ROCHELLE –– Cedar Siding, Inc. a wholesale distributor of factory finished siding and decking products held their annual summer picnic and awards ceremony.  Cedar Siding recognized four employees for five years of service, one employee for 10 years of service, three employees for 15 years of service and one employee for 25 years of service.  The ceremony was highlighted by the announcement of the winner of the third annual James T. Melvin Spirit Award.
James (Jim) Melvin was the plant manager of Cedar Siding, Inc. and was employed for more than 25 years before he passed away in April 2015. The owner and management team came up with this award as a way of honoring their longtime friend and co-worker.  Each year they want to recognize an employee who exhibited the finest character traits that Melvin was known for.  
Someone who brought joy to his co-workers day in and day out and also to recognize that special individual such as these are truly extraordinary in today’s business world.

Employees were able to nominate fellow employees for the award. The nominees were evaluated by a three-judge panel based on the following criteria: strong work ethic, trustworthiness, dependability, sense of humor, accountability and leadership.
Twelve employees were honored by being nominated for this prestigious award, but only one could win it.
This year’s winner was Jason Walker.  
“I am both proud and honored to receive this award. Jim was a good friend and mentor to me over the years.  He taught me many lessons in my life that have made me better not only as a person, but also as a professional,” Walker said. “I’m very humbled to receive this award in memory of Jim and wish he were here to personally thank him for all he has done for me.”  
Walker has been with Cedar Siding, Inc. for 18 years and carries dual responsibilities as the company’s Network Systems Administrator and Quality Control Manager.