May 22, 2008
From volleyball to veggie burgers, something for everyone at Staff Appreciation Day
Serve. Set. Spike.
It may have been chilly outside, but competition during the 11th annual Staff Appreciation Day volleyball tournament was red hot. In the end, it was the SOC Stingers— Ashley Ackerley, Rachel Andrews, Bree Bowman, Jonnel Clothier, Kurt Gunderson, Kristi Plahn-Gjersvold, and Miguel Vieira—that emerged victorious, taking the coveted trophy back to the School of Communication.
“This win is really special for us,” said Clothier. “Our team captain, Kurt Gunderson, has been with SOC for 11 years and his last day at AU is this Friday—so it was important for us to win this for him.”
For those who preferred to exercise their minds, or their taste buds, the day also included board games on the quad and a barbecue spread, which included hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon slices, and ice cream sandwiches.
“It’s nice to see people that you usually only interact with through e-mail or voice mail,” said Keri Thorn from the Office of Enrollment, between bites of mint chocolate chip ice cream. “It’s also great to get paid to have a fun day!”
The day’s festivities also included a cultural diversity showcase and the staff showcase, which featured paintings, handbags, and photographs by 11 talented AU staffers. Director of University Publications Kevin Grasty crafted his “Patriot King” mask from ticket stubs, photographs, and newspaper clippings chronicling the AU men’s basketball team’s Cinderella season, while Frances Wrocklage of Human Resources showed off her beaded jewelry.
During the event, Sarah Irvine Belson and Athena Argyropoulos, cochairs of the Faculty-Staff Campaign announced that AU blew past its goal of $300,000, raising $377,000 this year. More than 560 faculty and staff opened their wallets this year, according to Casey Jacobs, director of annual giving.
Beth Muha, executive director of Human Resources, also announced the 2008 Staff Award winners: Maria-Consuelo Gall, administrative assistant, language and foreign studies, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), received the diversity award, while Paul Brown, area resident director, south campus, Office of Campus Life, won the innovation award.
The customer focus award went to Maria Cowles, associate dean, academic affairs, School of International Service (SIS); Lawrence Ward, associate dean, academic programs, Kogod; Margaret Weekes, associate dean, academic affairs, School of Pubic Affairs (SPA); Tom Husted, associate dean, academic affairs, CAS; Kathryn Montgomery, associate dean, academic affairs, SOC; and Judi Byers, assistant director, undergraduate admissions, Kogod.
The award for service to the AU community went to Kate Bruffett, academic counselor, government, SPA, while the teamwork award went to a group from SIS: Yasmin Quianzon, director of graduate admissions and financial aid; Jia Jiang, graduate admission specialist; Sonja Steinbrech, assistant director-graduate admissions; James Gilbert, coordinator-academic advisor; Mary Barton, academic advisor; Marley Crutcher, academic advisor; Jon Youngs, academic advisor; Emily Dunn, academic advisor; and Wahiba Farid, senior administrative assistant.
Staff Appreciation festivities kicked off earlier in the week with the annual 5-, 10-, and 15-year luncheon that honored about 150 staff and the Twenty-Year Club dinner held at the Katzen Arts Center.
