2023 Gary D . Sawyer Award Winner
Valinda Krynicki is this year ’ s outstanding associate and winner of the Gary D . Sawyer Award . Valinda has worked for United Rentals for the past eight years as an outside sales representative . During this time , she has consistently attended meetings , willingly assisted with Chapter events and served on the Board of Directors of NUCA of North Florida . Valinda has also attended some NUCA of Florida events and meetings since joining United Rentals .
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors since 2021 , Valinda has also been involved with the Chapter Membership Committee for the past three years , including serving as Co-Chair . Valinda ’ s “ can do ” attitude along with her “ roll up the sleeves ” work ethic in volunteering at events earned her the NUCA of North Florida 2021 Outstanding Board Member recognition .
Kathy Blackman , Chapter Executive Director for NUCA of North Florida stated “ Valinda has worked for as long as I can remember at registration for our golf tournament ,
Weigh-in for our fishing tournament and at registration for our Clay shoot . She is always the first to ask at any meeting if help is needed .” To illustrate , last November when Kathy missed a meeting due to the upcoming birth of her grandson , Valinda didn ’ t hesitate to lend a hand by assisting with the minutes from the meeting and taking charge of placing all the signage for the event . The Chapter knew that things would run smoothly because Valinda would take care of it .
Additionally , Valinda has been an active member of the Chapter ’ s quarterly Safety Director ’ s Forum and served as the lead for the Chapter Trench Safety Stand Down for the last few years . Last year , she organized the kick-off event which was held at United Rentals Trench Safety and worked with the Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department to have the Trench Rescue crew attend and participate as guest speakers . She provided informative materials to the members and scheduled site visits to talk with crews . Keeping the momentum from last year , Valinda successfully planned this year ’ s Trench Safety Stand Down Kick-off event as well .
It is no surprise that Valinda has been a valuable asset to the Chapter Membership Committee , facilitating the recruitment of new members using her vast list of industry contacts . In addition , she has worked with the Chapter Next Man Up program teaching and hosting the Trench Safety Class . The class was so popular that they had to have two sessions .
With her exemplary dedication and service , it is easy to see why Valinda is the 2023 outstanding associate member , earning her the Gary D . Sawyer Award .
32 DITCHMEN • JULY 2023