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Shawnee County honors fourth-quarter 2024 service anniversaries and retirements
Summary
Shawnee County held a work session to recognize employee service anniversaries ranging from five to 35 years and to honor several recent retirees, including long-serving elected and county staff members.
Shawnee County commissioners and staff recognized employees marking service anniversaries and recent retirements at a work session focused on fourth-quarter 2024 awards, Human Resources Director Mike Augustine said.
The event honored employees with five-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30- and 35-year milestones and acknowledged several retirees who left county service in the last three months of 2024. Augustine explained the ceremony format and asked award recipients to come forward to receive certificates and photographs.
The recognitions included multiple five- and 10-year awardees across departments. Augustine named Jackson Perez Kolleker (Corrections, not present), Jason Appelhan (Corrections), Scott Spoonmore and Marissa Stanley (Corrections), Virgil Collins (Sheriff’s Office), Timothy Arterberry (Solid Waste) and Lori Hoover (Treasurer’s Office, motor vehicle) among five-year honorees. Ten-year honorees included Bradley Dean (Information Technology), Michael Wyatt (Parks and Recreation), Scott Peterson (Sheriff’s Office), Melissa Burghardt, Megan Jones and Ashley Gonzales (Treasurer’s Office, motor vehicle).
Brian Cole, director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, presented several longer-service awards and praised individual staff. Cole said, "Ed has been with us for 25 years," of Ed Fulmer, whom he credited with work on the jail's work-release and reentry efforts. Cole also described Stephanie (last name not given in the presentation) as "unwavering" in her commitment to the juvenile population and noted her leadership roles in the detention center’s programs and committees.
Commissioner Cook spoke during retirement recognitions about Treasurer Larry Ma, saying Ma "announced last week that his last official date will be in January" and thanked him for roughly 12 years of service as Shawnee County treasurer. The ceremony also recognized Tammy Tefft (listed in remarks as a 35-year retiree from the Treasurer’s Office), Lucy Tindall (County Clerk’s Office, 25 years), Clara Norris (23 years, Health Department account clerk), John Grimshaw (21 years, custodian), Eric (last name not given in the remarks) for 28 years in corrections and several other long-serving employees.
Other department heads introduced and thanked employees by name and tenure: Bill Sutton of Shawnee County Solid Waste recognized Howard "Howie" Cummings for 25 years; Tom Hammer (Parks and Recreation) introduced Tom (last name Hammer spoke about Tom; the honoree listed as Tom with 25 years) for work overseeing natural areas and park management; and Sheriff Hill acknowledged three employees, including Sergeant Aaron Rivera and Sergeant Christopher Keyes, for long service and varied assignments in the sheriff’s office.
Several presenters highlighted the institutional knowledge and daily contributions retirees and long-serving staff provide to county operations, from custodial and maintenance work to corrections, public safety, and licensing. Cole emphasized the breadth of duties in the Department of Corrections and noted the impact support staff have had on sanitation and audits, saying the county maintained comparatively low COVID infection rates in its facilities during the pandemic because of those practices.
Human Resources closed the program by thanking all Shawnee County employees for their service and noted that refreshments were provided following the ceremony. The work session concluded with an adjournment after the recognitions.
