HCRS held its annual meeting on November 7 at the Great Hall in Springfield. Attended by approximately 120 board members, staff, clients, and community members, the event highlighted the outcomes of the non-profit agency’s work during the past year.
Three guest speakers, all of whom have received services through HCRS, eloquently spoke of their challenges with mental illness, addiction, or disabilities and how HCRS has made a difference in their lives. At the end of these compelling presentations, the crowd gave an enthusiastic standing ovation in recognition of the bravery demonstrated by these individuals as they shared their private and very personal journeys of recovery.
Following the presentations, HCRS CEO George Karabakakis, Ph.D., with the assistance of G. Roland Ransom, Chief Human Resources Officer, handed out more than 50 staff awards for performance excellence as well as years of service.
Five Encore Awards were presented to staff who have gone above and beyond in demonstrating one or more of the Agency’s guiding values (Creativity, Integrity, Passion, Quality, Teamwork, Trust, and Wisdom). The winners are anonymously chosen by a representative group of staff as well as the agency’s Senior Leadership Team. The 2018 Encore Award recipients were: Adam Altshuler, Dawn Blom, Cuyler Cunningham, Nicole Godin, and Jennifer Marandino.
Service awards were presented to 51 employees who have a combined total of 430 years of service:
30 year service award: Anne Clark
25 year service award: Loriann Darrell
20 year service award: Drew Gradinger and Maris Noble
15 year service award: Cheryl Cavanagh, Karl Eno, Katie Gilcris, Joan Hooke, John Italia, and Sarah Jones
10 year service award: Kathryn Duncan, Mark Gebo, Gary Graff, Kathleen Lamphere, Jennifer Merrill, Lisa Rucker, Elizabeth Smith, and Brenda Stearman
5 year service award: Alina Abraham, Sarah Allain, Angela Bean, David Bingham, Paul Boutin, M.D., Scott Breedlove, Joshua Buchman, Donna Burns, Ailliea Carle, Rebecca Chrisinger, Todd Clark, Marissa Davis, Sharon Farnum Smart, Elizabeth Harris, Wayne Harvey, Karla Hill, Charlene Hjermstad, Lynn Huston, Gerda Lenselink, Lynn McCormick, M.D., Ciarra Monty, Aaron Morse, Lysa Mosca, Emily Mousel, Kristen Neuf, Brendan Nicholas, Lindsay Owens, Elaine Pierce, Christina Puffer, Mary Ruffing, Heidi Schroeder, Maura Shader, and Laura Schairbaum
Karabakakis notes, “We value our staff’s commitment to providing services and supports that help people lead healthy and meaningful lives. Our annual meeting provides us an opportunity to publicly recognize their efforts.”
