Faculty and staff achievement was celebrated at Laredo Community College during the 21st annual LCC Employee Appreciation Day Tuesday, April 25 in the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater.
“Laredo Community College is fortunate to have a group of dynamic and committed faculty and staff members who truly care about helping students succeed at the College of Champions,” says LCC President Ramon H. Dovalina. “The college also is proud to recognize that some of these individuals serve as outstanding college ambassadors in the community.”
The awards and recognition program began with the announcement of faculty and staff who have retired during the 2005-2006 instructional year.
Among this year’s retirees were: Gloria Benacci, director of the Teacher Certification program with 7 years of service; Terry Tilton, geology instructor with 8 years of service; Miguel Solis, groundskeeper with 14 years of service; Nora Barron-Blinn, reading instructor with 18 years of service; Maria Leal, custodian with 25 years of service; Amado Leal, custodian with 29 years of service; Jan Little, English instructor with 35 years of service; Ramiro Barrera, kinesiology instructor with 36 years of service; and Martha B. Haslam, psychology instructor with 36 years of service.
Recognition also was given to those employees who have dedicated between 5 to 35 years of service to the college. The honorees—which totaled 74 employees—received a service pin and certificate of recognition.
Recipients of the 5-year service award were Mauro Alaniz, Federico Cardenas, Rosalinda Castaneda, Melissa Espinoza, Mark D. Johnson, Juan A. Lopez, Gilberto Martinez Jr., Gerardo Martinez, Ramon Pulido Jr., Jose L. Santos and Carmen Seibert-Martinez.
Honored with the 10-year service award were Leopoldo E. Amezquita, Jose L. Barrientos, Maria A. Cadena, Raul Enriquez, Mercedes M. Garcia, Leopoldo Garibay Jr., Raymond E. Garner, Elsa A. Gonzalez, Terri R. Gonzalez, Patricia Lopez, Juan L. Maldonado, Arturo Navarro Jr., Jaime L. Rodriguez, Rafael A. Rodriguez, Diana A. Sciaraffa, Dale M. Short and Linda B. Tays.
Receiving the 15-year service award were Jesus G. Castanon, Adriana Gonzalez, Maria E. Gonzalez, Victor L. Gonzalez, Juan F. Little, Odette Melendes, Carolyn R. Otero, Maria E. Sanchez, Atanacio Urrutia and Gilberto Zapata.
Earning an award for 20 years of service were Mark M. Garza, Maria Concepcion Madrigal, Linda E. Maldonado, Gerardo A. Martinez, Thelma G. Rojas, Ernestina C. Vela and Jose Regalado.
Recipients of the 25-year service award were Juana E. Chapa, Noemi Flores, Rebecca Gamez-Garcia, Margot Guardiola, Jesus M. Hernandez, Ceferino Izaguirre, Calixto Leija, Anna Maria G. Mendiola, Ernestina M. Mendoza, Margaret J. Moncibais-Sanchez, Jose A. Peña Jr., Antonieta Perales, Josie S. Reyes, Jesus A. Segura, Jaime C. Sosa and Pedro G. Vasquez.
The 30-year service award was given to Angelica N. Garcia, Cynthia D. Garza, Eleazar Gonzalez, Valeriano Hernandez Jr., Roger M. Johnston, Alfonso Mendiola, Ricardo A. Ramon Jr. and Gustavo Villarreal Jr.
Honored with the 35-year service award were Sara Carrasco, Raul Hernandez, Vicente H. Molina, Ronald V. Olson and Ernesto Zuniga.
Recognition also was given to faculty nominated by the college for an array of educational excellence awards.
Among the college’s nominees recognized were Virginia Y. Avila, Golden Apple Award; Anna Maria G. Mendiola, Minnie Stevens Piper Professors Award; and Delia Treviño, School Bell Award.
Instructors Joe Ruiz, Sylvia Elizondo, Rukmani Viswanath and James McCarry also were congratulated for receiving the excellence award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development of the University of Texas at Austin.
The college also honored individuals who demonstrated leadership among faculty and support staff with the presentation of the Organizational Leadership Awards. The honorees were Faculty Senate president Rukmani Viswanath and Classified Staff Organization president Angie Davalos.
A special highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the President’s Excellence Awards, recognizing employees for outstanding service to LCC and the community.
The LCC employees and the awards they received included Neha Jain, new employee of the year; Ana Proa, classified employee of the year; Carmen Seibert-Martinez and Phil Worley, co-administrators of the year; Oscar Gomez, faculty member of the year; Continuing Education Department (Steve Mon Dragon, Ricardo Cisneros, Dahlia Ferguson, Bertha Pedraza, Jose F. Reyes, Federico Zaragoza, Charlie Cantu, and Marisol Puga), teamwork award; Michael Sponberg, community service award; Linda Maldonado, committee chairperson of the year; Ceferino Izaguirre, professional/technical employee of the year; Horacio Salinas Jr., department chair of the year; Rene Laurel, adjunct faculty of the year; and Rachel Bohmfalk, Jaime Donjuan and Zane Richter, special recognition award.
During the ceremony, some faculty and staff members were honored for serving as sponsors for the many student clubs, organizations and publications on campus.
2005-2006 Retirees
5-Year Service Award Recipients
10-Year Service Award Recipients
15-Year Service Award Recipients
20-Year Service Award Recipients
25-Year Service Award Recipients
30-Year Service Award Recipients
35-Year Service Award Recipients
Organizational Leadership Award Recipients
President's Excellence Award Recipients
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