05/15/2026
Feel Good Friday: Our Treasured Treasury Accountant
I got the assignment to write about our Treasury Accountant, Leena Asmar, yesterday. So, I did what I always do and sent a group chat to her team. Shortly after, our soon-to-retire Accounting Manager, Melissa Link, walked into my office and plopped down in a chair to talk about Leena while I took some notes.
The written word is not Melissa’s forte, she’s a numbers girl, so I hope I do some justice to all the good things she had to say about Leena. Melissa of course began with, “she’s a great teammate; she really digs in and learns what she needs to know for whatever is asked of her ... She's also super knowledgeable of the work she’s in charge of ... She has a really great personality and she’s fun to work with and talk to.” And then she talked about how everyone gets her and Leena confused because in many ways, the accounting department becomes a singular person here. (Kind of like IT, honestly) Anyway, I had to chuckle when Melissa said, “everybody always confuses us because the accounting department is one person to everyone outside of accounting. Literally, one time Eddie asked Leena if she was feeling better, but she hadn’t even been sick. I had been sick!” She then elaborated on the mass confusion and said that “even if people confuse us, Leena will still do her best to help, knowing they think they’re asking me.”
Melissa finished her thoughts with some humor and said that Leena had recently been assigned a job where the email had initially been addressed to Melissa, saying that Leena joked, " this literally says ‘hi Melissa’, why is this assigned to me?” LOL! I love this so much because it’s so relatable – I get lots of “Hi Brett, can you ...” forwarded to me. Haha.
Melissa wanted me to make sure and add that she “will miss working with her – I'll miss working with my whole team.” The accounting team here is adorable and very close. I love that about them!
After Melissa’s visit to my office, Sonya, our Payroll Manager sent me a message that said, "I want to take this opportunity to share that every interaction with Leena has been warm, positive, and pleasant. Her friendly and approachable nature contributes to a feel-good team environment and is very conducive to a positive team spirit."
Brittany, our new Accounting Manager, but long-time NIRVC accounting veteran messaged me to say, “Leena is the type of person who goes above and beyond to help anyone on the team and always has a positive attitude; she has always been a joy to work with.”
That’s two teammates in a row who said dang near the exact same thing about Leena. And, I love that because it speaks to Leena’s consistency.
First thing this morning, Mark Rocco, our Chief Financial Officer, messaged me to say that “Leena is invaluable to me and to our team. She plays an important role behind the scenes, helping keep our financial operations and treasury function organized, accurate, and running smoothly. Leena is results-oriented and approaches challenges with a solution mindset. She is also always willing to step in and help others in the dealership and our department.” (Pause. Go back to: “it literally says, ‘Hi Melissa’” hahaha.)
Mark finished by saying, “I appreciate her hard work, positive attitude, and the steady support she provides every day. Thank you, Leena, for all you do!”
Next up was Nicole Cook, our Staff Accountant, who got added to the chat a bit late. Nicole took the time to email me write away and said, “Hey I hope I'm not too late in sending this to you. I could have said a lot more! She has been my saving grace on some of my hardest days and convinced me to watch The Vampire Diaries 15 years after it was actually on TV.” LOL!! I’m leaving that part in because it’s too endearing and relatable as my 17 year old daughter has made me sit through plenty of Vampire Diaries episodes recently. LOL!
Nicole’s email said, “Leena is the kind of person who can make you laugh, encourage you when you need it and somehow turn a conversation about tv shows into a genuine friendship. She has more patience than most, and I know firsthand. She has been both the calm encouragement and the comic relief while training me. She was the voice behind every ‘you got this’ when I needed it the most. Leena has worked late helping me navigate a new task and teamed up to tackle extended warranty cancellations. She truly is a good person, and we are all extremely lucky to be part of a team with her.”
Okay. This team is just the cutest, and I love the way they have each other’s backs.
This afternoon, Amanda, another Staff Accountant, joined the group chat to say, “Leena knows so much about NIRVC that everyone (including me) goes to her with the hard questions. Even if she doesn’t know the answer, she is always happy to figure it out. I love how close she is with her own family and how she treats NIRVC like an extension of that family.”
Goodness. Yes. I see why Leena made it to the top of the pile this week.
The last person I talked to before getting Brett’s final seal of approval for this Feel Good Friday was Sesty, our Director of Finance. I walked in on the most adorable girl lunch with the sales department and asked if anyone knew Leena (accounting is the only department that works remotely), and Sesty said, “I absolutely love Leena. She is a breath of fresh air every time I talk to her. She always seems to have all the answers to my questions - and trust me, there are a lot of them. She brings such positive energy wherever she goes, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen her in a bad mood.”
What a gem of a human!
I had to grab Brett by phone while he was on the way to get his hair cut after traveling abroad for a couple weeks. The first thing he said was, “I love Leena.” He then started trying to look up on his phone how long she’s been with us, which tells me she’s been here awhile. When he couldn’t find her exact hire date, he said, “I don’t know, it’s just that voice on the other end of the phone or the person on the other side of the email or text that makes sure to handle anything ... or any problem that comes my way ... most recently, with my company credit card. When I get to Australia, and my credit card is getting declined left and right, it’s Leena who gets it cleaned up.” At that point, I could tell he was still scrolling his emails pertaining to Leena because he began a list, “she puts out our front-end profit report every month which I study extensively ... she’s the originator of the majority of my Docusigns ... she sends my ID off for licensing in the various states we operate in ... I don’t know, I’m just scrolling my email and looking at everything she does for me, and she just seems to do it all. If something goes right, she’s behind it. If something’s gone wrong, she’s the one that fixes it. I can tell you this: when I have an issue with money or accounting, I want her to be on the other end of my call or email or text.”
And that right there is gold. Leena, thank you for taking care of my dad so well!
