Service anniversaries recognized
Honorees (left to right) Brenda Crawford, School of Medicine; Micheline Heckler, University Communications; Florie Montoya, Human Resources; Mollie Young and Patricia Balodis, School of Medicine; and Mary Lassiter, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.
On July 20, the University of Colorado Denver honored more than 250 employees for service of five to 30 years during a luncheon on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
Vice President for Health Affairs and Executive Vice Chancellor of the Anschutz Medical Campus -- and longtime employee herself -- Lilly Marks tallied the years represented by the honorees. Depending on how you count, she noted, the total represented in the room was in the range of 2,600 years!
Chancellor Jerry Wartgow told the honorees, “You all have a right to feel a sense of pride. Your work makes our strained resources go further.”
Assistant Vice Chancellor Kevin Jacobs, human resources, served as program master of ceremonies. He explained that each year employees are honored for anniversaries in increments of five years. While five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service certainly are significant accomplishments for any individual, two honorees topped the charts with 30 years of service each. They are Mary Lassiter, program assistant, Educational Opportunity Programs, Denver Campus, and Susan Geraghty, nurse specialist, Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Anschutz Medical Campus.
Lassiter began work at the University of Colorado Denver Center, formerly known as the “extension center.” "It remains my desire to serve the university for a few more years and then I want to volunteer in an area in this community serving homeless individuals in need of transitional housing,” she said. “I also want to continue telling stories through my quilting."
Jacobs also congratulated six employees who were named 2010 Employees of the Month as selected by the University Staff Council: Mark Arge, Mary Francavilla, Perina Morgan, Francine Olivas-Zarate, and now-retired Deborah Kornblith and LuJuana Cotton.