Four staff members honored as Employees of the Year

UNC Charlotte employees demonstrate devotion to duty, display innovation, participate in community/public service efforts and engender better human relations. For their efforts, staff members are nominated for and recognized as Employees of the Year. For 2016, the University honored Lebra Nance, Lee Beard, Paul Taylor and Dorothy Vick.

Nance, a student services specialist in the Lee College of Engineering, was an Employee of the Year in the category devotion to duty. Courage, professionalism, selflessness, strength, patience and optimism are superlatives that colleagues used to describe Nance in nominating materials. She was lauded for going above and beyond the call of duty to assist students and represent the college and University. “Lebra makes a point to go beyond the work plan that HR might use … Lebra remains a constant fixture for our college-level events. She volunteers at commencement and at our Student Achievement Awards and is a face of the college … Her devotion is unquestionable, undeniable and beyond admirable.”

Recognized in the category innovation, Beard is a central operations manager with the Facilities Management Department. According to nomination materials, Beard developed and implemented new concepts that have improved building aesthetics and enhanced operations, at a savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars. His design of a power-washing trailer, made locally, enabled facilities management personnel to clean the exteriors of buildings at half the cost of outside contractors. For a sewer project, Beard spearheaded rerouting the line and worked with facilities management personnel to complete the project, again saving the University money. “Lee is a talented and innovative leader … He has made a huge impact within facilities management and how we support the campus community.”

Taylor, a zone maintenance manager in facilities management, was acknowledged for his work in human relations. Nominators noted that Taylor led many successful and challenging projects because of his ability to genuinely understand, communicate and effectively work with people. Trust, communication, confidence, follow through and teamwork are all traits reflected in his everyday work and interactions with others. “He has turned around employee attitudes and performance by exercising outstanding mentorship, team building and simply by connecting with people. He has taken customer service and communication to a level never before achieved in facilities operations.”

As capital projects HUB coordinator in the Facilities Management Department, Vick has been a standout among peers and one that is fully devoted to serving UNC Charlotte and the contracting community with the highest level of effort, commitment and proficiency, wrote nominators. She brought statewide recognition to the University when the program she developed was used as a model for how state agencies and UNC organizations should run Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) programs. She is actively involved with a number of community organizations, including the Metrolina Minority Contractors Association, N.C. Minority Woman Business Enterprise Coordinator’s Network, United Minority Contractors of North Carolina, the Hispanic Contractors Association of the Carolinas and the National Association of Women in Construction. Her involvement in these organizations has aided the minority community to gain access to local and statewide construction opportunities. Vick was recognized as an Employee of the Year in the category of community/public service.

Employees of the Year were acknowledged formally during the annual Staff Recognition Luncheon, held Wednesday, March 23, in the Student Union. This year’s other nominees were Cheryl Almond, political science and public administration; Jeanine Bachtel and Greg Kish, facilities management; Scott Byrd, athletics; Darius Griffin, environmental health and safety; Beverly Guessford and Robin Moose, EPIC; Curtis Lawrence, military science; Krista Newkirk, Chancellor’s Office; Ernest Purifoy, Student Union; Rebecca Smith, Controller’s Office; Nate Washington, Student Activity Center and venue management; and Dennis Wiese, Dean of Students Office.

Starting in 2014, the University changed its Employee of the Year program; one staff member could be named Employee of the Year in each of these categories: devotion to duty (outstanding state government service), innovation, human relations and community/public service. In the safety/heroism category, multiple individuals can be recognized.

The Staff Recognition Luncheon, organized by the Human Resources Department, also acknowledges employees who achieve five-year anniversaries of service with the state.

Photo: Chancellor Dubois congratulates 2016 Employees of the Year (l to r) Lee Beard, Paul Taylor, Lebra Nance and Dorothy Vick.