Melissa’s Why

As a purpose driven company, we make time to dig deep into our WHY.  Recently, Melissa, our Operations Manager, shared her WHY with our team.  It gave us all the good feels, so we thought we’d share it with you. This is what it’s all about, folks:

My grandma, who has been gone for 3 years, was the rock of our family.  My entire life was spent living beside her – being her shadow when I was a kid and taking care of her as an adult.  One day back in the early 2000s, I got a call from a neighbor up the road who told me they could see smoke coming from my grandma’s house.  I jumped up and raced over. Never had I moved so fast in my life. As smoke was filling her home, she was trying to go back in and save anything she could.  With concerned neighbors lining up the road and firemen arriving on the scene, she was still hell-bent on going back in to get anything she could grab. It took my friend and me both to drag her out of the house, which was completely filled with smoke by this time.  She was so distraught. She was inconsolable. I sat with her as we both cried and watched in disbelief. One room she was trying to get into, a storage room connected to the house under the carport, was where the fire originated. As we sat there watching, a fireman opened the door to this room and flames completely engulfed him.  I was in complete shock of what I just saw, knowing that could have very easily been my grandma. These images and smells and feelings are something I’ll never forget. When the fire was put out and neighbors left the scene, we didn’t know what to do. In fact, I don’t have much recollection of anything that happened in the months following the fire, other than my grandma speaking so highly of the man and company who came to help get her life back in order.  That man was Katie’s dad and the company was PHC.

For years after the fire, my grandma referenced Mr. Sherman over and over.  She was so grateful for him and what his company was able to do. I will never forget the look in her eyes as she would tell folks about the fire and what PHC did for her.  When I was given the opportunity to work here, I absolutely jumped on it because I knew firsthand what the company stood for, the values it possessed, the quality and care of the work they put out, and the compassion it showed to its customers.  That opportunity came to me in June of 2014, just 9 months before my grandma passed away. When I got the job, I couldn’t wait to tell her. Even though her mind was slipping and she was nearing the end of her journey, she was so delighted and happy that I had paired up with such an amazing group of people.  She would say to me countless times, “You work for Mr. Sherman” to which I’d proudly say, “That’s right, grandma.”

Having the chance to help others who have gone through similar circumstances as my grandma and our family is my why.  To have a servant’s heart and want to do good and show people the good in the world is my why. To be a glimmer of hope in the middle of a storm is my why.  To work alongside good, genuine people who also embody “my why” is my why. Life is hard and it can be cruel if you let it. We get the opportunity to take something tragic and turn it into something beautiful.  Being a part of that, no matter how large or small, is my why.