Maine Perspective Front Page
CEAC Award Winners Named
Diane LeGrande from the Kinesiology and Physical Education Program, and Lynn West, Purchasing Department, are the 1999 recipients of Outstanding Employee Awards for Classified Employees.
The awards are presented annually to classified employees whose actions and activities, above and beyond normal work responsibilities, have provided outstanding service to their departments, the University and community. The Classified Employees Advisory Council (CEAC) sponsors the awards.
The two award winners will be among those honored at the Employee Recognition Banquet, May 18.
LeGrande, a member of the University community since 1994, was nominated for her "remarkable capacity for understanding, caring and efficiency" in serving the 200 undergraduate and 40 graduate students, while providing support to six full-time and 12 adjunct faculty members. She also serves as the full-time administrative coordinator of the Maine Center for Coaching Education and National Youth Sports Program. According to her co-workers who nominated her, the success of these two highly visible and valuable UMaine programs is largely due to LeGrande. According to one faculty member, "her ability to effectively communicate, organize and lead is invaluable, highly respected and outstanding."
West, an administrative associate, has worked in Purchasing for the past 11 years. She was nominated for her award because of her hard work and dedication on behalf of the University. West also was cited for her response to a crisis involving a co-worker, who was inexplicably absent from work one October morning. When West knew "something wasn't right," she made phone calls, drove to the co-worker's home and alerted family members. West's caring and concern for a colleague's well-being, coupled with her persistence, is credited with saving the life of her co-worker, who was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. In the weeks that followed, West did her job and that of her recovering co-worker and another employee who left the department. As one staff member put it, "she's been our MVP."