Lonnie is a dedicated employee, juggling responsibilities in budgeting,
account management for numerous department and grant accounts in a very
research-active department, hiring and advertising of positions for student
workers, coordinating potential student visits, handling travel reports for
multiple trips per month, answering phone and email inquiries, and … The
list is endless. Not only is she on top of everything, but she routinely
supervises 2 to 4 students per semester as they complete non-essential
tasks related to department operation, AND, she does all of this with a
constant happy disposition.
Lonnie was responsible for planning, designing and implementing the move of
the main office to a new space following the renovation. She completed
this move without a single disruption in the flow of work performed by her
office. Lonnie has been instrumental in assisting the faculty with the
planning and operation of the NJAS Science Fair, an event that brings 200
pre-college students to campus every two years. Lonnie has also been very
involved in the planning, booking, and running of the annual Don Fox
Lectureship award and the annual American Chemical Society events held on
campus. Lonnie has also served as a mentor for new staff, a task that I’m
sure has been useful to the incoming staff members.
Lonnie’s attitude is ALWAYS pleasant and professional, greeting visitors,
faculty and students with a happy, kind and helpful attitude. Given the
stresses of her position (and the workload for additional duties passed on
by administrative units), this alone is deserving of recognition. Lonnie
also assisted the temporary replacements for the Physics secretary when she
was on leave. Given the level of SAP preparation for the replacement,
Lonnie was, in some cases, doing two full-time jobs during that period and
none of her duties within the Chemistry department suffered as a result.
Lonnie is constantly working to improve her skills in new software,
existing procedures, and management skills. Lonnie contributes to staff
morale by serving as a mentor for new staff. It would have been wonderful
for me to have had a mentor like her when I came to UNK.
Lonnie was a previous recipient of the Staff Award for Excellence in 1997
when she was employed part-time in Chemistry. Since then, she has mastered
the new SAP system, travel rules and regulations, and has grown
exponentially as an administrator as our department has grown in
productivity.
Staff Senate recognizes Lonnie’s achievements and would like to award her
the Employee Achievement Award for November 2010.