Tony Kendrick has a can-do attitude

Tony Kendrick, our operations manager, is today’s #PEOEISTeammateTuesday. An Army veteran with an upbeat personality, Kendrick meets every request and challenge with a can-do attitude. In addition to managing contracts and making the PEO EIS headquarters building hum like a well-oiled machine, Kendrick and his team are responsible for organizing Org Day, an amazing event that the PEO EIS workforce and their families enjoy every year. A native of Augusta, Georgia, Kendrick is an extremely hard worker. To relax, Kendrick enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, playing golf and watching movies. He answered 10 questions about his career and life.  

How has your Army service helped you succeed in your civilian career?
The Army has a hard-work mentality. You have to be very disciplined. You have to get your body right. In basic training, you learn that you can do things you never thought you could. I never thought I could run 10 miles, but I did. You also learn to get your mind right. The Army helped me understand that there are no limits to what is possible. When people ask me if something is possible, my answer is never, “No.”

The Army also gives you a network of people you can tap into to figure out how to get things done.

What did your team do to combat COVID-19?
In February, we anticipated that we would need more cleaning supplies and ordered a large volume of sanitizer, Clorox wipes and masks. In March, we activated a separate cleaning team that sanitizes our facilities every day.

Who is your hero?
My dad taught me by example. He had a full-time job maintaining heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems for the Board of Education in Richmond County, Georgia. He also operated his own business repairing air-conditioning systems. When I was 10-years-old, I started helping his business. My dad would finish his full-time job at 3:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., we would start repairing air-conditioning systems in homes and apartments. We would get home at about 11 p.m. and eat a meal prepared by my mom. Every night before my dad went to bed, he washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. He never left a dish in the sink for mom to clean up the next morning.

What was the hardest decision you had to make?
Deciding not to re-enlist in the Army so I could live with my family was a difficult decision. I served four years in the Army while my wife was in the Navy. When my wife was pregnant with our son, she had to be on complete bed rest for the last six months of her pregnancy. I was re-deployed so I was able to care for her during those six months.

I wanted to be a Soldier, but I also wanted a family and child. I had everything I wanted. When it came time for me to decide whether to re-enlist in the Army, my son was born. I decided to give up my career in the military because my wife and I weren’t ever going to be stationed together.

Because I had fixed air conditioners and done other things in the military, I believed I could get a job anywhere. When my wife served in the Navy in Japan, I was a security guard, forklift operator and butcher. When my wife attended Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., I became a hand receipt manager for the federal government. When we moved to Virginia, I started working at Fort Belvoir.

Describe the PEO EIS culture.
PEO EIS has great leaders and smart people. When I started working for PEO EIS, I reported to Spencer Hudson. He was a really great man. So was Kevin Carroll, the PEO at that time. They were both extremely nice people who required the best of you. You never wanted to let them down when they had to go into a meeting unprepared because of something that you didn't do. It made you really want to work even harder because you knew that they always had your back.

Spencer Hudson and Kevin Carroll knew the names of my spouse and children. Kevin Carroll was a busy man and my talks with him could be months apart. But when he saw me, he would ask about my kids and remember where our last conversation left off.

Why have you been so successful in your career?
At PEO EIS, I have had excellent mentors, including Reginald Bagby, Spencer Hudson, Lawrence Silas, E.J. Wasikowski and Ken Wojcik.  

I also have a phenomenal team. We support each other and are successful because everyone is so different. Because everyone attacks challenges in such different ways, we can solve a problem by analyzing it from several perspectives. We don't just take one person's idea and run with it. Diane Yeazitzis and I will analyze plans for hours before implementing them. I trust everyone on my team. They are the best at what they do and have a great rapport with the workforce.

Kim Byers and my team have done an outstanding job managing the 1456 facility. She took over that responsibility after Irving Newell, my long-time colleague and good friend, passed.

What does a good leader do?
A good leader trusts their staff and doesn’t micromanage. If you have to micromanage, you have the wrong team.

What has your team done to save costs and make the organization more efficient?
To streamline contracting and operations, we developed a services contract that enables us to procure furniture-reconfiguration, carpet-cleaning, painting, and minor-repair services on short notice.

We also created a mini supply room in the headquarters building where people can come and touch the items they want to use. We know everyone has different tastes in notebooks and pens, but we don’t order for individuals. If a group of people like a unique item, we may order it. The mini supply room is more efficient. If you need a frame for a change of charter, you don’t have to order it and can get it right away. We bulk order supplies so we never run out of paper or toner cartridges.

What is the best advice you received?
When I was young, my dad said, “Be home by 11 p.m.” He wanted to keep me grounded and focused. There is a time for everything, but there is a time when all good things should come to an end. You will live to see another day tomorrow.

What advice do you have for companies interested in working for PEO EIS?
Deliver. Say what you can do and do what you say.