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Pat on the Back Awards May 2009

Congratulations to —

Sherry Hayes is awesome. A request was made for an addition to the Orientation web site and presto, it was done immediately. What a fantastic person!

I am nominating Nikki Bigelow, Heather Cosgrove, Stacy Olson and Charisse Welborn, our student employees, who work in Student Employment and Financial Aid for going the extra mile day in and day out in our office. With the implementation of Xtender for the upcoming academic year, these ladies have taken it all in stride and have prevailed. If it were not for them focusing on covering our front desk, keeping up with the scanning and indexing of student files, as well as keeping up with their daily duties, some of us in this office would have gone insane!!!! Their personality and quick laughter has helped to make some long days seem shorter. Thanks to these ladies for taking some of the stress off us in these trying times. You ROCK!

I am nominating Jeff Gabalis for a pat on the back award. I had a problem with a DVD that the state MARSP sent us to view at our next meeting, and it was not viewable. Having worked in the library, I knew that Jeff Gabalis was a possible person to help me solve the problem of the bad DVD. I took the DVD to him, and after a little bit of looking and fussing, he made a new one that is viewable. Without any hesitation, Jeff solved my problem as quickly as anyone could. If he is willing to assist retired old people like me, I know that he is there to solve the problems of students, faculty, and staff. All you have to do is ask. Please consider giving him a Pat-On-The-Back award the next time it is presented. He deserves it. Thank you for your consideration.

We would like to nominate Paul Heidmann for a Pat-On-The-Back. A special thanks to Paul for the excellent work in creating a database to manage the Administration and Finance planning information as part of the new planning process and format. The data base made data entry for departments, organized all the A&F information, allowed for departmental/divisional prioritization and produced planning reports for all levels. Besides creating the database, Paul was always available to help with refinement whenever asked. This project was a big success because of him. Thanks Paul!!

Ted Halm deserves a HUGE pat-on-the-back! He has an amazing can-do attitude and always "gets-er-done" in record time. He is a great person to work with!

I would like to nominate the following people for a Pat-on-the-back award because of all of their awesome help with the Carnival Theme Meal we had at MASCAR GRILLE on April 15, 2009: Sue Iverson for donating prizes and making a cool animal train and lollipop tree. Mark Lane, Lora Ellison, Julie Knopf for decorating the CPAW's fresh fruits & vegetables stand, and for making a wonderful fruit bowl for the students. Sally Maurer, Amy Huntey, Jeff Higley and Linda Aldrich for being team players and making a LOT of elephant ears. Craig Bowman for lending us his office as a storage unit. Thomas Weaver for putting a jail and a carnival sign together for us. Julie Modene for loaning us the popcorn machine from Dining. Mike Langan for his blessing and encouragement. Vicky Rockey for loaning us her treasure chest, and for all of her wonderful signs and time putting the changes into FoodPro for us. Dan VanHorn for being our "gofer this, gofer that" at the store. Gary Schneider for ordering the Apple Boscos. Jeff Stirn for handling all of the extra food that came in. Rick Modene for his Deep Fried Candy Bar recipe. Gordon Patton for loaning us the wonton wrappers and having to restock what we borrowed. Marianne Van Horn for being kind enough to roll with the changes in the front of the house. Kyle Carter, Jen Simon and Courtney Mather for help decorating on the day of. Paula Walter for helping advertise beforehand. Jacob Baker for helping make decorations. Brenna Kelley for letting us inflate some balloons, and Thomas Overholser for letting us use decorations from the Rock Cafe. All of you deserve a round of applause because YOU ROCK, and we made a lot of students really happy that day.

I would like to nominate Dava Cook from the Mail Room for a Pat on the Back Award. I needed to get some of our students applications for summer employment to an agency in Cadillac by the end of the month. Putting the forms in our regular mail had me worried that they would not make it in time. I called Dava and she agreed to wait for me to come over to the mail room to get the postage taken care of on that same days date and then personally delivered the packet to the Post Office on her way home, assuring that the students information would arrive before the deadline. I was very impressed that she was willing to do all of this.

I would like to nominate Jean Vallier from the Business Office. She always takes the initiative to make sure our "Sunshine Fund" is taken care of. She also keeps up on the pop orders. Jean is always thinking of others in time of need, and sees that they receive a card or small gift. Thanks Jean for all you do!!!

I would like to nominate Amber Balmer, Lizz Kelly, and Ian Nagy for their hard work and dedication in helping to bring free notebooks to Ferris next fall to give-a-way to students. Amber, Lizz, and Ian also researched and designed 8 pages that will be included in every notebook, as well as incorporating the 125th anniversary logo into a the cover of the notebook. I would also like to nominate Mark Schuelke for his support of this project as well. Mark has been instrumental in aiding in the contractual and logistical side of this project.

Ruth Ridderman, Administrative Secretary to the Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications, deserves a Pat on the Back for her tireless work in overseeing the recent remodeling project in UAM. She helped to coordinate the moving of offices to temporary space, and then into the new permanent spaces. Ruth was also the go-between for the Physical Plant work crews and the outside vendors who set up the new cubicles for UAM staffers.

I would like to nominate Charlotte Bongard. Charlotte is always willing to go that extra mile to help my department. She will sit down with me anytime I need assistance with my budget, and if you ask Charlotte for something, she will do her very best to accommodate your needs. She is an awesome person and deserves to be recognized. She always does this with a smile. Thanks Charlotte for being a team player!