Integrity And Perfection

Everybody wants to know where the money is, and Sondra Sutton keeps track of every penny. Meet PEI's figure whiz, the woman behind the financials at the Petroleum Equipment Institute.

For most professionals, attaining perfection in the workplace is an ideal, a fantasy or a plain impossibility. For Sondra Sutton, it's a mark to strive for every single day. As the resident accountant at PEI headquarters, Sondra handles all the money that passes through the institute, and she doesn't want to misplace one cent. When asked what she aspires to accomplish with her work, Sondra answers without a moment's hesitation, “Perfection.”

With a wide range of duties, Sondra has plenty of chances to prove herself. In addition to doing payroll, keeping track of membership dues and handling orders for Recommended Practices documents, she registers members for the annual convention and—why not—decorates the office in her spare time. Of all her responsibilities, Sondra's least favorite part of her job at PEI is working on the yearly audit. “The audit requires pulling lots of documents, and remembering why things happened the way they did. It's a big test,” she says.

Sondra joined PEI in 1991 after answering an ad in the newspaper. She and her husband Gary had been operating a route for JT's General Store, a door-to-door grocery service, and Sondra was keeping the books while running her own daycare on the side. At times, collecting payments from individual customers was a difficult task. “I needed to get them to pay, or we couldn't deliver,” she says.

When things aren't so easy, Sondra turns to her faith for support. She says that religion is most important to her, followed by her family and her job, and hopes that colleagues and friends think of her as “a good Christian” who lives by values like unselfishness and honesty. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that Sondra's biggest frustration is people who don't stand by their word. “They say they're going to do something, and then they don't,” she says. “Not being able to trust people is a big pet peeve of mine.”

One of her passions is gardening. Ever since she used to help out in her mother's garden, Sondra has had a green thumb and a soft spot for flowers. Her favorite bloom is the rose—no fewer than 17 rosebushes decorate her yard, most of them presents from her two daughters, Carmen, 26, and Keali, 22.

Those who know Sondra may not know that one of her aspirations is to own a wedding chapel. Inspired by her daughter's nuptials—which she helped arrange—Sondra hopes to one day provide others with a venue for their special occasions. “A lot of people don't want to get married in a church, or they don't have a church,” she says. “They just want to have a beautiful setting. This would be like a chapel in the woods.” Of course, she would surround her chapel with gardens and flowers, and host other events besides weddings, like showers and teas. “Income will come from different avenues,” she says, noting the increasing popularity of chapel settings.

Sondra is no stranger to beautiful locations. She and Gary have twice traveled to Italy to visit their daughters, who were living in Florence through a collegiate study abroad program. All roads lead to Rome, as the saying goes, but Sondra's favorite area was Manarola, a coastal region of Cinque Terra. “The Italian lemon ice made fresh there is fabulous,” she says.

At the end of the day, nobody is perfect, but PEI members can bet that Sondra Sutton is doing her best to come close. “I enjoy the people I work with, and I love PEI,” she says. Who could ask for anything more?

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The PEI Journal • Fourth Quarter 2007 • Volume 1, No. 4 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.