President Larry Schall and Montrey Jackson, winner of the Staff Member of the Year Award.
The inaugural Employee Recognition Luncheon was held on Monday in the new Turner Lynch Campus Center, and a number of staff and faculty members were recognized for their exceptional service to Oglethorpe.
Oglethorpe staff members were invited to nominate their peers for six new staff awards that recognized individuals who have gone “beyond the call of duty.” All awards included a monetary prize. A total of 21 nominations were submitted for this year’s awards.
The top Staff Member of the Year Award for the 2012-13 academic year went to Montrey Jackson, systems & communications analyst in IT Services. His award was presented by coworker and nominator Al Fuller, who highlighted Montrey’s willingness to always stop what he’s doing to help anyone in the OU community. Montrey personally took it upon himself to research and implement the necessary steps for a gaming network on campus and has been integral in researching and implementing cost saving measures. When OU recently lost power across the entire campus, Montrey came to work even though employees were told to stay at home, in order to ensure that Oglethorpe’s network became functional. He is a consummate professional and has exemplified being a team player through his conduct, generosity, and service-oriented approach.
Staff award winners: Katie Paden, Judy Zahn, Montrey Jackson, Suzy Lane, Laura Sinclair and Heather Staniszewski.
Additional awards were presented to staff members who exhibited exemplary conduct during the past year in specific categories.
The winners of these awards are:
Professionalism Award: Suzy Lane, accounts receivable specialist, Business Office
Customer Service Award: Judy Zahn, circulation manager, Philip Weltner Library
Quality Award: Katie Paden, assistant director, Admission Office
Teamwork Award: Heather Staniszewski, assistant director, Center for Civic Engagement
Creativity Award: Laura Sinclair, reference librarian, Philip Weltner Library
The Staff Recognition Committee was responsible for reviewing and evaluating all of the nominations to determine the winners. This year’s committee included Melissa Briley, Becky Hall, George Kopec, Wayne Phipps, Renee Vary Keele and Toni Zimmerman. This year’s six award winners will form the Staff Recognition Committee for the upcoming academic year.
Staff and faculty who received pins commemorating years of service to Oglethorpe: Alan Woods, Cindy Vaios, Al Fuller, Wayne Phipps, Dan Giordano, Phil Ponder, Jon Akin, Stacia Kingston, Judy Zahn, Chris Summers, James Jones, Mike Rulison.
Additionally, pins were presented to employees who celebrated notable work anniversaries at Oglethorpe. Celebrating 5 years of service were Al Fuller, Leanne Henry-Miller, James Jones, Stacia Kingston, Wayne Phipps, Cindy Vaios and Alan Woods. Celebrating 10 years of service were Jon Akin, Dr. Lynn Gieger, Dan Giordano, Dr. Peter Kower, Dr. Seema Shrikhande, Chris Summers and Judy Zahn. Celebrating 15 years of service were Phil Ponder and Dr. Anne Rosenthal. Drs. Brad Smith and Dean Tucker celebrated 20 and 25 years, respectively. The awards with the most years of service went to Dr. Mike Rulison and Dr. Brad Stone, both whom celebrated 30 years of service with Oglethorpe this year.
Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees, and thank you to everyone who dedicates their professional lives to benefit Oglethorpe University!
Admission staff David Dixon, Ryan Edwards, Katie Paden, Lucy Leusch, Alex Richey, Rebecca Secula.
Development and Alumni Relations staff Sarah Minge, Heather Main, Barb Henry and Tess Beals.
