Classified Council selects one staff member each month to highlight his or her outstanding contributions to WNC. Anyone from the college can nominate staff for this award. Profiles of the staff members selected are sent to the President's Office and a special celebration is held in the spring to recognize the outstanding achievements of these staff.

Nicholas Redwine (June)

Nick is always working out in the hot sun and seems to keep smiling. It isn't easy on him around here. He seems to get all the dirty jobs, and is still able to take classes towards his construction tech degree. Nick is recently married and has 3 kids. He just bought a new house and is an avid golfer.

Rick Morphew (May)

Rick is one of the special people who are always in the background, keeping the college in good working order. He is always willing to lend a helping hand, and is always gracious and calm. Rick has been presented with some interesting challenges and he handles each situation very successfully and with great capability. He is a down to earth person who always gives 110 percent to whatever challenge that is required of him.

Kathy Lynch (April)

Kathy Lynch always seems to go beyond the norm to make sure others have what they need, and does so cheerfully. Whenever there is a need, Kathy always does what it takes to get the job done. Because she works part-time, she has to get five days of work done in three. She is professional, hardworking, friendly and supportive to students and faculty. She is someone who is very easy to work with. She belongs to a Civil War Enactment group and loves to dress in period clothes. She acts as a docent for many of Carson City's historical events throughout the year. You can see her at the Kit Carson Rendevous this summer and she may present a history lesson about the Civil War and how women acted at that time in history.

Linda Ranieri (March)

Linda Ranieri is a great employee in the Nursing & Allied Health Division. She has a wealth of knowledge regarding budget, and has used this information to help the division better plan, develop meaningful budgets, and assure accountability for expenditures. She is organized and flexible, and carries out her responsibilities in a professional way. Everything is done in a timely manner with attention to detail. Linda not only completes work that is assigned but also anticipates what needs to be accomplished in the future. Linda is supportive to students and faculty. She serves to carry out the mission of the college as she appreciates diversity, welcomes and effectively communicates with students who are seeking opportunities to learn, nurtures the human potential and always practices civility. Linda lives in Carson City after moving from California approximately five years ago. She loves physical activity and is frequently accompanied by her two Jack Russell terriers when she walks the trails of the region.

Chelsie Hamtak (February)

I have never heard Chelsie say, "That's not my job." If you ask her something, she has the answer, and if she doesn't have the answer, she will find it. The minute Chelsie came to WNC we started counting our lucky stars! She has jumped in and done an excellent job as Division Assistant, not standard as is required, but outstanding as we can only hope for when we ask an employee to join our organization. She has stepped up to the plate through many, many staff changes and was very helpful (no whining about too much work) to all faculty and staff affected. In her "spare" time, she has figured out how to assist Classified Council with many fundraisers, taken over the Classified Employee Appreciation Award duties, and finds the time to show her commitment to WNC and classified staff by attending and participating in Classified Council meetings and decisions. Thank you, Chelsie!

Mo Lockey (January)

Mo, always goes out of her way to help the nursing instructors. She has a difficult job coordinating everything for the nursing and allied health students and helping staff with scheduling and contracts. Great English accent and very efficient and organized. It has been said that the secret to success is to surround yourself with the most talented and capable people available. The Division of Nursing & Allied Health is alive, well and functioning successfully for a whole variety of reasons. One of the reasons is that the division has been served by Maureen (Mo) Lockey for the past two years. Mo's responsibilities include serving as administrative assistant for the nursing and surgical technology programs. Over the past two years she has organized and/or reorganized record keeping, established a budget system, and has used her knowledge of the program and college to impart correct information to current and prospective students. She also communicates equally effectively with nursing and surgical technology faculty, college personnel and organizations critical to the functioning of the nursing program, including the Nevada State Board of Nursing, National League for Nursing, area health care providers, and suppliers. The division faculty and I have experienced tremendous change over the past two years, including increases in enrollment. One very important reason why we have been able to accomplish what needs to be done and to do it better than before is due to her commitment to excellence that Mo brings to the office each day. It is a pleasure to recommend her for the Classified Employee Appreciation Award.

Michelle Peltier (December)

Michelle Peltier always goes the extra mile. This past year we changed the college name, which has generated an unusually high amount of graphic work and was needed in a short period of time. Michelle has added all that extra work to her already packed work load. She strives to make WNC look its best and fulfill the goal of getting the image/information out to the student in the graphic design of the catalog, program guide, magazine, annual report and the schedules. Her work load has continually grown in the last three years, especially this last year. She strives to keep up with the increased work load and still maintain the high standard of workmanship that makes the college such a special place. The addition of sports and all that the two teams need in the way of graphic design for publications is just an example of all the extra work. Many times Michelle has to stop her regular work and help out with special projects, such as college day, rush class flyers, postcards, multicultural festival and many other rush projects She tries to accommodate everyone's time frame for publications and printing. All that she does is with the students, faculty and staff in mind. Even with the deadlines and her work load, she always has a smile for everyone who she sees. Many times Michelle has to stop her regular work and help out with special projects, such as college day, rush class flyers, postcards, multicultural festival and many other rush projects She tries to accommodate everyone's time frame for publications and printing. She works on material for the college days hosted by Outreach, the college fair which was hosted by our college in 2005, the annual multicultural festival and many other special interest events. She is also involved in an open space group/bicycle that has put bike racks up at the college and also around town to promote energy conservation Michelle likes to hike, ski and do crafts in her spare time.

Kathryn Ross (November)

Kathryn is currently vice chair of the Classified Council. However, my nomination is not based on her current position but on her past record in chairing various Classified Council committees that have benefited the council and all classified staff. In particular, she has been a strong fundraiser for the council, heading up many activities that have brought funds to the Classified Council to support it. These activities include the craft fair, the annual Shabby 'n Chic event, the Carson campus book fair, and others. When she was not an officer, she was a steady attendee of Classified Council meetings, providing her input and updating its members on fundraising efforts. In addition to Classified Council, Kathryn has been willing to come to the Fallon campus for special appointments with veteran students several times during the fall 2007 semester. I know Kathryn has a master's degree in English which is highly commendable. And she has worked for WNC for a long time.

Melisa Siembida (October)

Although she had an outstanding committee with which to work, Lisa was the person who volunteered to be in charge overall of the 2007 Classified Conference held in Virginia City this year on Friday, November 2nd. Lisa did a tremendous job in providing an entertaining yet also educational experience for all of us. The site was wonderful as Virginia City has so much character and the Fourth Ward School was a perfect setting. From start to finish, you could tell that everyone was relaxed and enjoying the event, from the continental breakfast to the trolley car tour of Virginia City to the stress relief activities to the Great Basin Credit Union financial planning workshop. Lunch catered by Mollie's was fresh and delicious. It takes a lot of hard work of many individuals to put the Classified Retreat together, but someone has to accept responsibility for all and make sure that everything gets done. Lisa did that and did do superbly. Thanks, Lisa. I do not know much about Lisa personally although I do know she is a warm and friendly co-worker.

Cecilia Hackman (September)

Cecilia is a real pleasure to deal with no matter what the situation may be. She epitomizes a successful customer service approach. She is always gracious and calm toward the person she is trying to help. If she does not know the answer to your question, she always takes your information and gets back to you very promptly. Cecilia is always ready to go out of her way to find an answer to your question or problem. Our department has approached Cecilia with some interesting challenges. She handled each situation very successfully and with great capability. She is not a high profile individual but is a down to earth individual who is very productive. With pleasure I nominate Cecilia Hackman for September Classified Employee of the month.

Laura-Lee Redwine (August)

Laura-Lee is great! She is always trying to find the answer to questions or requests from students, faculty, part-time faculty, or anybody with the same promptness and importance. She always tries hard to share her wisdom with everyone. Many have had wonderful training from Laura-Lee, no matter how busy she was at the time. When they needed help, she was always there. She really deserves this award, because she is so professional and helpful. All the goodness is in Laura-Lee.

Andrea Ripley (July)

Andrea Ripley has worked as an administrative assistant on the Fallon campus for many years. During this time, she has provided support for full-time and part-time faculty, doing everything from photocopying and typing to helping everyone get whatever they need to make their classes successful. Andrea is an unflappable person who can be approached to help with any need. She somehow figures a way to make things work. Andrea is a real asset to the Fallon campus by helping students courteously and competently as they complete the registration process and deal with problems. Andrea always has a smile for students and staff alike. In addition, Andrea has taken on the daunting task of assembling Circumference, a journal of student writing on the Fallon campus. These efforts are above and beyond her regular duties.