In this week's edition of Zapponian Spotlight, we're going to get to know Duron from our very own Z-CON team (That's short for "Zappos Concierge"...although they do SO much more!). One of Duron's "claims to fame" is being one of the models featured in a Zappos.com Men's Summer Style piece on the local news here in Vegas. If you're ever a guest here at Zappos HQ, Duron would be happy to sign autographs!

Pick three words to describe your personal style.

Cool, Calm & Collected (kind of cliché, but hey… it’s me).

Who is your favorite musician or band?

My favorite musician from “my generation” would have to be Jay-Z. 

Name three things you never leave home without.

God, a sense of self, and my cell phone… haha.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

Barack Obama.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

Being stopped in the Palazzo Hotel by someone that really thought I was Dwyane Wade. I’m talking wanting to take pictures and everything!  

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos HQ?

I would have to say it’s being able to work next to people that have the same common goal of taking Zappos to the next level.

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for April is Marco B. He demonstrated great skill in speaking the language of the Diesel customer and even added a rock & roll twist to the description for the Diesel Lavezz Bracelet.

We asked Marco a few fun questions to get to know him better. Check out his answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

M: “Impactful” is not found in the Oxford English Dictionary, yet many business exec-type people are enamored with saying it.

What inspired you when writing this description?

M: A musician named Elliott Smith wore similar wristbands at his performances.  He possessed the ability to strengthen seemingly fragile words in his lyrics.  It’s unfortunate he’s no longer with us.

What is your favorite Zappos core value?

M: Build open and honest relationships with communication.  It’s the foundation to everything you do not just at work, but as a human being in general.  It’s the rock that makes the world roll.

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

M: I’ve never been to the circus, nor have I tasted cotton candy.

Video streaming by Ustream

Make sure to tune in to today's Zappos Family All Hands Meeting streaming live at 1PM PST to catch all the excitement! Our customer loyalty phone lines will be closed from 11AM-8PM PST so everyone can partake in this company-wide event.

You can even watch the livestream and interact with other Zappos fans on our Facebook Zappos Fan page! We never know what's in store at these All Hands meetings, so be sure to join us to see all the action!

The clothing team from Zappos Merchandising, Inc. did a fun royal revamp of their space and, more notably, their titles. Led by their fearless leader Galen, the “Clothing Czar” (the guy in the fancy crown), the buying team for clothing now goes by such royal titles as “Prince”, “Princess", "Count", "Countess", "Duke", and "Dutches".

They totally made over their area in the office with a castle facade and will now be greeting all of our Zappos Insights tours with royal kazoos!

They decided to throw an impromptu parade around Zappos HQ to announce this royal makeover. Um, did we mention that we like to “create fun and a little weirdness” around here?

Our friend ,and everybody's favorite park ranger, Smokey the Bear paid a visit to the Zappos HQ earlier today along with our partners from Friends of Nevada Wilderness. He made his rounds around the office to greet everyone and take a few photos. Talk about a great photo op!

Thanks for stopping by and spreading the word about wilderness preservation Smokey. Until next time!

Here at Zappos HQ, we see our co-workers more like family, but for some of us, the term “family” is more literal. For today’s Zapponian Spotlight, we are getting to know a little bit about brother and sister Scott and Sidnee.

Did you guys have a lot of sibling rivalry growing up?

Sidnee:  I think we had a fair amount of sibling rivalry growing up. Scott used to give me class ring noogies and when I was little, he would chase me around with a mask my grandparents brought back from Africa. 

Scott: We definitely had a healthy amount of rivalry.  I think with the 7 year age gap, it was almost inherent in our DNA.  As the older brother, I don’t think I remember all the times I tortured Sid, but as she turned out fine, I am not too worried about any long term damage.

Name 3 things you never leave home without.

Sidnee: My phone, glasses or contacts (because I’m blind), and my wallet.

Scott:  My sunglasses, Reef Sandals (shameless plug) and sense of adventure.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

Sidnee: Hayley Williams of Paramore because she just seems like so much fun.

Scott:  It would be a tossup between JK Rowling and George Lucas.  Both of who I admire for the intelligence, creativity and ability to merchandise.  In the end, I think that JK Rowling would be more fun as her personal story is more interesting and would most likely be a better conversationalist.  More importantly, at dinner I would order the Surf and Turf with a nice glass of Shiraz…

What’s your favorite movie and why?

Sidnee: The Sound of Music because Julie Andrews is awesome and it’s a classic. 

Scott:  Funny enough, it is tie between The Sound of Music and Highlander.  I love both movies for the same reason.  Both are stories about overcoming extreme evil (Nazis and Deranged Immortals) and they have the best soundtracks of all time. 

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

Sidnee: When I was around 10, my mom and I were shopping at Neiman Marcus. A guy dropped dead in front of me. Like literally this big 250 pound, 6 foot something dude fell over with a thud right in front of me. I got so freaked out that I jumped right over him and ran away. I didn’t realize until about five minutes later after I stopped running that my mom wasn’t with me. She stayed and did CPR on the guy. I have to say that was pretty weird.

Scott: I used to sleepwalk when I was young and would pee on things… there, the secret is out!

What’s your favorite part about working here at Zappos HQ?

Sidnee: That no day is ever the same. Also, I love the fact that everyone is weird and crazy in the best way possible, but somehow still productive. I think that is what is so special about Zappos. The unpredictability and excitement is what keeps everyone happy to go to work every day and do what they do. 

Scott:  It is really hard to narrow down the many things I like about Zappos, but the one item that stands out relates to our 7^th Core Value, “Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit”.  The people I work with on a daily basis are not just colleagues, but true friends and family.  The relationships I have developed at Zappos supersede my work life and I love spending time with everyone outside of work.

A very exciting honor was recently awarded to the ZFC (Zappos Fulfillment Center), and it's definitely something we're very proud to share with everyone!

The Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in conjunction with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, announced the 2011 Best Places To Work In KY on Wednesday, April 20th in Lexington, KY. The Zappos KY Family was among the companies nominated for this prestigious award. The awards ceremony was a celebration of employers who have proven that they know what it takes to create an environment where people love to come to work! Does this sound familiar to anyone?

A few folks from the Zappos KY Family traveled to the awards ceremony in style aboard "The Boss" party bus. All nominated companies had a chance to mingle before dinner and the official awards presentation. The awards were presented in two categories: Small/Medium Company and Large Company. In the large company category, the Zappos KY Family represented the only industry of its kind to be nominated!

The Zappos KY Family ranked #12 on this year’s list! When it was announced, the Zapponians that attended the ceremony made their way to the front in a conga line to accept the award and have their picture taken. It was truly a wonderful representation of what our culture is all about!

Dear Loyal Zappos Customers,

It has come to our attention that there have been some very unfortunate connections made between our latest promo email with the subject line: “You’re Our Most Wanted!” and the recent breaking news out of Pakistan.

We can assure you that this subject line has no intended reference whatsoever to the recent events as it was drafted last Thursday. It is merely a weird coincidence, and we sincerely apologize to those customers who may have misconstrued this as a play on words to reference this recent world event.

Sincerely,

The Zappos Family