Shawnee County honors employees and retirees at April 14 work session

The Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners held an employee recognition ceremony during its Monday, April 14, work session to honor staff service anniversaries and recent retirees, Commissioner Aaron Mays said at the start of the meeting.

The event recognized dozens of county employees across departments for milestone anniversaries — including several employees with multi‑decade tenures — and named recent retirees. Commissioners Aaron Mays (chair, District 3) and Kevin Cook (District 2) attended and offered remarks; county staff organized the presentation and several department leaders introduced their honorees.

“Every time it gets a little bit bigger,” Commissioner Aaron Mays said, noting the county resumed in‑person recognition after a pause during the COVID‑19 pandemic. “This is a constant reminder…of just how great the people are that work here.”

Human resources staff led the ceremony and called employees forward by service category. Those recognized included employees with five‑ and 10‑year anniversaries, and a larger group with 20 or more years of service. Examples cited during the presentations: Lori (45 years with the county clerk’s office), Mike Welch (40 years with Public Works), Trisha Kirkwood (30 years with the county clerk’s office), Shauna Hendricks (30 years with the Department of Corrections), Anne Bartlow (25 years with the Health Department), and Domingo Lopez (20 years with Solid Waste). Several employees with 25 years in information technology and corrections were also recognized; one employee, Asim Shaikh, was noted as retiring and will be honored again at the July ceremony.

Department leaders briefly described honorees’ roles. Teresa Fisher, director of the Shawnee County Health Department, introduced Anne Bartlow and noted Bartlow’s long service in childcare licensing: “She’s helped to navigate the complexities of childcare licensing with grace and dedication,” Fisher said. Bill Sutton of Solid Waste recognized Domingo Lopez for 20 years of service as a driver and route supervisor. Mark Price, representing Information Technology, thanked staff who maintain payroll and law‑enforcement systems and singled out Todd Polinski and Ryan Baumchen for 20 and 25 years of service, respectively.

Many presenters emphasized the variety of duties county employees perform and the institutional knowledge long‑tenured staff provide. Commissioners and department leads repeatedly thanked employees for day‑to‑day work that keeps county operations running, from maintenance and public‑works projects to corrections records and technology systems.

The meeting also included recognition of retirees. Rhonda Praisewater was honored for 33 years with the county clerk’s office; Larry Lesser was recognized for 27 years in residential container maintenance at Solid Waste and was noted as pursuing golf in retirement.

After the recognition program, the commissioners noted there were no public commenters signed up and adjourned the session. Commissioner Kevin Cook thanked the human resources staff for organizing the event: “There’s a lot of work that goes into researching and making sure we’ve got all the certificates for everybody,” he said.

The ceremony was presented as an internal recognition event; no policy actions, votes, or committee decisions were recorded during the session and the meeting concluded with adjournment.