Merchants Names 2022 Shining Star & Runners-up
December 20, 2022
Merchants Bonding Company is proud to announce the recipient and runners-up of the 2022 Shining Star award. This is one of Merchants’ most important awards, recognizing associates who make extraordinary contributions to their community through their volunteer efforts. This year, Merchants is honored to present Commercial Assistant Eugenia DeMello with the 2022 Shining Star Award.
Eugenia dedicates her time to numerous organizations around the metro including Dress for Success Des Moines, Easterseals Iowa, Iowa International Center, and most recently Iowans for Ukrainians. They are a completely, volunteer based organization that distributes 100% of their proceeds to Ukraine for various projects. Eugenia puts great effort and time into organizing events to help raise money for the nonprofit. She serves as a board member, assisted in organizing a bake sale in May and also executed the Sunflower Gala in October, which raised more than $20,000 for the organization.
Eugenia’s involvement with Easterseals Iowa is very personal, as her daughter has attended their summer camp for the past eight years. Eugenia supports Easterseals in many ways from organizing a team for their Fall Fest and Walk to hosting a fundraising event at Kendra Scott, selling a necklace she designed.
Runners-Up
Merchants is also honored to recognize Bookkeeper Kim Phillips and Human Resource Generalist Jarvis Williams as 2022 Shining Star runners-up.
Kim was nominated for her outstanding work as the co-chair of Merchants’ Community Outreach Council (COC) along with her other volunteer efforts. She has been instrumental in exceeding goals set by the COC over the past two years. Always the first person to step up, Kim cooked food for office fundraising luncheons, attended multiple volunteer opportunities offered throughout the year, and managed the raffle to raise money for Merchants’ focus charity, Hawthorn Hill. Of the many hours Kim dedicates to the COC, most of them occur after she has completed her work day. Kim also dedicates her time and talents to South Union Elementary and Hope Ministries.
Jarvis was nominated for his commitments to various organizations around the Des Moines metro area. He serves as a role model to many through his involvement at Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa and the Great Future Society. His previous participation in Can Play, and their annual Game for Good, provided individuals from all walks of life the opportunity to be a part of adaptive recreation-based programs. Jarvis is also a member of several committees at Merchants such as the COC; the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee; and the Events Subcommittee.
To honor each individual, the Merchants Foundation has made a donation in their name to a charity of their choice. Iowans for Ukrainians will receive $2,000 on behalf of Eugenia, The Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa will receive $500 on behalf of Jarvis and Everybody Wins -Iowa and South Union Elementary will each receive $250 on behalf of Kim. Congratulations to the Shining Star award winner and runners-up. Merchants values and appreciates your hard work, dedication, and spirit of giving.