Our Service 1st culture: Recognizing those who go above and beyond

Named after our firm’s founder, the Robert A. James Award of Service Excellence program recognizes associates who embody our Service 1st culture and live our core values of putting clients first, acting with integrity, thinking long term and valuing independence.

Congratulations to the following associates and teams who were recently recognized for their exemplary service in the third and fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Abel Chavez | Registered Client Service Associate | Reston, VA

When financial advisor Greg Smith’s client called him out of the blue, he was shocked. It had slipped the client’s mind that she needed funds wired for the closing on a home purchase the next day. The time was 4:52 p.m. Greg asked Abel to perform a miracle.  Juggling multiple phones in multiple ears, working under intense pressure and time constraints, Abel conferred with the team's trader, the wiring department, the approving manager, the client and Greg, as Greg watched the clock tick and the window closing rapidly for getting funds wired out. 

What the client will never know was how graceful Abel Chavez was under pressure. Abel made best and full use of his phone demeanor, contacts at the firm, sense of time and purpose, all while exuding peace and stability. Abel was grace under pressure. The funds went out and the client was able to close on the purchase of her house.

Abel made magic that day and saw it through, staying well past closing to ensure the client got what she needed. Greg informed the branch manager of Abel's heroics that afternoon and Abel's response was an incredibly humble "just doing my job” – though it was well beyond that.

Ted Johnson | Transitions Consultant | St. Petersburg, FL

Ted has become a true leader and exemplar of Raymond James' core values. He has taken the initiative on multiple occasions, assisting other transition consultants with their transitions. No matter how busy he may be, he will take time out of his day to assist another teammate to problem-solve an issue with their transition. 

Whenever multiple issues arise, Ted has never backed down or withdrew despite facing many unique and challenging factors. During one transition in particular, he worked throughout the holiday weekend to ensure all accounts and associates transferred appropriately. He held multiple last-minute conference calls over the weekend with partners and home office associates from various departments to identify and solve several critical issues. In the end, the transition was successful, with the advisors and their clients benefiting significantly.

Shereen McCall | Manager, Associate Communications | St. Petersburg, FL

Having served as the Corporate Communications partner for the Workday implementation, Shereen (pictured here with Paul Reilly and Tom James) worked with the team on the project for almost two years, learning with them and helping them think about change management communications. Over several months, Shereen stepped up to take the lead in a way that was very impressive. It was a huge help to have her leading conversations and deliverables so that those on the project could focus on the strategy and other areas of change management. 

A particular call-out is when the project lead was unexpectedly out for an extended period – at a time in the project where there were still many decisions to make and key deliverables on the line. Shereen stepped up, taking it upon herself to draft deliverables, take over the project planning and keep the remaining team moving with communications. She partnered with the team’s outside marketing agency and others within marketing and HR to create a highly collaborative outcome that garnered some very positive feedback.