On April 7 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Wilkinson Alumni Center was the Faculty, Staff, and Service Awards Celebration. Master student in human resource development and human resource specialist Tarynn Brenner said, “Before human resources had taken it over, the years of service award was always something that the president’s office has done to award or recognize individuals who had been here for longer than 10 years or more. Instead of doing every single year we figured increments of five would be a great way to start it, and then also when human resources took it over back in 2024 that was the first year that we had actually done five years recognition of years of service.”
When asked about the purpose, she said, “We just want to say thank you for all of the hard work that they’ve done over the last however many years of service they worked, we want to recognize them, we want to make sure they feel valued in what they do,” adding, “It’s just another way to keep our employees here, to show that they’re appreciated, to show that they are being recognized, and to show that what they do matters, no matter their position or department.”
The event, hosted by Dr. Jon Bartlow, acknowledged faculty, staff, and service that had been at the college for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years. The event also granted two VOYA Employee Recognition awards, one for the university support staff and another for unclassified employees. The nominees for the university support staff were Tracy Bevilacqua, Kim Downing, Kris Hartley, Stephanie Willis, and Heather Winzer.
Developmental Specialist Kris Hartley won that award. Hartley discussed how she felt when she heard she had won: “Surprised. I don’t really like crowds and being in front of people, but it was an honor especially to be nominated by my co-workers.” Later, she discussed the impact of her work, saying, “Yeah what we do here is pretty important foundational stuff, processing the donations according to donor wishes and making sure all those little details are in place, that’s super important.”
For the unclassified employees award, the nominees were Sydney Anselmi, Angela Ashmore, Angie Davidson, Kylie Edgecomb, Lynn Grantham, Amanda Hill, Kerry Johnson, Mariah Laman, Jacob Lenard, Becky McDaniel, Jeannice Parker, Erin Rivero, Aaron Shockley, Damian Smithhisler, and Erin Sullivan.
Web Support Consultant at the College of Education Kylie Edgecomb won the award.
“I was shocked to receive the VOYA Employee Recognition award, and I appreciated my co-workers’ kind words,” Edgecomb said. When discussing how the award might affect her future at Pitt State, she said, “This award was a wonderful surprise, and I look forward to continuing to work with the amazing deans, faculty, and staff in the College of Education, the Kelce College of Business, and the College of Arts and Sciences.”