Pat on the Back Awards May 2006

Congratulations to —

Rex Wiseman, electrician for Granger Center, because anytime the lights go out, Rex doesn't make us wait in the dark for long. He is very prompt at completing the electrical work orders that we send in. We really appreciate the fact that we can depend on him. :) Rex--You Rock!!

Ron McKean, associate dean, College of Technology. Ron went out of his way with short notice to make it to our Winter 2006 Chrysler CAP advisory committee meeting on April 6th. It was great to have Ron there and it helped demonstrate our strong connection with industry here at Ferris State.

Mike Pack, Tatjana Ratzenberger, Matt Johnson, Heidi Weglarz, and Steve Barclay, 3rd year optometry students for volunteering to give eye examinations to members of the visiting contingent from An Giang University in Vietnam. Sandra Phan, 2nd year optometry student, for volunteering to be a translator during these examinations. These students graciously took time out of their busy schedules on Friday afternoon, April 7, 2006, to fulfill an unscheduled request of our international visitors. Finally, Clinic staff at the Michigan College of Optometry for aiding in our efforts to administer eye examinations to the visitors from Vietnam. I especially want to thank Jenny Ososki for administering the Optos photography on each of our visitors. I am extremely proud to have such great citizens as part of the student body here at the Michigan College of Optometry.

Tony Kettel, set-up coordinator, Rankin Center. Over the past four years, as we coordinated the Ferris State Spaghetti Bridge Competition, Tony was our set-up person, coordinator, technician, advisor, and reminder. We simply could not have accomplished the tasks involved without Tony! If we could present him with a gold star or a gigantic thank you card, we would like to do that. Tony Kettel, you are truly a fantastic worker and Ferris State is incredibly fortunate to have you among its employees! Thank you!!

Stan Vallier, Billy Allers, and the rest of the catering crew. When a scheduled informational visit from the Vietnamese delegation evolved into a luncheon for ten people a few hours before the anticipated arrival of the guests, Stanley took the last-minute request for food in stride. Billy Allers arrived before the appointed time with the Catering cart and within minutes, he and his partner had set up an attractive display of tasty dishes to please the eye, tempt the palate, satisfy the hunger, and NOT break the budget. Kudos to Catering for their fast and friendly service, delicious food, and willingness to help out at the last minute.

Luzia Tartari, international admissions specialist. Luzia is a tireless promoter of all good things international, but a particular reason for nominating her now is to recognize her hard work with the International Festival of Cultures, held in Rankin Center April 9, 2006. Most people from both the Big Rapids and the University communities agree that this is one of the most successful projects Ferris carries out. Fewer recognize the enormous effort the Festival requires, and fewer still realize that without Luzia it probably would not have happened this year. Luzia's cheerful enthusiasm and unflagging determination in the face of significant challenges made the Festival a genuine success.

Kent Kacherterian, graphics designer, Media Productions for his superb production of graphics materials on short notice to welcome the Vietnamese delegation here on April 6th.

And, Terry Pitts, our Physical Plant carpenter here in Science and ASC also put up our billboard of a bulletin board single handedly in time for this important visit by Vietnamese delegation on an official US State Department visit to FSU.

Greenhouse manager, Andrea Ludholtz and I had a lot of last minute work to get the nicely designed materials and welcome banner up on the bulletin board, but the delegation really enjoyed seeing the personal touch we arranged in reaching out to their university, An Giang University in Vietnam, including the picture of our FSU study abroad students and Phill Watson in front of their library on the banner.

Thanks to the dean of Arts, Sciences and Education, Matt Klein, for funding this project and the permanent bulletin board.

Rosemary Kailing and Nancy Robinson of Academic Technology Services (ATS). They both are fun to work with and hardworking individuals. Without them the ATS would fall apart!

Karan Noller, Pam Panek, and Barbie Cornell, custodians, Timme CSS, who did an extraordinary job preparing Timme CSS for Saturday's Evening of Appreciation. The building sparkled for our visitors due to their wonderful efforts and attention to detail.

Barb Eberts and Brian Kurisky, Residential Life, for all of the help they gave me during Sibs and Kids Weekend. From creating and putting names in the database, to cutting out Saturn name tags to just being a shoulder and ear for me, I could not have gotten through the weekend or the weeks leading up to it without them. They both helped without expecting anything in return and I will be forever grateful to them for everything. I appreciate you both so much!

Greg Nicholson, auto/hquip repair technician, Heavy Equipment Department, for work above and beyond the call of duty. Greg has accomplished something I thought could never be done. He has cleaned up lot 58 ... spaced used by the Heavy Equipment Department for parking vehicles used for instruction and apparently by anyone on campus that needed to get rid of junk. His organizational skills along with his quality of work are exceptional. Hiring Greg has been one of the few good decisions made by the department.

Katherine Renee Susemihl, FLITE, Katherine has been working at the Access Services of FLITE since October 2004. Through her daily job performance, she has clearly put quality customer service as the priority and purpose of her work. She is competent, efficient, responsible, and reliable. She has demonstrated a positive work ethic by treating patrons and co-workers with respect and sincerity. Katherine is certainly a valuable asset to our Access Services team!