Perseverance on I-95: Job of the Quarter

1/15/2022 (Permalink)

Many may have abandoned the thought of going through with a job once the traffic finally began moving, but Sulma and her crew persevered.

The new year started off with business as usual, with our crews traveling to help those in need. However, things came to a screeching halt, and a 24 hour halt at that, for one of our own SERVPRO Team Wall crews, who got stuck on Interstate 95 while traveling between two jobs in Virginia. The shutdown on I-95, caused by the intense winter storm that impacted Virginia on Monday, January 3rd and trapped thousands of motorists in their vehicles overnight and well into Tuesday evening, made national news. While this event, for us in Harrisburg, seems distant, its effect on our SERVPRO team members, Sulma, Mauricio, Jefferson, Karen, and Karla, illustrates the tremendous reach of the calamity. 

Our “Job of the Quarter” award aims to recognize outstanding efforts made to facilitate one job each quarter. This quarter, the “Job of the Quarter” title doesn’t go to any one job, but rather, the efforts made by Sulma and her team in the aftermath of the 24 hours that they spent on I-95. Many may have abandoned the thought of going through with a job once the traffic finally began moving around 5 PM on that Tuesday night, but Sulma and her team persevered and made a decision that made their efforts worthy of our “Job of the Quarter” title.

On Monday, January 3rd, Sulma and her crew completed a COVID-19 cleaning in Sterling, Virginia and hit the road around 4 PM to travel to Norfolk, Virginia for a second job, which was scheduled for that same evening. Because of the I-95 shutdown, they didn’t reach Norfolk that night, stuck in a surely uncomfortable and cold environment for the length of a full day.  Wanting to head home as soon as traffic was able to move again is completely understandable in such a circumstance, but Sulma and her crew decided to head for Norfolk and provide our customers with the help that they trusted SERVPRO Team Wall to provide.

We simply cannot thank Sulma, Mauricio, Jefferson, Karen, and Karla for their commitment to their work, as well as their exemplary persistence and hustle in the face of the unimaginable challenges that they faced along the way.