June 2016 Associate of the Month

Congratulations to our June 2016 Associate of the Month – Kimberly Emch!

Kimberly (Kim for short) has worked for NVI since March 2015. She is the Graphics Specialist in the Marketing Department at the Retail Support Center.

Kim works with several departments, creating artwork for various projects, including but not limited to: store signs, direct mail pieces, billboards, print ads, fliers, banners and training materials for our associates.  She also updates existing marketing pieces so that they always have a “fresh” look.

Associate of the Month Nomination

Pam Bisikirski, Director of Marketing, nominated Kim to be Associate of the Month for her role in creating a new design and method when developing the Associate Awards book. This project isn’t in her job description, but Kim stepped up to help another team (as she has done in the past) to help various departments within the company.

Suzanne Whitehouse, Senior Marketing Specialist adds, “Kim works diligently to meet deadlines, many of which can be very tight deadlines. She is a valuable team member, who we all rely on to help create the visual aspects of our projects.”

Kim’s Background

NVI Associate Kim EmchKim is originally from Chicago, Illinois.  She attended a small liberal arts college in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. Kim tells us that at that time she had minimal computer skills and the Adobe world was still in its early stages. Her first job out of college was with a printer. She went onto work for a couple of ad agencies and then a corporate marketing department.

Life took a turn when Kim had her first child. She changed her career path and became a stay-at-home mom – a job that taught her some great multi-tasking skills! After 11 years at home with two sons, Kim transitioned back into the work force and picked up right where she left off.

Prior to starting at NVI, Kim worked at a Mercedes-Benz dealership doing graphics, social media, marketing and event planning. Kim shared with us how much fun she had at the dealership – from meeting famous people to driving really nice, expensive cars. She had a great time working there but was ready to get back into a role where she could spend the majority of her time doing graphic design work. That’s when she found NVI.

Working at NVI

When asked what she thinks of working at NVI, Kim said, “It has been a blast working here…more fun than driving a Mercedes…ok almost, but if I could do both, I would. (I own a Toyota…but one day!)”

On a more serious note, Kim added, “I am so fortunate to say that I love what I do because NVI has given me the opportunity to be creative, work with an amazing group of people and in the end, I feel like I’m a part of something big!”

More About Kim

NVI Associate Kim and Family at Desin BeachKim’s family motto is “work hard and play hard.” This is perfectly demonstrated with the fact that she and her family recently got back from a 2 week trip to Hawaii, where she had the opportunity to visit our Vision Center Hilo store.

Besides being the mom of two active teenage boys, Kim is also a wife to her husband Rick. She and Rick (who she describes as her complete opposite) recently celebrated 18 years of marriage! They have lived in the metro Atlanta area for over 12 years now and love it.

Besides her love of traveling, Kim likes to play tennis. She’s a “foodie” and contributes her spare time as part of a production team at her church, #forgwinnett.

Although Kim is humble about being selected as Associate of the Month, she’s glad that she can contribute her creative skills to almost every department at NVI, including helping our CEO Reade Fahs.

Congratulations Kim!  We are so happy to have you as part of our team!

Jessica Altamirano

Jessica Altamirano

Communications Specialist at National Vision
Jessica Altamirano is a proud Veteran spouse who has worked for NVI since 2014. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. Jessica is passionate about corporate-nonprofit partnerships, philanthropic efforts in developing countries, Veteran recruitment, and creating a culture of health and wellness in the workplace.
Jessica Altamirano