Meet Laurie Sutton
At Fervor, Laurie is: our Executive Assistant. She makes sure all aspects of the business are running smoothly. Scheduling, accounting, operational questions, project software assistance, hospitality: Laurie has it handled.
“Primarily, my job is to do any and all things to assist the organization,” Laurie sums up. Currently, Laurie is holding down the office in-person a couple days a week, and otherwise keeping the team on pace remotely.
Before Fervor: Laurie has had several different career incarnations. She began in commercial banking, which makes her a good fit for Fervor’s accounting needs. “That feels completely comfortable to me,” Laurie says. “It’s like a old friend.” She also spent six years as the executive director for Hillcrest Hope, a nonprofit that serves the homeless in Liberty, Missouri.
She knew she wanted to make a career change and stepped down early in 2020. Then the pandemic handed her an unexpected opportunity to take some time to assess what she wanted in her next position. “I wanted a job where the people I worked with were kind and respectful of one another,” Laurie says. “I wanted to continue to do meaningful work, while having fun at the same time.”
How We Got Her: While she was leading the nonprofit, Hillcrest Hope had hired Fervor and worked with the team for several years. “I liked the work they did, and I liked them personally, as people!” Laurie says.
When she found out that Fervor was looking for an executive assistant, she thought it could be a good fit with her newly re-ordered job priorities. But she wasn’t sure Mike and Lori would take her application seriously after first knowing her as an executive director. When they asked if she was going to be content in a supportive role after spending years in leadership, Laurie laughed. “You have NO idea!” she told them.
“I am ready to take a back seat, but I still want my job to be purposeful,” Laurie says.
Not-So-Secret Superpower: Laurie is a gift-giving guru. “I like to give people stuff that surprises them and makes their day better,” she says.
She embraces the lost art of thank you notes and just-because cards. And she’s looking forward to being able to lean into her role’s hospitality duties when it’s safe for the staff to reconvene at the office. She’s already sent her coworkers a survey to investigate what little things might brighten up their work days.
“I like the idea of being able to do something fun for people if they are having a long week,” Laurie says. “I want to have their favorite snacks and drinks on hand. I want to know what hobbies they are into. I’m looking forward to being able to make them feel like this is a great place to work.”
Outside Fervor: Laurie loves spending time with her husband of 32 years, Jerry; their morkingnese puppy; and her two children and their families—especially playing trucks with her 4-year-old grandson. She’s a big fan of mystery novels and movies that end with a twist. She’s looking forward to being able to have close friends over for dinner again soon.
Digs Fervor because: they genuinely care about their clients. “It isn’t just something they say,” Laurie says, referring to her previous life as a Fervor client. “They get to know them and the nature of their work. They find out who they are and who they are serving. They really dig in. They care about how they are going to communicate their clients’ messages.”
Meet the rest of the Fervor team here.