VSU Honors 145 Employees for Dedication to Blazer Nation

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University recently celebrated faculty and staff loyalty and longevity with a commemorative service recognition video, which may be viewed at https://bit.ly/30yjnpx. The traditional in-person reception was not possible due to the ongoing global health crisis and the university’s commitment to prioritizing the health and safety of its faculty, staff, and students.

“I look forward to resuming celebrations like this in our traditional in-person format very soon,” shared Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of VSU. “What an honor it is to be a part of Blazer Nation. We could not provide the excellent education, growth, and support to our students that we do without the dedication of the outstanding men and women who make up our faculty and staff.

“To those who have served and continue to serve our wonderful institution, I am incredibly thankful to you all. Your commitment to our students is unwavering, and you are changing lives every day.”

Employees with five, 10, 15, and 20 years of service were recognized with a certificate, pin, a gift certificate to dine on campus, and other gifts. Employees with 25 or more years of service were recognized with a silver plate embossed with the university logo, a gift certificate to dine on campus, and other gifts.

40 Years

• Division of Finance and Administration — Marty Atkins

35 Years

• Division of Academic Affairs — Chester Ballard and Said Fares
• Division of Student Success — Sandra Griffin

30 Years

• Division of Finance and Administration — Thomas Carter
• Division of Student Success — Patrick McElwain
• Division of Academic Affairs — Barney J. Rickman

25 Years

• Division of Finance and Administration — Anthony Bryant, Rufus Foster, Barry Futch, Stephen Manning, Traycee Martin, and Patrick Smith
• Division of Information Technology — Clifford Giddens
• Division of Academic Affairs — Jonathan Campbell, Doug Farwell, Carol Glen, Elizabeth Goode, Donna Gosnell, Kristen Johns, Susan LaPlant, Corine Myers-Jennings, James Nienow, Denise Reid, Charles Talor, and David Wasieleski
• Division of Student Affairs — Janice Key
• Division of Student Success — Rozelle Slaymon and Marsha Walden
• Division of Athletics — Mickey Woods

20 Years

• Division of Student Success — Brenda Beasley and Chere Peguesse
• Division of Finance and Administration — Willie Bradley, Regina Lee, and Benjamin McCranie
• Division of Academic Affairs — Lorraine Clevenger-Schmertzing, Charles Conner, Sandra Delk, Jennifer Gill, Robert Green, Ruth Hannibal, Sheree Hudson, Donald Leech, and Kathy Warner
• Division of Student Affairs — John Wright
• Division of Information Technology — Michael Young

15 Years

• Division of Finance and Administration — Melissa Adams, Billy Barker, Glenn Blount, Michael Broam, Diane T. Cocke, and Lynn Darsey
• Division of Student Affairs — Amy Aud
• Division of Academic Affairs — Daniel Baracksay, Li-Mei Chen, Lorena Cole, Linda de la Garza, William Faux, Robert Gannon, Ransom Gladwin, Mary Gorham-Rowan, Nicole Gunn, Dixie Haggard, Kelly Heckaman, Chunlei Liu, Marvin Mears, Kenneth Moates, Ivan Nikolov, Rebecca Petrella, Beatriz Potter, Brian Ring, Michael Sanger, Annetta Taylor, and Shani Wilfred
• Division of Student Success — Alicia Roberson
• Division of Athletics — Michael Helfer and Thomas Macera

10 Years

• Division of Academic Affairs — Thomas Aiello, Danielle Costello, Colette Drouillard, Jie Fowler, Luis Gonzalez, Jeremy Hankinson, Kynthia James, Hanae Kanno, Jia Lu, Anne Moye, Barbara Radcliffe, Darrell Ross, Victoria Russell, Robert Taylor, Jose Velez, and Chang Woo Yang
• Division of Student Affairs — Frank Anderson, Sheena Holland, and Brenda Johnson
• Division of Student Success — Barrie Fitzgerald, Veronica Graham, Joshua Robertson, and Brittany Smith
• Division of Finance and Administration — Julienne Jackson, James Jenkins, Jeanie Patterson, Roy Smith, and Tracey Williams

Five Years

• Division of Academic Affairs — Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm, Harry Beverly, Andrew Black, Ashley Braswell, Casey Colson, Cynthia Corgan, Anurag Dasgupta, Mark Errol, Peter Geldrich, Carla Gervin, Robert Harding, Pamela King, Andrea Krispin, Joseph Mason, Catherine McArthur, Leah McLaren, Walter Moore, Samantha Paul, Melissa Pihos, Melissa Porterfield, Katherine Walden, and Michael Webster
• Division of Information Technology — Hunter Baxter and Markaysa Robinson
• Division of Student Affairs — Madison Beaumarchais
• Division of Finance and Administration — Michael Browning, Jeffery Eltzroth, Jennifer Griffin, Kenny McDonald, Charlie Register, Joseph Ritter, and Alan Rowe
• Division of Student Success — Chad Daugherty, Jessica Deal, Graham Nguyen, Dowling Payne, Loanne Sloan, and Amy Strickland
• Division of University Advancement — Sydney Land
• Division of Athletics — Todd Smoot