Reminder sales rep Sharon Kirkup’s hustle has earned her a major award and a sunny spot on a Mexican beach.
Kirkup was awarded as the top sales representative in 2019 for Prairie Newspaper Group (PNG), a subsidiary of Glacier Media and the parent company of The Reminder. The honour means Kirkup also joins the 2019 President’s Club for Glacier Media.
More tangibly, Kirkup will receive a trip to Mexico, paid for by the company, for her outstanding work in advertising and sales.
“I broke down in happiness - happy tears,” Kirkup said.
“I was told at home and had a three-way call with (publisher) Nancy Johnson and (Glacier Media community media president) Peter Kvarnstrom at home. (My husband) Murray was there and they told me.”
Kirkup joined The Reminder staff in 2017 as the paper’s full-time advertising and sales rep.
Kirkup monitored monthly sales reports, hoping to see her name at the top of the list.
“This year, I was in the top five for a lot of the year - then, in September, I hit first place, stayed there in October and November. Then I was beyond excited because I thought ‘Hey, I can do this,’” she said.
“I’ve been in other sales positions over the years, not here, and I’ve had chances to win trips and got my hopes built up and then dashed. I didn’t want that to happen again. I was trying to stay focused, knowing it could be somebody else too because there’s all sorts of opportunities for the other people who were in the running.”
Kirkup will be heading to the El Dorado Casitas Royale resort near Cancun for a week this April. It will be the first time Kirkup has done any major international travel.
“I haven’t been anywhere out of Canada or the U.S. We’re applying for passports and getting on that right away. The flights and everything are even from Flin Flon, which is a cool extra for us,” she said.
Kirkup thanked her coworkers, the community and her family for her good fortune and for the vacation. She hopes to finish on top again next year.
“It would certainly be exciting. Not to be greedy, but I guess I could just keep aiming for the stars and see what happens,” she said.
“I honestly do have an amazing team at The Reminder - I’m not just saying that. I feel that we all work very well together. The whole paper is a team effort. The community in Flin Flon, despite what some people say, I feel we have an awesome community here and awesome businesses. I love my job.”
