Whitfield County Holds Annual Employee Recognition Luncheon

  • Monday, December 17, 2018
  • Mitch Talley
The signs, you might say, pointed directly to Richard Rogers as Whitfield County’s Employee of the Year for 2018.

For the past 23 years, Mr. Rogers has been a member of the Sign and Signal Maintenance Crew for the Public Works department. He and his co-workers have been responsible for installing and maintaining more than 20,000 signs and seven signal lights during that time.

Mr. Rogers received a plaque and a $1,000 bonus after receiving the award during the annual Whitfield County Employee Recognition Luncheon held Dec.
12 at Edwards Park.

When he began his career with the county more than 30 years ago, Mr. Rogers operated heavy equipment as part of the grade crew during the construction of the South By-Pass, followed by several years of operating a tractor as part of the Right-of-Way Mowing Crew.

County officials praised Mr. Rogers as “a model for both new and seasoned employees alike,” saying that “for over 30 years he has consistently demonstrated integrity, respect, focus, flexibility, and pride. These fundamental values help him provide great service to citizens and serve him well in his daily life.”

Mr. Rogers is a proud husband, father, and an especially proud grandfather. He has attended Mt. Mariah Baptist Church for the last 22 years and is a member of the choir.

Others nominated for the annual honor were Employees of the Month Tina Curtis, Juvenile Court, December 2017; Anna Meadors, Buildings & Grounds, January 2018; Tim Suits, Clerk of Court/Fire, February; Ronald Morris, Sheriff, March; Judy Castaneda, Magistrate Court,  May; Jamie Haynes, Sheriff, June; Ronnie Burns, Sheriff, August; Marshall Lynch Jr., Drug Court, September; and Jaime Cunningham, E-911, October.

Commission Chairman Lynn Laughter told the workers that she was grateful for their service to the community.

“We think a lot between  Thanksgiving and Christmas how thankful we are, how blessed we are, to live in this community, to have jobs and have food,” she said, “so I want you all to know – and I’m sure all the commissioners agree with me on this – we are very, very thankful for each of you. We know it’s been a year of very hard work, and we appreciate the work that you do and the quality of the work that you do. And that goes for every single person here – so thank you. I cannot thank you enough. I appreciate how well you all work together and I think that our employees of Whitfield County are actually the biggest asset that the county has, so again thank you for your service.”

Retirees in 2018 were also recognized during the luncheon, including Melva Andrews, Finance, employed June 19, 1972 to Dec. 31, 2018; Brenda Arnold, Buildings & Grounds, April 25, 2007-Dec. 31, 2018; Thomas Elkins, Public Works, Feb. 22, 1994-May 31, 2018; Gale M. Hawkins, Sheriff’s Office, Feb. 24, 2003-May 31, 2018; and Clydine Tyson, Finance, Sept. 25, 2006-Dec. 31, 2018.

Commissioners Laughter, Harold Brooker, Roger Crossen, Greg Jones, and Barry Robbins joined to present service awards to dozens of employees, including:

5 Years

Blanca De Cardona and Lynn Laughter, Board of  Commissioners; Catrina Dodd, Finance; Jarred Burkett, Kara Currin, Jeffrey Diak, Ryan Halpin, and Cody Weeks, Correctional Center; Brenda Hoffmeyer, Benjamin Kenemer, and Susan Beck, District Attorney; Rusty Gregg, Information Technology; Robbie Walka, Juvenile Court; Angela Olalde, Probate Court; Caitlin Pyne, Public Defender; Jessica Cleary, Oscar Fernandez Barrientos, Jillian Ownbey, and Nicholas Souther, Sheriff’s Office; Sandy Duncan and Wanda Manis, Tax Assessor; Suzanne Blansit, Theresa Dempsey, and Leslie Green, Tax Commissioner; Kelly Azbill, E-911; Charles Blair, Jordan Brown, Jamie Franks, Allen Gallman, Keith Gray, William Mann, Barry Ownby, Joseph Splawn, and Scotty Tate, Fire Department; Daniel Allen and Joshua Young, Public Works; Ryan Hollingsworth and Freddie Ownbey, Recreation Department; and Vickie Davis, Transit.

10 Years

Betty Bates, Board of Commissioners; Robert Cowan, Board of Elections; Cathy Knight, David Rodriguez, and Richard Sims, Correctional Center; Tracey Crawley, Engineering Department; Jesse Bond, Robert Buhl, and Gaylord N. MacFadden, Fire Department; Allison Lance, Juvenile Court; Phillip Bishop, Gerald Cooley, Cameron Cox, Wesley Gibson, and Jarrod Hayes, Sheriff’s Office; Michelle Garrison, Tax Assessor; Twana Murphree, Tax Commissioner; Anthony Cross, E-911; and Chris Hester, Engineer.

15 Years

Charlene Henson, Finance; Gale Hawkins and David Hedden, Buildings & Grounds; William Beach, Donna Burnette, Ronnie Burns, Andy Center, Billy Crowe, Tanya Elrod, Jeremy McMillan, Scott Stone, Loretta Walker, and Stanley Williams, Correctional Center; Nathan Center, Christopher Guay, David Headrick, Adam Hill, Darren Pierce, Jose Rivera, Ryan Rogers, Todd Thompson, and Jeff Wells, Sheriff’s Office; Amy Ramsey, EMA; Darrin Burnette, Fire Department; and Christopher Bryant and Craig Springfield, Public Works.

20 Years

Rhonda Franks and Sparky Kelehear, Board of Elections; John Alton, Correctional Center; Bill Todd, Inspections & Enforcement; Debbie Clark, Probate Court; Daniel Rann, Sheriff’s Office; Joel Gribble and Tena Ruddell, Tax Commissioner; Jeffrey Heatherly, Allan Kendrick, and Ricky Lloyd, Fire Department; and Paul Long, Anthony McTaggart, and Mark Parris, Public Works.

25 Years

Rebecca Martin, Public Defender; Scott Chitwood, John Gibson, and Wayne Mathis, Sheriff’s Office; Danny Sane, Tax Commissioner; Roger Witt, Fire Department; and Dale Angland, Public Works.

30 Years

Jeffery Silvers, District Attorney; Eric Phillips, Tax Assessor; and Terry Warnix and Robert Wilson, Fire Department.

35 Years

Gina Crider, Sheriff’s Office; Timothy Stephens, Fire Department; and James Carlock, Public Works.

40 Years

Tim Warnix, Information Technology.

45 Years

Tommy Jeffery, Public Works.

Also earning special thanks for their hard work putting the event together was the Recognition Lunch Committee that included Jennifer Jones, chairperson, Shannon Chandler, and Missy Williams, all of the Tax Assessor’s Office; Cindy Sherrod, Information Technology; Diane Franklin, Animal Shelter; Chief Ed O’Brien, Fire Department; and the Recreation Department, Buildings & Grounds, 911/EMA, Public Works, and Human Resources teams.
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