Moree's Kylie Heffernan has been given a big thumbs up for going above and beyond in her role as assistant store manager at Woolworths.
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Not only is Ms Heffernan a friendly face at Woolworths, she is often seen at community events handing out bottles of water or donating fresh fruit and vegetables. It is this community support that has seen her awarded the Moree Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Customer Service Appreciation Award for May.
Ms Heffernan has been a fixture at Woolworths Moree since the store opened its doors in November 1999, and over the past 20 years has enjoyed engaging with customers and getting to know a large portion of the Moree community.
"The local Moree team are just the best bunch of people to work with and l consider them as friends, everyone is always there to help and support me no matter what and l would not be able to do my job without them," she said of her love for her job.
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Ms Heffernan was nominated for the Thumbs Up Thumbs Down award by Moree Secondary College's Senior Leader for Community Engagement, Janine French, who said she is always willing to help.
"I have worked with Kylie from a school level when she assisted and kindly organised for the donation of groceries for events such as Sista Speak, the community pop-up barbecue and MSC Reconciliation Cook-of," Ms French said.
"She came to the cook-off on her day off and checked to see if everything was okay and if there was any more help we needed. She's also willing to help the kids and great causes, which makes my job much easier.
"Kylie never walks past without saying hello and having a conversation. When my cousin passed away through a motorbike accident recently and I bought his wife (who both previously did some security for Woolies) to get some groceries, Kylie kindly arranged for them to be donated and offered fruit and water for the wake after the funeral."
Not a Facebook user, Ms Heffernan was initially unaware of her nomination and when told she had won, she was shocked.
"I am very humbled by the recognition and did not expect it," she said.
"I would like to thank Janine for her thoughtfulness; Janine is someone l have only gotten to know in the last couple of months and it has been a pleasure.
"Janine herself is an exceptional person and l am glad that l have been able to get to see first-hand what Janine does in her role and also for the Indigenous and wider community. Janine herself could quite easily win this award no worries. Hopefully in future Janine, myself and the team at Woolworths can continue to work together."
Ms Heffernan thanked all who took the time to vote for her, especially those who wrote "some very kind words".
"Everybody has day-to-day struggles, so it's so easy in my role to make someone's day and set a good example for the team l work with," she said.
"It could be as simple as a hello as we walk past a customer or getting a team member to push a customer's trolley out to their car; it's surprising how something so little can make someone's day and mean the so much to them."
Voting for the June 2019 award is now open and closes at 12pm on Sunday, June 30.