DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZED FOR SERVICE

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Each year, the Department of Agriculture holds a holiday luncheon to honor all employees and recognize a select few for their outstanding service. Award winners are chosen from nominations submitted by their fellow employees.

This year, Payroll Administrator Dawn Ribble of Chatham received the top honor, the Director's Achievement Award. This award goes to someone who has achieved excellence in his or her job during the past year.

Dawn is one of the first people you meet when you work at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and one of the last people you see when you leave or retire from the Department. Dawn alone does the work in payroll that many other state agencies employ an entire staff to do. She also takes time out of her schedule each year to put together a haunted house for students from Springfield's Ridgely Elementary School to walk through and enjoy at IDOA. Dawn's dedication, fairness, compassion, and extensive knowledge make her the perfect recipient of this year's Director's Achievement Award.

Kyran Wagenecht of Prophetstown, who works in the Division of Food Safety and Animal Protection, was awarded the Ag Ambassador Award, given to an employee who improves the general perception of the Department. Ky has been an inspector for the Egg Inspection Program for more than 30 years, sharing his vast knowledge with many suppliers in the egg business. In his award nomination, Ky is described as generous with his time, always available to return a call to a small producer who may have questions or work with a supplier on ways to solve egg quality issues. He constantly has the Illinois consumer and the Department's best interests at heart.  Because of these traits, Ky is respected in the egg industry and positively represents the Department. 

The Illinois Department of Agriculture's Fellowship Award, also known as the Assistant Director's Award, is given to someone who brings enthusiasm, energy, efforts, and goodwill to the workplace each day. Bobby Dowson of Auburn in the Bureau of Marketing, Promotion and Grants embodies this. Bobby carries a friendly attitude everywhere he goes, strengthening the Department's relationship with politicians, vendors, and constituents.

Rebecca "Mae" Emerick of Pawnee was honored with the Ron King Award for Efficiency. This is given to an individual or bureau for efforts to increase efficiency at the Department. Mae is an invaluable asset to the Bureau of Weights and Measures. During the past year, Mae worked through a backlog of unpaid accounts and late payments. In coordinating these tasks, Mae helped bring in a great amount of money for the Weights and Measures program. Mae also developed working relationships with many of IDOA's larger corporate customers, which helps the Bureau in resolving payment issues and receiving timely payments.

The Commitment to Quality Award is given to an individual or bureau that worked to improve the quality of a program, service, or official function. This year, the Bureau of Environmental Programs was awarded this for investigators' commitment to maintaining inspection processes and integrity, even as their caseload tripled with dicamba-related complaints.

Also recognized during the luncheon were those employees with landmark years of state service, including 40, 30, 25, 20, and 10 years. A complete list follows:

40 years

Name                              Hometown
Cheryl Bluhm                  Riverton
Marla Ingram                  Springfield
Martha McLaskey           West Frankfort

30 years

Name                             Hometown
Lorraine Allen                Canton
Lori Churchill                  Riverton
Deanna Clark                 Athens
Dawn Ribble                  Chatham
Kimberly Smith              Ashland
Belinda Warner             Springfield
Dorothy Williams           Springfield

25 years

Name                            Hometown
Carmen Addis               Lockport
Bambi Redpath            Springfield
Greg Spalding              Streator

20 years

Name                           Hometown
Curtis Glawe                Farmer City
John Goebel                Springfield
Stanley Martin, Jr.       Dow
Gerald Millburg            Litchfield
Kendall Moser             Pekin
Kenneth Ott                 Freeburg
Julie Reifschneider      Smithton
Ricardo Sanchez         Montgomery
James Stevens            Newton
Jan Weber                   Geneseo
Douglas Weers            Flanagan
Tina Woolsey               Du Quoin

10 years

Name                          Hometown
Lori Everhart               Springfield
John Krezol                Savanna
Kaylie Lemke             Grayslake
James McDermott      Towanda
Doug Rathbun            Springfield
Ricky Walker              Flanagan