Congratulations to the following December 2021 Employee of the Quarter winners:
OXFORD/SMITH:
Jackie Berberich – OXB – 2 nominations
Jackie has hit the ground running as a new staff member with her successful tutoring collaboration with Miami University. It is so wonderful to see middle schoolers and MU students working together here at the library.
Jackie is always pleasant to work with and goes the extra mile for both patrons and her co-workers. I appreciate how she is always ready to lend a helping hand.
She is also very creative and artistic. She created a great bulletin board display in the Youth Services Dept. and a Giving Tree for our item drive this year.
This fall Jackie also initiated a tutoring program called “Students Helping Students”. She has paired a Miami Education student with a Talawanda Middle School and it has been a very successful program. Keep up the excellent work Jackie!
HAMILTON:
Kelly McKewin – 2 nominations
Kelly is part of the Cummins room team and she has been working hard to stay on top of the requests. She also helped to quickly make a batch of LTD cards for a recent school visit which was a big help.
Kelly has been excellent at researching requests and contacting patrons. She also learns fast and is super flexible in working on a variety of different types of requests assigned to her.
FAIRFIELD:
Savannah Usher – 2 nominations
Not only is Savannah a very hard worker, she is also super sweet! She brings joy to the workplace like a ray of sunshine!
Savannah is a great asset to FFB. She’s very hardworking and diligent. Last week, while in the drive thru, she helped a patron who had a very confusing issue with late and lost books. Savannah took the time to not only explain the issue but also solve the problem for the patron.
LAC/BKM/Tech Center:
Rabbit Giraud – BKM
Rabbit and Robyn Pittinger from LPL helped me clean and organize the garage at LAC. This hadn’t been done in a few years, and there was a mountain of debris that needed cleaned out, thrown away, recycled, etc.
Congratulations to this quarter’s winners! Each winner will receive their choice of 4 hours of vacation or a $50 gift card.
Congratulations to the following nominees:
Oxford:
Alice Ahrens Radlinski – OXB – 2 nominations
Alice does a great job as OXB’s Wellness rep and outdid herself with our recent “Healthy Lunch.” She’s also a fount of all kinds of library/circulation procedural knowledge and I can always depend on her to either have the answer or steer me in the right direction.
Alice goes above and beyond to help patrons and help circ staff uncover any mysteries. She knows so much about Circulation and our software and is always ready to help. Simply put, Alice is the best!
Akiko Urayama – OXB
Akiko has stepped up for many programs in the child and teen areas, from Sidewalk Stories this summer and fall, to Teen Take and Make kits. She does not hesitate to take on new projects. Akiko is well-liked by patrons and employees and it is a pleasure to work with her.
Harry Davis – OXB – 2 nominations
Harry is the glue that has held Oxford together for years. Harry has a great attitude and takes care of the million little things none of us see. Thank you Harry!
Harry takes very good care of us here in Oxford. He is always bright and cheery as the rest of us get here in the morning. He has already been hard at work keeping everything neat and organized here in the building. Harry takes care of things that we don’t even know about! He’s a great guy!
Kevin Sequeira – OXB
Kevin is very helpful to patrons and even have some of them asking for him by name. His programs are interesting and well attended. He does not hesitate to take on additional projects and is a pleasure to work with.
Sarah Gifford – OXB
Sarah is a great leader in the OXB Ref Dept. She has tackled the weeding of many sections in the Adult NF collection. The shelves are looking good and inviting for patrons to find the best items we have.
Hamilton:
Camille Dainton – 2 nominations
Camille has worked so hard with all of the changes with McNaughtons. Each time we got an update, she immediately got to work and got our MCNS under control.
Camille is so on top of everything in the library. She always stays busy and gets even the smallest, but important, things done while also helping patrons the best that she can.
Jeff Baker – won September 2021
Although Jeff won last quarter, his help was greatly appreciated with moving boxes before and after the book sale.
Shyann Thomas – 2 nominations
Shyann is a part of the Cummins team and has worked really hard to stay on top of all the requests.
Shyann has worked on a million property histories recently, all requiring extensive research. Not only has she completed this work, but she has also routinely asked questions and sought assistance to ensure that she is doing them correctly.
Alex Scales – 2 nominations
Alex is a part of the Cummins team and has worked really hard to stay on top of all the recent requests.
Michaela Perkins
No matter what the project might be, Michaela is always ready and willing, whether that means shifting children’s non-fiction or pulling together a craft. When it comes to the daily nuts-and-bolts of library operation, Michaela makes it happen!
Robyn Pittenger
Robyn helped Rabbit and me clean and organize the garage at LAC. This hadn’t been done in a few years, and there was a mountain of debris that needed cleaned out, thrown away, recycled, etc.
Maria Falcon
Maria graciously helped me assemble (what felt like) thousands of kids craft kits for the German Village Christmas Walk. We powered through them together and her positive attitude kept me from throwing a tantrum and kicking pipe cleaners and beads everywhere. She’s a good sport and we’re lucky to have her!
Fairfield:
Odalis Jimenez – won September 2021
Odalis has been a huge pleasure to work with. She is the most hard working and forward thinking person at FFB. She always wants everyone to feel included and tries to make sure the library will move forward to a better and brighter future. I couldn’t ask for a better person to work with during our Hispanic Heritage Month Festival. GO ODALIS!!!
Chris Esposito- 2 nominations
Chris is a great person to work with. He’s ready to help anyone with any tasks and always puts us all in a good mood. He’s so patient with patrons especially children and teens. Who can’t love his humor and his overall chill presence.
Chris does so much for our patrons and staff at FFB. As the leader in the Fresh Committee, here at FFB, he thinks up creative and fun things for the staff to do. He’s also terrific in the Children’s department.
Jen Bonnlander
Jen rocks at shelving! Not only is she speedy, she’s efficient! And the shelves always look so neat after her shift. Not to mention, she is just an all around spectacular person!
LAC/BKM/Tech Center:
John Taggart – LAC
Between MCNS and the book sales, John has had to move a ton of stuff for all the branches. We would be drowning in boxes if not for him.
Matt Leffler – LAC – won September 2021
Matt recently went above and beyond for a patron who is also a member of our cleaning staff. He heard her talking about an issue that she was having, researched a way to help her, and then set up some time to go over it with her and help her navigate the website. He really took the initiative not just to fulfill a request, but to respond to a need before a request was even made! It was very impressive and very kind. That is top-notch patron service, right there, and it makes me want to keep my ears open and respond in a similar manner.
Lucy Hayes – LAC – 2 nominations
Lucy has caught on so quickly to all the quirkiness of acquisitions and how we do things, it is mind boggling. She has quickly mastered all her duties and has moved on to helping and figuring out many of our ongoing and new projects (Sustainable Shelves, BT “McNaughtons”). Thanks so much Lucy!
Lucy jumped right in to help with storing 10,000 COVID test kits. She even took the time to bundle them conveniently for distribution which was helpful beyond measure. I appreciate all her help and positive good nature with what was a daunting task.
Amanda Bull Chafin – Tech Center
Amanda is the glue that holds the Tech Center together. We rely on all of her many talents to keep the TC running smoothly and efficiently. While she has many successes, I currently want to applaud her for how well she has transitioned from fully virtual programs to a hybrid model. She still maintains her top tier virtual programs, but has expanded to bring back her equally amazing in person classes as well. Her virtual videos continue to be incredibly well planned, well produced, and get excellent view counts. I hope she knows how much we all appreciate her hard work and dedication!!!
Debbie Bond – LAC
Debbie has gone above and beyond ordering children’s materials for the last two years. Her work is greatly appreciated!
Cathy Johnson – LAC – won June 2021
CJ was instrumental in the initial distribution of COVID test kits to the branch locations. From stacking, bundling and even hopping in a van loaded with kits to make deliveries. She didn’t hesitate to help and kept a good nature and humor facing 10,000 kits coming through the door. CJ’s help was invaluable to in getting test kits quickly to the branches to meet community need.