Every year, the WithIt organization celebrates the innovative women and men in the Home Furnishings industry who have contributed to the success of our industry. The WOW Awards honor these business leaders at the Spring High Point Market among the best and brightest faces of furniture.
One of these prestigious awards is the WOW Mentoring Award. Among the amazing women who have been nominated this year is MicroD’s Business Development Executive, Dana Helms.
In WithIt, the Mentoring Award honors a company or individual for their efforts to foster advocacy, development, and promotion of women in their company and the industry.
To celebrate Dana’s nomination, we asked some of the team at MicroD how they’ve experienced working with Dana over the years.
Here’s what they had to say…
I’ve admired Dana and aspired to be as powerful a voice for women since the start of my tenure at MicroD. As a novice in the industry, I can always count on Dana’s advice. She has always unabashedly lead the way for young women such as myself to advance in a male-dominated role. For that, and many other things, I will be forever grateful.
– Ana Gross
I’ve worked with Dana now for 3 1/2 years. Dana’s ability to address an issue head on and help find a solution for the client made her one of the leaders of the Client Support team. Over the past few years, Dana has used her entrepreneurial savvy to work with our manufacturing clients and industry partners. If you ever need an introduction to an individual, group, or company, there’s a pretty good chance Dana has already worked with someone there directly. If she hasn’t, she’s usually just one contact removed from a direct relationship. When I go to Market, I work the booth in the retail resource center; however, when Dana goes to Market, she literally works the entire Market due to her incredibly large network and connections.
– Demian Pearce
What can I say about Dana Helms that she hasn’t already told you in person or on social media? She’s a Jersey girl with the Jersey flare and the southern gift of gab. Dana packs a big personality in that small, stylish frame and has a laugh that’s undeniably hers. She is a professional, a mom, a friend, a sister, a wife and above all, a goal-seeker, setter, and achiever. Over the many years I’ve known and worked with Dana, I can say she is the real deal. She sets the bar high and aims to beat even her own expectations, even if that means enduring a few sleepless nights – maybe that’s why she’s a coffee addict? Dana is always ready to lend a hand, give advice, empathize or hit you with some truths when you need it. She is that special friend and co-worker that you feel lucky to find. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Dana yet, bring her a cup of coffee and you’ll be off to a great start!
– Hayley Leocha
[on describing Dana…] a couple words come to mind but first and foremost is passion. Dana wears her emotions on her sleeve in the best way. No matter what adventure, be it working at MicroD, at home with her family, or out helping others, Dana takes pride in everything she does. It is for that and other reasons why I enjoy working with Dana. Business leaders often use an unusual analogy to talk about the measure of how much you respect and enjoy working with someone. Would you wanna be in a foxhole with this person—be in a stressful situation—is this someone you could depend on and trust? And my answer would be: I’d be lucky to be in a foxhole with Dana anyday. Dana is always the first to try a new tactic we teach at MicroD. She’s the first one to try it, impelement it, and work on improving it. I love the passion and dedication she brings to the table. There’s a ribbon of steel in Dana Helms and, as her supervisor, I’m really glad she’s on my team.
– Dan Reinbold
Dana is a very open minded and a progressive thinker. She not only exceeded our expectations, she also managed to mentor many. Dana has worked with me very closely for several years and has been in many different roles in our company. She pioneered social media strategy not only at MicroD, but also with other organizations like WithIt. She has facilitated and presented several webinars and seminars for Social Media. Dana is one of the biggest advocates of working in Home Furnishing industry to the younger generation and women.
-Mona Nigam
Congratulations to all the nominees for this year’s WOW Awards and to Dana Helms! We’re proud to have you as part of the MicroD family.
The WOW awards dinner will be held Friday, April 21, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. in the IHFC International Ballroom. Tickets can be purchased at www.withit.org.