest achievement while working for ONCORE is that he says he feels he played a small part in the growth of ONCORE. Never one to display hubris of any sort, Pedro downplays his own role in allowing ONCORE to handle its daily business so efficiently and thereby, grow.

By way of advice for up and coming ONCORE employees Pedro suggests doing your job to the best of your ability and lending a helping hand to those who could use it. He also advises that frivolous complaints are worthless and will take a person nowhere. If one does their job to the best of their ability and with a positive attitude, there's no limit to where you can go in the company. Pedro's own success is a quintessential example of his philosophy and work ethic.

Pedro, it is men and women like you that make ONCORE such an amazing place to be, and this is exactly why you stand under this month's Employee Spotlight. Congratulations and we look forward to your future here at ONCORE.