Salute to the “Fab Four” Grant Sisters
SIGMA has always considered ourselves a family-friendly company, but the Grants truly take this to a new level. The four Grant sisters, Donna Jones, Lori Grant-Peters, Kathy Searles, and Becky Matthews have worked at SIGMA for a combined 113 years, and many consider them the glue that holds the company together.
Kathy was the first to join SIGMA in 1991 as a receptionist, but soon moved to OEM International and finally OEM-USA, where she currently serves as Business Development Manager. Through diligence and professionalism, Kathy has risen through the ranks into this leadership position. In her current role, she supervises OEM staff while working with customers and suppliers to ensure that SIGMA OEM products are delivered on spec, on schedule, and on budget. Executive Vice President Mitchell Rona describes Kathy: “The greatest thing about Kathy is that no matter what is happening on a given day, she remains calm, courteous and professional. Her expertise is significant and she just handles whatever comes her way. She is unflappable.”
Lori Grant-Peters was the next sister to become a member of the SIGMA family, joining the company in 1993. She started working with the supply chain team, processing orders, communicating with suppliers to confirm schedules, and posting shipments. From there, she moved to OEM, serving as a CSR for key customers. When the Engineering Support position opened, Lori was an obvious candidate with her broad-based expertise, purchasing experience, and understanding of supply chain. A natural problem solver, Lori is uniformly praised as a go-to for anything related to Engineering. One colleague commented, “I worship the ground Lori Grant-Peters walks on.”
Donna Jones was the third sister to arrive at SIGMA, coming on board in 1999. She started in the OEM International division, and before long, was tapped for her marketing skills. She brought powerpoint to SIGMA, upgrading all the presentations and materials to a new and more professional level. She also spent time in the OEM-USA division and Environmental Site Furnishings (ESF) before being recruited to manage Sales and Marketing Support for the entire company. Her duties now include all corporate communications, maintenance of the website content, price lists, oversight of industry shows, and, still, powerpoint presentations for the sales team. During sales and marketing meetings, the refrain “All roads lead to Donna” is frequently invoked, pointing out the countless contributions she makes to every facet of the company.
Becky Matthews was the last of the “Fab Four” to arrive at SIGMA, initially taking a position as receptionist to fill in for sister Kathy’s maternity leave. She then took a permanent job handling invoicing to SIGMA vendors in all locations. Becky later moved into Accounts Payable, where she remains to this day. Karen Barone, Accounts Payable Manager describes working with Becky: “Becky handles a heavy workload with a tremendous sense of dedication and loyalty which she brings to the table every day. And she’s got spark!”
And the tradition continues…Grace Matthews, Becky’s daughter, was hired in 2022 and serves as Sales and Marketing Assistant extraordinaire. She designs all social media images and posts content, helps maintain the website, supports all corporate communications, and functions as her Aunt Donna’s right hand.
SIGMA salutes the entire Grant family, congratulates them on their illustrious careers, thanks them for their epic service to the company, and wishes them continued success…as CEO Victor Pais said at the holiday lunch last year, “SIGMA has worked its way into the Grant DNA and that is very good news for SIGMA.”