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Pat on the Back Awards October 2008

Congratulations to —

I would like to nominate Wendy Hardy, Jes Berndt, and CJ Yerington for a Pat-on-the-Back award. After the Big Screen Movie for Welcome Week many attendees left trash and garbage all over the Quad, and it would have been a big job for the few members of the Welcome Week Committee to stay and clean up. These three offered to help, and it was greatly appreciated. Jobs like that are not the most fun to do, but they saw an opportunity to step up and thankfully they did. Not only are they great Hall Directors, but they are great volunteers!

Cindy Horn, Jane Hardybala, and the student staff members of the Student Recreation Center deserve a big Pat-on-the-Back! When weather forced the Founders' Day activities to be indoors they were very accommodating on short notice. The event was a big success and a large part of it was due to the their willingness to help and put in some extra work beyond their normal work duties. THANK YOU!

A big thank you goes out to Brenna Kelly, Julie Modene, Stan Vallier and the rest of the staff members in Dining Services and Catering for all their help with Welcome Week events. Due to the scheduling change with classes starting after Labor Day some adaptations needed to be made to the Welcome Week schedule and they were more than accommodating, providing a great picnic dinner on Labor Day, ice cream for the Rockin' in the Rec Center event, and free beverages for the attendees of the Big Screen Movie on the Quad. Thanks for going above and beyond!

Geri Johnson is just a pleasure to work with and she deserves a big Pat-on-the-Back! I worked with Geri to incorporate the Ice Cream Social into the Founders' Day Celebration as a part of Welcome Week. Her spunky personality and kind heart definitely showed through, as I'm sure it does with every project she is involved in. She makes it easy to collaborate and bring these two events together, resulting in a great occasion for students, employees and community members.

I would like to nominate Dr. Paul Blake for the Pat-on-the-back award. His dedication to students and staff is remarkable. He always has a smile, a kind and an approachability with out question. His honesty and genuine commitment of his staff and students leaves a lasting impression of someone who is looking for the success of all. He is truly making a positive difference each day. Thank you Dr. Blake for making your mark here at Ferris State University.

The first pay for every fall semester Payroll staff Sheryl Hickman, Bonnie Depew, and Deb Savides is challenged in processing several thousand positions (PAF'S, student intents, direct deposits, W-4's, tax shelters, union dues, etc). We all need to be proud of the job they do with the high level of accuracy and their commitment to meet the needs of all departments requiring there services. Truly they deserve a Big Pat on the Back!

Hats off to Brian Estes and Charlyn Davis, Journeyman Painters, who painted the third floor of Starr recently. They did a great job and returned several days later to make sure we were happy. They are true professionals!

Regardless of the time of year, the Payroll Office (Joe Riddering, Sheryl Hickman, Bonnie Depew and Deb Savides) is always busy. These past several weeks have been overwhelming for them. Processing hundreds of PAF's, student intent-to-hires, entering in union dues, new hire information, adjustments, and overall monitoring of all employees, this team consistently does an outstanding job, and their dedication to their job is above and beyond. Thank you for your hard work and for doing your very best in getting everyone paid!

I would like to nominate Tina Jensen, Operations Technician, Technology Assistance Center, for a Pat on the Back Award. Tina has superior customer service skills and patience. She is an asset to her department and to this University. I appreciate the way she does business.