Four Rhodes employees recently received the college’s 2014 Outstanding Staff Awards based on nominations submitted by faculty, staff and students.
Outstanding Administrative Services Staff Award
This year’s Outstanding Administrative Services Staff award winner is Herbert Rhodes, housekeeper. Nominators wrote: “Herbert is a highly conscientious and dedicated worker at Rhodes. He is an excellent ambassador for the college, as he serves students, faculty, and staff by taking excellent care of the buildings that he is assigned—which helps attract prospective students. Herbert always has a smile on his face, he works hard and is congenial with no task too large, too small or unimportant. He is punctual and demonstrates excellent leadership skills. Herbert has a positive attitude and his extraordinary work ethic is infectious.”
Outstanding Administrative Staff Award
Amy Wilson, administrative assistant I, received the Outstanding Administrative Staff award. Her colleagues described her as “the calm and friendly face of the department of music for faculty, staff, and visitors.” Wrote one nominator, “Her most famous phrase is, ‘How can I help you with that?’ Her second most famous phrase, usually immediately on the heels of the first, is ‘I’m on it.’ ” Another nominator adds, “Quittin’ time” to Amy Wilson translates to ‘when the job is done,’ which translates to the word ‘never.’ She is simply amazing, and tremendously appreciated by everyone in Hassell Hall, and, dare I say, around campus and in the community.”
Outstanding Administrator Awards
Outstanding Administrator awards were presented to Matt Dean, head women’s basketball coach, and Sarah Hasty, lab supervisor/biology safety officer.
Dean also has served as intramural coordinator and Rhodes’ first head field hockey coach. Nominators wrote that Dean has an outstanding reputation among high school coaches and is highly respected by his colleagues and athletes. “He cares deeply for his players, program, and the entire Rhodes community. His calm approach and caring personality make him a true leader in every sense of the word. The run his team has had making the NCAA’s the past two years has been nothing short of remarkable! The electricity in the Mallory Gymnasium during the NCAA tournament has inspired us all . . . He is the model of what we should all strive for in life, a hard worker, tremendous coach and perfect role model!”
Hasty’s nominators wrote that she has a complex and challenging job involving a variety of equipment and supplies, including live organisms. “I cannot praise Sarah enough for the hard work and diligence she invested in finding us alternative sources of live material,” wrote one nominator. Another added, “She thinks about how we use our equipment and suggests tweaks to make things work better. We are highly grateful for her amazing work ethic, her conscientious attention to detail, her investment of time finding and caring for our living organisms, her thoughtful contributions for improving the lab, and her good spirits and optimism.”