Division honors employees and volunteers at all-staff meeting
On Sept. 21, 2015, Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs employees and volunteers attended an all-staff meeting to review the successes that the agency has achieved in recent months and to look at future plans. Held at the Baldcypress Nature Center at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel, Del., the meeting featured a presentation by Maryellen Carbaugh of Human Management Services, Inc., a Health Advocate company that provides integrated counseling and other resources for state of Delaware employees. Carbaugh’s talk, entitled “Effectively Managing Conflict and Improving Communication,” explored the techniques and skills that can help staff members interact more effectively with each other.
As part of the day’s activities, division director Tim Slavin presented service awards to Nena Todd for 25 years of service, Dan Davis for 30 years and Madeline Dunn for 40 years. Slavin also recognized the new employees that have joined the division staff since May 2015: Betsy Gant, Patricia Gerken, Scott Hayes, Renee Huber, Carlos Maldonado, Paul Nasca, Charolenne Shehorn, Laurie Turkawski, Bridget Wallace, Desiree Williams and Nicole Worthley.
Finally, Extra Mile Awards were presented to three employees—Tammy Dayton, Jan Rettig and Dan Davis; and five Johnson Victrola Museum volunteers—Howard Fulcher, Laura Herbin, Arnold Leftwich, David Perlmutter and Jim Schilling. Extra Mile recipients are nominated by their colleagues on the division staff for the positive impact that they have made on the agency and the people that it serves. Extras Mile Awards were first presented in March 2015.
Dayton was honored for her extensive work in processing resumes and other reference materials, and in contacting and scheduling interviews for candidates for several job openings at the division. Rettig was recognized for her responsibilities in ensuring the accuracy of leave requests entered into the state of Delaware’s Payroll Human Resources Statewide Technology (PHRST) system by the more than 100 division employees. Finally, Davis was honored for his fiscal management of the division’s Horticulture Team during the six-month period between the departure of the team’s previous manager and the hiring of current team manager Betsy Gant. Throughout that time, Davis took responsibility for tracking purchases, making sure the team remained within budget, coordinating with contractors and ensuring that adequate supplies were always on hand.
Last but not least, the volunteers of the Johnson Victrola Museum were honored for the nearly 3,000 hours that they have donated in helping to operate the museum including greeting visitors, leading tours, shooting photographs and maintaining the appearance of the museum and its grounds. Special projects completed by the volunteers include the design of a guest registry, creation of a video of the 2nd floor of the museum for those visitors who cannot climb the stairs and the development of new interpretive programs.
