Staff honored for service milestones, Distinguished Staff Awards announced
Lamar University brought staff members together on May 6 for its annual Staff Service Awards ceremony, an on-campus celebration recognizing employees for milestone years of service and outstanding contributions to the university.
The event highlighted employees reaching service anniversaries from five to 40 years, alongside the presentation of the Distinguished Staff Awards, which recognize employees who demonstrate exceptional performance, leadership, and service to the university community.
“What I really want to say is just thank you, thank you for all you do for Lamar University and thank you for what you do for the students,” Lamar University President Jaime Taylor said during the ceremony. “We might not be perfect in what we do to help our students, but what I see here at Lamar is everybody cares, and if everybody cares, and we keep moving students first, we’ll eventually get it right.”
Five-year honorees included Wayne Cordova, Autumn Esclovon, Alex Ohene, Synithy Thomas, Anthony Guilbeau, Dwayne Spann, Gregory Royer, Theresa Parker, Margaret Guidry, Jasmine De La Rosa-Bonilla, Melissa Isom, Isabella Gossett, Kyla Johnson and Amy Jones.
Ten-year honorees were Angelia Miller, Chad Morris, Natalie Butaud, Mohammed Abdelkarym, Jessie Mudd, Jennifer Hamilton, Angela Collins, Debra DuBois, Carly Cox, Cynthia Conner, Leslie Perkins, Tor Trahan, Shelly Traxler, Tracy Bourgeois, W. Marc Paine, Corey Martin, Kallun Sheppard, LaTarsha Kea, Katherine Miller, Jon-Michael Wallace, Anne-Marie McGreevy, Kent O’Quinn, Naomi McIntoush, Zachary Griffin, Bruce Wright, Uliana Trylowsky, Shannon Harris, Lyle Goines and Tilisa Thibodeaux.
Employees celebrating 15 years of service included Gina Decuir, Anthony Hayes, Kelly Tran, Romania Parramore, Nicole Hebert, Paula Dunigan, Kathleen Carlisle, Kelli Morris, Amy Dillow, Ellen Singler, John Shankles, Kenneth Rodriguez, Monty Jones, Barbara Johnson, Melissa Strout, Dhonte Ferguson and Noemi Hinojosa.
Honorees for 20 years of service were Alicia Hargreaves, Shonda Wilson, Irma Rougau, Stephanie Allen, Lance Hutchins, Rachel Klauss, Katrina Brent, William Short Jr. and Michael Smith.
Those marking 25 years included Theresa Hefner-Babb, Linh Nguyen, Scott Hatten, Susan Sterling, Stacey Haynes, Jason Harrington, Chandra Bryant, Larry Ford and Michelle Morrison.
Brandi Lewis was recognized for 30 years of service, while Irma Jones, Jody Thousand and Cynthia Hicks were honored for 35 years. Charlotte Holliman and John Genuardi were recognized for 40 years.
The ceremony also recognized nominees for the Distinguished Staff Award.
This year’s nominees included Victor Albania, Kylie Barras, Carolina Bryan, Angela Burke, Paula Chavis, Andrew Coughlan, Cynthia Dean, Abbie Flores, Hector Flores, John Genuardi, Betty Goudeaux, Samuel Gator, Rachel Juneau, Nicole Kyles-Burton, Candy Legendre, Kiani Lewis, Heather Martindale, Ryan Patrick, Paula Scrougham, Azadeh Semien, Jennifer Touchet-Burnett and Dynesha Washington.
Dr. Samuel Gator, Betty Goudeaux and Nicole Kyles-Burton received this year’s Distinguished Staff Awards.
More information about staff recognition programs is available through Lamar University Staff Council.