Office of the President
1201 S. State Street
Timme Center, CSS 301
Big Rapids, MI 49307
Congratulations to —
I would like to thank Barb Renne for all of her work on the Pat-on-the-back awards, along with balancing her other duties. It is a highlight to see people we know nominated for a well job well done. Thank you Barb for starting and keeping this tradition going. It is wonderful that you have done this for all of us for so long. Thank you!!!!!
Chris Laczek, ATS Student Computer Technician for Team Sigma deserves a Pat On The Back for his efforts assisting a College of Technology Faculty member in need. Chris defined excellence as a Ferris Computer Technician by assisting the faculty member and efficiently solving an "out of the ordinary" problem. His efforts were appreciated by the faculty member so much that he has taken it upon himself to call both Team Sigma and the manager of ATS to point out how thankful he was for Chris's efforts. Thank you Chris for going above and beyond the normal call of duty to help a member of the Ferris community. Keep up the great work!!
I would like to nominate Beth Krueger for her excellent service as a HR Director. She has been very helpful and supportive.
We have three work study students in our office that I can't image how we could function without. They are Tara Quigley, Rachel Wahr, and Tyler Spague. All three have been with us several years. They have been called on to do everything under the sun it seems and efficiently, cheerfully, and willingly rise to every occasion. We could not accomplish all we do in Hospitality Programs without their support behind us.
I would like to nominate the Physical Plant office (Will Gasper, Mike Kelly, Steve Huss, Rich Colby, Roger Bula and David Vanlangevelde) as recipients of this month's Pat on the Back Award for their exceptional clean up when a commercial truck had all it's hydraulic fluid leak out onto the ground in front of the Timme Building. They coordinated everything so efficiently, the whole thing was cleaned up and everything was back to normal within a very short time. They stopped the leak, removed the truck, had dirt hauled in to soak up the fluid and removed the dirt. It was an awesome display of teamwork. Everyone seemed to know what their job was and they all did it very well. Hats off to all of them!!!
Please nominate John Randle, for a Pat on the Back Award. We have a student that does an excellent job of helping us in the College of Business. She was notified that she ran out of work study funds and couldn't work any more. I called John and he reworked her work study budget and now the student is back working for us. Thank you John! I find John to be a very caring employee of the University and I am proud to call him a friend.
I would like to nominate Charlie Carpenter (Coordinator of Campus Services) for a Pat on the Back Award. Over the past 20+ years, he has consistently given more than was necessary and with a glad heart. In everything he does, he keeps the University's best interest in mind. His work ethic, his compassion, and his amazing personality make him one of Ferris' best assets. Thank you for everything you do for every department here at the best place in the world to work!
I would like to nominate Ted Halm, Web Content Manager, PRK 108-E for the FSU pat-on-the-back award. Ted recently helped our department with a couple of project ideas and worked in a timely and efficient manner. While we met, we came across a question that he did not know the answer to and within a few minutes he had someone there that could direct us. He further advised us on how to best handle a specific situation and what we could put on our webpage. We made our decision and while we were in his office he went through and made corrections/updates and added what we asked. He amazed us with his skill and efficiency. We are lucky to have him as a part of our community team!
I nominate Matt Eickhoff for his exemplary enthusiasm, tireless work ethic, knowledgeable dedication to his job, friendly spirit, and smiling optimism. His work on complex events such at Bulldog Bonanza, River Days, and Homecoming are a big part of why these activities have been such a success. The fact that he is a relatively recent Ferris graduate gives us even more reason to smile because the faculty who have had him as a student and now a co-worker on our campus can see first hand the fantastic way that Ferris prepares its graduates to be a success in their professions. Matt is not only an amazingly wonderful, witty, and warm person, he is a highly effective manager and administrator in Student Activities.
I would like to nominate Jo Gerst, Assistant Director for Admissions and Records, for a Pat on the Back Award. She always answers email, gets back with you when you leave her voice messages, and has shown extreme patience through Banner implementation. I want her to know that we do appreciate her.
I would like to nominate Brian Pacholka (Plastics and Rubber Lab Manager) for a Pat on the Back. Brian has been very supportive in developing and modifying equipment and obtaining material for use by myself and a Math/Science student who is working under my direction on a research project. Brian has been very responsive to needs and has even worked at his home to ensure project goals to be met. We appreciate his prompt and professional support
I would like to nominate the student employees from Media Production for the Pat on the Back Award. The work load in Media Production has nearly doubled from this same time last year, and our students have been working long, hard hours to help us keep up. They have been working not only their regular 8:00-5:00 shifts, but also many evenings and weekends. From the beginning of the semester through October 27, they have done over 160 video shoots totaling well over 200 hours with perfect attendance. These students also produce graphics, scans, video duplications and video playback on channel 22. An excellent job by Liz Raterink, Katie Rumpf, Kristina McIntyre, Paul Thompson, Matt Parrilli, Nick Paulin, Roxie Bockheim, and Katty Neill. We could not keep the faculty, staff, and students happy without them!
Angela Hollister - When ever I call over to the budget office she is always so nice and directs my call to the right place. Also she always answers the phone with a smile. It is refreshing to hear someone happy to answer the phone. Great job.
I would like to nominate two students, Elizabeth Johnson and Gemma Vance for the Ferris Pat on the Back Award. These two students are assigned as Work Study students in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences programs, as are several others. Their duties include helping to prepare for laboratories, cleaning up after laboratories, maintaining supply inventories, and generally helping out wherever possible. Fall semester 2006 began with our program's highest enrollment in years, so we have been running multiple sections of every laboratory course. In addition, our full time laboratory coordinator has accepted a faculty appointment, so we had no one to coordinate and supervise laboratory preparations or the work study students for the first five weeks of the semester! Liz and Gemma have worked extra hours and really saved the program faculty dozens of hours that we would have had to spend getting laboratories ready. They could have simply worked their scheduled hours, and it would have been our problem to get the work done, but they really pitched in and helped us out. We now have a laboratory coordinator in place, so Liz and Gemma can relax a bit. But the CLS program is truly grateful for their efforts and would like to see them get some recognition.
Rick Marek and Phil Balliet always have a positive attitude. We call in a lot of calls for our building and they are very good about letting us know what is happening and if they have to order parts. They take good care of us and we appreciate them so much. Great job Thanks guys.
I would like to nominate three dedicated employees, Joe Rinckey, Steve Miller and Kris Rasmussen for going above and beyond the call of duty to work straight through the evenings into the early hours of the morning when most everyone else were home sleeping, three nights in a row with VERY little sleep and a lot of stress on them and their families in order to restore the universities Docushare server. I know that some of their personal life had to be put on hold and other commitments had to be canceled. So thank you Kris, Steve and Joe. Dedication like this isn't always easy to find. They each went well beyond the call of duty to fix a core critical server to both the Student Services and Academic Affairs sides of the FSU house--they ROCK!!