“Golden Hammer” awards bring (even more) fun to MDS job sites

“Skill at performing tasks is secondary to the Christian values of humbly serving as the hands and feet of Jesus.” That’s how Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Project Director Rex Graham described why “Golden Hammer” award recipients were chosen each day at the West Asheville, N.C., Summer Youth Program. Graham came up with this “celebratory, fun, daily evening event” on his first mission as project director and has employed it ever since.

MDS volunteers holding Golden Hammer awards in West Asheville, NC

At the end of each day, volunteers in West Asheville gathered after supper to debrief about their day. Graham had the bright idea to make this time a little more exciting by introducing a “Golden Hammer” award to “a volunteer who exemplified a willingness to learn, an eagerness to cheerfully perform any task, and a spirit of collaboration with other team members.”

Graham described how the Golden Hammers were created: “In the beginning, I just grabbed three well-used hammers from the tool trailer. However, these presentations have taken on joyful daily significance. So at the start of each monthly mission, I transform four ordinary hammers with gold spray paint. Some recipients expected to take their Golden Hammers home, but we explain that the Golden Hammers are so incredibly valuable we need to reuse them in order to save money.”

“My main goal with the Golden Hammers is to help ensure that the after-supper crew reports continue to be as fun as they are meaningful,” said Graham. This time each day at MDS projects is a great time for reflection, recentering, and reconnecting after a hard day’s work.

MDS volunteers holding Golden Hammer awards in West Asheville, NC

Graham noted: “To me, the Golden Hammer awards remind me of Kevin King’s ‘Theology of the Hammer’ reflections in his columns, and in MDS’s “Behind the Hammer” magazine.”

The Golden Hammer awards are new to most leadership volunteers. So, in addition to going over the plan for the week during the Sunday leadership volunteer meeting, Graham explains the Golden Hammer awards:

“This is how it works:

On the big whiteboard, the daily schedule has a placeholder for “daily reports.” (No mention of awards.)

On Monday, we go around, giving the opportunity for every person to describe what they did that day. (This gives even the quiet ones a chance to speak.) At the end of the round-robin each crew leader (surprise!) announces their Golden Hammer winner or winners for the day.

Tuesday evening, everybody is typically asked to note one “challenge” they faced that day, and how they handled it. We conclude that round-table with each crew leader announcing their Golden Hammer winner.

On Wednesday and Thursday, each crew leader notes everything their team did that day, ending with naming their GH winner or winners. (It never gets old. The Golden Hammers are a daily high point.)

On Friday, we reverse roles: Friday morning, I ask a pair of Golden Hammer winners on each team to think about who they want to pick as Friday night’s winner. In most cases, these volunteers recognize their crew leaders with heartfelt appreciation and gratitude. Also on Friday, the office manager names a Golden Hammer winner, which is almost always the cooks.

MDS volunteers holding Golden Hammer awards in West Asheville, NC

A head cook, on one Friday, asked to present a spray painted “Golden Spoon” award to her very deserving assistant cook. So the tradition is evolving.

I remember one particular Monday Golden Hammer winner. She is a very short, slight, quiet, young, Old-Order girl. Her crew leader recognized how eagerly she wanted to learn how to use tools she had never used before in her life. This girl quickly learned how to use those tools expertly and with precision. We all cheered and gave her a huge round of applause. But actually, every recipient gets a huge ovation – that’s part of the tradition.

As Project Director, I try to visit the worksite every day if possible. Occasionally, I hear volunteers lightheartedly kidding each other: “Oh, yeah, you’re just trying to get a Golden Hammer.” Everybody laughs.

But aside from the fun, the crew leaders’ stated rationale for each Golden Hammer presentation mentions teamwork, or visiting compassionately with a homeowner, or learning a new skill, or never complaining, as well as many other admirable qualities. By the end of the week, the Golden Hammer awards have contributed to fostering that well-known MDS spirit of comaraderie, compassion, and Christian service. At every MDS project, this spirit is organic – it just happens. Golden Hammers help give that spirit a little celebratory, playful boost.”

MDS volunteers holding Golden Hammer awards in West Asheville, NC

By  Rex Graham and Carson Kennedy