Inspiritor Category

Nominator
Name: Regina Maddox
Company: Next Generation Manufacturing
Nominee
Name: Susan O’Dwyer
Title: Director of Business Development
Organization: Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP

Give up to three examples of how this person demonstrates Integrity:

Susan O’Dwyer is the epitome of the word “Inspiritor.” As Director of Business

Development at Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, and an avid connector, Susan has built a
strong network in the Atlanta community and continually demonstrates the
characteristics of the Turknett Leadership Character Model™. From the integrity she
shows through her day-to-day interactions with others, to the respect and loyalty she
shows to her clients and the responsibility she demonstrates in her professional, social
and community lives, Susan O’Dwyer is an extraordinary nominee for the Turknett
Leadership Character Awards.

One of the characteristics that Susan is most admired for at HA&W, and within the
entire Atlanta business community, is her follow-up. It isn’t uncommon for Susan to
stay at the office until 10 p.m. going through her business cards and notes she’s taken
to ensure that she follows up on all of her commitments; commitments that are
typically making a connection of some kind. The most admirable part is that almost
none of the connections she makes benefit Susan directly, however she commits
herself to this type of follow through simply because she promised she would do so.

Give up to three examples of how this person demonstrates Respect:

Susan commands respect because she measures success with achievements and is an
excellent judge of character. She exhibits humility in every aspect of her professional
life and is quick to defer to subject matter experts when a client or prospect’s question
falls out of her sphere of knowledge. Moreover, Susan’s emotional mastery is
exemplary and she is excellent at de-fusing tense situations with self-deprecating humor
and many HA&W partners will tell you that they’ve seen her dissipate a number of
potential conflicts with this tool. When an issue arises within the firm it is obviously
that Susan’s loyalties lie clearly with the firm and the individual partners, rather than
to herself.

Susan has the uncanny skill to make her job look easy when we all know that it isn’t.
Leading the business development initiatives of a $50 million accounting firm is hard
work, yet Susan’s demeanor and poise are always smooth, regardless of the situation,
and she chooses her words carefully so as to convey a point, without diminishing
anyone in the process. These qualities contribute to how she exhibits respect for others
at all times, even in times of disagreement.

For example, at one time an HA&W partner was pressing Susan to push a friend, and
client, for additional work for the firm. Susan stood up to what had become a very
high pressure situation and took a stand to protect the client and the relationship she
had built; and she was willing to put her job on the line to do so. Yet in doing this,
Susan exhibited great respect for her client and the relationship they had built through
the years.

Give up to three examples of how this person demonstrates

Responsibility:

One of the greatest joys of working with Susan is the way that she conducts herself.
She knows who she is and who she isn’t and she is very comfortable in her own skin.
She holds herself to a higher standard than she holds others and her loyalties are to
groups more than individuals.

More than professional responsibilities, Susan is dedicated to social and community

responsibility and taking care of those who are less fortunate. For more than five years
Susan has solely taken on the responsibilities and challenges of creating, growing and
maintaining a cause-oriented networking group for women called “Friends of Susan.”
Susan created this group that brings many of the best and brightest women in the state
together because she feels a responsibility to build community around herself.
Additionally, Susan, along with her son Jim, felt a deep responsibility to help the
victims of the April 27, 2011 tornado that devasted Tuscaloosa, Alabama by creating a
nonprofit called Magnolia Disaster Relief and the family collected and delivered
thousands of donations to those in need.

Please relate an incident or tell a story that shows how this person
demonstrates Leadership Character. Examples may include
professional or community involvement:

We all remember the devastating tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama on
April 27, 2012. At the time Susan’s 19-year-old son, Jim, was finishing up his freshman
year at the University of Alabama and the family felt a deep responsibility to help out
the city of Tuscaloosa and the small towns surrounding it. Together the family started
Magnolia Disaster Relief, a nonprofit that helps small towns that are affected by
tornadoes but don’t receive the media attention or help from national organizations
that they need.

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The family used Susan’s strong network and social media to encourage others to
donate goods and materials to those families whose lives had been devastated and
destroyed by the events of that horrific day. Within hours donations were being
brought to the O’Dwyer household, so many, that Susan and her family had to make
daily trips, packed to the brim, to deliver the donations. The donations increased so
much, so quickly that Susan and her family ran out of room in their home and had to
coordinate with an owner of an 18-wheeler and the Home Depot in Alpharetta,
Georgia to create a donation drop spot. In the days following the disaster, Magnolia
Disaster Relief distributed enough donations to fill four 18-wheelers, six 26’ box trucks,
10 cargo vans and dozens of SUVs loaded with supplies.

During this time Susan sought no publicity, and no credit. She merely saw that she had
the power to help by virtue of channeling the energy of her network and social circles
and focusing it on concentrating resources. Susan had the courage to do all of this---
from interacting with strangers and allowing them to visit her home with supplies, to
bringing vital supplies into dangerous and destroyed neighborhoods, to running a
relief organization, an area in which she had no prior experience.

Susan’s ability to lead, coupled with her high morals and integrity, respect for others
and dedication to social and community responsibility, make Susan an ideal candidate
for this award. Her spirit to inspire and motivate others is unparalleled.

Are you aware of any ongoing investigations of business practices by

any law enforcement agency involving the nominee or the nominee's
company?

No