Employee Recognition Awards
2024 Award recipients were announced at the seventh annual FP&M Employee Recognition celebration July 16 and 17. Watch all award videos in English (no captions), or with on-screen captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English.
Thank you for all of your nominations to recognize FP&M employees for their sustained efforts!
New: Outstanding Campus Partner Award
An award just for FP&M campus partners was presented to Theresa Kim, Tamie Klumpyan and Tammy Starr from the UW-Madison Office of Human Resources’ Learning and Talent Development team in 2024!
FP&M employees can now nominate UW-Madison individuals or groups outside of the division for the FP&M Outstanding Campus Partner Award. This award recognizes those who have worked in partnership, collaboration or support of FP&M in the past year!
2025 Awards
Nominations will go toward the 2025 awards!
Send a Shout-Out
A shout-out is a way to give a brief “thank you” and recognize someone in the moment, year-round! Send a Shout-out to make someone’s day brighter. It will be shared on this website and in the FP&M Employee Newsletter.
Nominate
Please complete the nomination form.
Online Nomination Form
Print Nomination Forms
English | Español / Spanish | Hmoob / Hmong | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | नेपाली / Nepali | 中文 / Chinese
Please send PDF forms to recognition@fpm.wisc.edu or mail printed forms the following address: FP&M Recognition Team c/o Karen Demick, 21 N. Park Street, Room 7251, Madison, WI 53715-1227
- About
- 2023 Award Recipients
- 2022 Award Recipients
- 2021 Award Recipients
- 2020 Award Recipients
- 2019 Award Recipients
- 2018 Award Recipients
- Eligibility
- Award Categories
- Tips for Nominating
About
View the current recognition team members and see more about FP&M Employee Recognition below.
Select from tabs to learn about eligibility, award categories, tips for nominating and see past award recipients and videos!
Customer Service Award
Lee Bilke
Customer Service Representative | Transportation Services department
Nominated by Ji Young Yeo
Watch Video (English audio) | available with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Creative Solutions Award
Megan Fry and Al Yingling
Megan Fry: Mechanical Utilities Engineer | Physical Plant department
Al Yingling: Facilities Technician | Physical Plant department
Nominated by Ryan Pingel
Watch Video (English audio) | available with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Going Above and Beyond Award
Aaron McCoy
Asst. Chemical Hygiene Officer | Environment, Health & Safety department
Nominated by Christopher Strang Jeff Zebrowski, Amy S. Riedemann, Chris Richards, Casey Wampler, Tim Dalby, Ann Hommer, Charles Myer, Barry Dobbs and Mike Marean
Watch Video (English audio) available with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Unsung Individual Award
Timothy Akey
Facilities Technician I | Physical Plant department
Nominated by Sue Fritts
Watch Video (English audio) available with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Teamwork Award
Kathy Bear and Dawn Ness
Kathy Bear: Administrative Manager, Dawn Ness: Chief Financial Officer | Office of the AVC department
Nominated by Jason Rusch
Watch Video (English audio) available with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
AVC Excellence Award
Chemistry Response Team
Watch Video (English audio) available with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Various Titles and Departments
The Chemistry Response Team consisted of Ed Corcoran, Pete Dahl, Dave Goldade, Dale Kraus, Rob Kennedy, Mel Marecek, Silvie Marlette, Megan McBride, Aaron McCoy, Shannon O’Connell, Roger Parr, Craig Randles, Jeff Schiller, Pete Severson, Don Ties, Troy Vannieuwenhoven, Vitaliy Vasylyuk, Todd Yanke and Jeff Zebrowski
Nominated by AVC Cindy Torstveit
Customer Service Award
Clay Eckstein
Painter | Physical Plant
Nominated by Jana Valeo, Kerry O’Neill, and Robin Fisher
Watch Video | available in English audio with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Creative Solutions Award
Alex Pastena
PARCS IT Analyst – Senior | Transportation Services
Nominated by David Berland
Watch Video | available in English audio with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Going Above and Beyond Award
Elizabeth Oseid
Health Physicist | Environment, Health & Safety
Nominated by Jason Rusch
Watch Video | available in English audio with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Unsung Individual Award
Megha Poudel
Custodian | Physical Plant
Nominated by Deb Jurmu
Watch Video | available in English audio with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
Teamwork Award
Frank Horton & Kevin Steele*
Custodial Services Supervisors | Physical Plant
Nominated by Chris Bruns and multiple other co-workers
Watch Video | available in English audio with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
*Photo and video withheld on request
AVC Excellence Award
Space Management Team
Nominated by FP&M leadership and multiple stakeholders
Watch Video | available in English audio with captions in: Español / Spanish | བོད་སྐད / Tibetan | Hmoob / Hmong | 中文 / Chinese | नेपाली / Nepali | English
The following individuals from Space Management have received awards: Abe Schrump, Billy Huang, Brent Lloyd, Chad Hinman, Derek Dombrowski, Ellie Wu, Jesse Luckey Winters, Kate Larsh, Liz Fredricks, Madeline Norton, Mari Lynn Haugh, Matt Alexander, Michael Wood, Patrick Wodzinski, Rob Shively, Tom Wise, and David Gerber*.
*Not pictured by request
Teamwork Award
Lakeshore Nature Preserve Team
Gary Brown – Director
Laura Wyatt – Program Manager
Adam Gundlach – Field Projects Coordinator
Bryn Scriver – Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator
Connor Kotte – Natural Areas Technician; Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Nominated by Sara Hotchkiss (Botany Professor)
Creative Solutions Award
Jeff Templin
Waste & Recycling Manager, Physical Plant
Nominated by Travis Blomberg
Above and Beyond Award
Maddie Wojciuk
Environmental Health Specialist, Environment, Health & Safety
Nominated by Jim Morrison
Customer Service Award
Zhaleh Noubari
Sr. Facility Engineer, Physical Plant
Nominated by Kristine Peterson, David Downing, Randi Smith, Dana T. Wendt, Mark Wells
Unsung Individual Award
Hagos Beyra
Custodian, Physical Plant
Nominated by Tracker Dunn
AVC Excellence Award
Don Barrette
Gate Technician, Transportation Services
Nominated by Ben Rissman and Isaac Knoflicek
Teamwork Award
Custodial Crew 344
Juan Triana, Custodian, Physical Plant
Benito Monfil-Carballo, Custodian, Physical Plant
Hector Recoba, Custodian, Physical Plant
Juana Portugal, Custodian, Physical Plant
Todd Yaroch, Custodian, Physical Plant
Specialty Crew
Nominated by Sandie Bohne, FP&M
Creative Solutions Award
Kirstin Fosdal Selchow
Sr. Facilities Planning Specialist, Physical Plant
Nominated by Missy Nergard, FP&M
Above and Beyond Award
Scott Pollen
Custodial Services Supervisor, Physical Plant
Nominated by Karen Parrillo, UW–Madison Cultural and Linguistic Services
Customer Service Award
Sue Thalacker
Customer Service Supervisor, Transportation Services
Nominated by Gretchen Olson, UW–Madison SMPH Facilities
Unsung Individual Award
Mingur Dorjee
Custodian, Physical Plant
Nominated by Chad Froh, FP&M
AVC Excellence Award
Stephen (Steve) Skinner
Gardener, Physical Plant
Nominated by William Mann, Director of UW-Madison Conference Centers and Mail Services
Thank you for all that you do for FP&M and the university!
Customer Service Award
Stuart Statz
Physical Plant Plumber
Unsung Individual Award
Dale Kraus
Environment, Health & Safety
Going Above and Beyond Award
Maria Gutierrez
Physical Plant-Custodial Services
Team Work Award
Rosalino Chavez
Physical Plant-Custodial Services
Ernesto Cruz
Physical Plant-Custodial Services
Leonardo Orea
Physical Plant-Custodial Services
Roger Dote
Physical Plant-Custodial Services
Creative Solutions Award
Peter Armstrong
Transportation Services-Customer Service
AVC Excellence Award
Daniel Beechler
Environment, Health & Safety
Special Recognition Award
EF4 Polar Vortex Team:
Derick Babler
Physical Plant-Digital Controls
Nick Yaun
Physical Plant Electric Shop
Karl Trawicki
Physical Plant Steamfitting
Kevin Corcoran
Physical Plant Steamfitting
Congratulations and thank you for all you’ve done for FP&M!
| Customer Service Award | William R. Winner |
| Physical Plant– Paint Shop | |
| Unsung Individual Award | Lyle Jelle |
| Physical Plant– Waste and Recycling | |
| Going Above and Beyond Award | Gwen E. Freiberg |
| Physical Plant – Custodial Services | |
| Team Work Award | Abraham A. Schrump |
| Space Management Office | |
| Thomas J Wise | |
| Space Management Office | |
| Creative Solutions Award | Duane Marlette |
| Physical Plant– Stores and Customer Service | |
| AVC Excellence Award | Ernesto Cruz |
| Physical Plant – Custodial Services |
Congratulations and thank you for all you’ve done for FP&M!
Eligibility
Who can receive an Employee Recognition Award?
All FP&M employees are eligible for the division-wide FP&M employee recognition awards, regardless of employee class or category. There is no minimum length of service required to be eligible for an award.
Individual employees, teams, and workgroups can be nominated for an award — even if they have been nominated in the past. You may choose to nominate someone from another FP&M department or your own.
- Supervisors can nominate employees or fellow co-workers.
- Employees can nominate fellow co-workers, teammates, or supervisors.
- Self-nominations are not eligible to receive awards. (You cannot nominate yourself.)
- Recognition team members are not eligible to receive awards.
- Details are key. The more examples of great efforts you add to an award nomination, the better prepared the selection committee can be to select just five to receive an award out of the many nominated
You can help tell the story of great work through the lens of your unit!
Learn more about the five award categories: Teamwork, Customer Service, Going Above and Beyond, Unsung Individual, and Creative Solutions.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Teamwork Award
Recognize people who work together to achieve a common goal. Nominate a coworker or team that:
- Maintains effective working relationships with coworkers, supervisors, or customers
- Encourages teamwork by recognizing and promoting employee strengths
- Acknowledges the strengths of all employees and encourages teamwork
- Collaborates and cooperates when solving problems
- Supports UW–Madison values to achieve positive results together
Customer Service Award
Recognize a person who builds positive relationships and gives customers more than what they expect. Nominate someone who:
- Uses personal expertise and customer feedback to solve problems
- Handles customer concerns or customer requests quickly and effectively
- Has a respectful and friendly attitude with all customers
- Manages challenging customer service situations in a way that upholds UW–Madison values
Going Above and Beyond Award
Recognize a person for contributions beyond their job description. Nominate someone who:
- Acts in a way that positively influences the entire group or energy
- Does more than the job description requires (i.e., volunteering)
- Takes initiative to respond to difficult or unexpected events
- Exceeds goals and expectations
- Promotes employee morale and integrity in the workplace
Unsung Individual Award
Recognize a person who has made significant everyday contributions to their workplace and UW-Madison. Nominate someone who:
- Demonstrates integrity by being trustworthy, respectful, and accountable
- Consistently works towards team success
- Performs work accurately and follows professional standards
- Promotes high standards for honesty, responsibility, and perseverance
- Shares job-related knowledge and available resources with others
- Follows through on commitments
Creative Solutions Award
Recognize a person who uses inventive solutions to improve ideas or processes. Nominate someone who:
- Embraces change as an opportunity for improvement and continuous learning
- Participates in collaborative problem-solving and comes up with practical solutions
- Ensures a safe and healthy campus and work environment by following established procedures and protocols for their job functions at all times
- Independently finds and uses sustainable, effective, and efficient resources
Also access a print version of the Award Categories.
For more information, or to nominate one of your colleagues, please visit https://inside.fpm.wisc.edu/employee-recognition/.
Have questions? Need help? Email the Recognition Team at recognition@fpm.wisc.edu
Nomination pointers
Nominating someone for an Award is a great way to highlight all of an employee(s) contributions, accomplishments, and service to a unit or department!
Please provide a detailed description of the employee or team you wish to nominate. Include examples of their actions so that the selection committee can consider the nominee for one of five awards.
Those nominated become a part of our Honor Roll at the awards celebration and will later receive a copy of your nomination. Who doesn’t like a nice surprise?
- See more Tips for a Successful Nomination
- See Award Category descriptions
- Have questions? Need help? Email the Recognition Team at recognition@fpm.wisc.edu
IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME FOR RECOGNITION
There are many ways to recognize our co-workers!
So, what’s the difference between a giving a Shout-Out and nominating someone for a Recognition Award?
SHOUT-OUT
Know someone who could use a quick thank-you?
A Shout-Out is an awesome way to give a brief “thank you” and recognize an FP&M employee in the moment. Shout-outs are also accepted year-round to be featured on Inside FP&M and in the FP&M Employee Newsletter regularly.
Share your appreciation and make someone’s day brighter!
Send a Shout-Out.
Recognition Award
Know someone who deserves to be recognized?
Nominating someone for a Recognition Award is an excellent way to highlight FP&M employees’ contributions, accomplishments, and service to a unit or department. This can be over time. The FP&M Employee Recognition Team accepts nominations on a year-round basis for the annual Recognition Awards celebration.
Recognize someone’s contributions and accomplishments! Fill out the Nomination Form to nominate someone.
Latest Recognition News
About
Employee Recognition
Everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated for their hard work and dedication to the university. Recognizing employee contributions also helps solidify relationships and fosters employee engagement.
Acknowledging this, Facilities Planning & Management (FP&M) has developed and implemented both a formal recognition program and encouraged informal recognition opportunities in order to actively support our employees.
About the Awards
The FP&M Employee Recognition Awards are an opportunity for anyone to recognize FP&M employees, both as individuals and teams, for their outstanding contributions in providing excellence in facilities and services for our university community. These awards are supported by the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration and Facilities Planning & Management.
The FP&M Employee Recognition Award program is the first initiative created by the Employee Recognition work team, based on their own recommendations. This collaborative effort took into account a wide range of perspectives in addition to EID survey results, including qualitative interviews and workplace best practices.
FP&M employee recognition awards fall into five categories, each of which focuses on a different aspect of excellence in facilities and services. Award recipients are recognized at the annual Recognition event and receive a monetary prize and framed award certificate.
For more information, check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Driven by Survey Results
FP&M participates in the Engagement, Inclusion & Diversity (EID) Survey every two years to provide employees with an opportunity to provide feedback about FP&M as a workplace. Recognition-related scores have improved since the first survey in 2012, but favorable ratings still hovered around 50 percent and the unfavorable ratings were some of the highest division-wide for the entire survey. These survey results prompted the FP&M EID Team to include Employee Recognition as a Key Action Item in the 2016-17 EID plan.
FP&M formed an Employee Recognition work team with representation from across the division to identify specific areas for improvement and make recommendations for initiatives aimed at recognizing FP&M employees for their contributions to the division and the university.
The Employee Recognition work team continues to lead FP&M’s employee recognition conversation to improve recognition across campus.
Photo/Video
See the 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 awards videos; and photos from the 2019 Awards.
See a list of all past award recipients in the tabbed section above.
Questions?
Contact the divisional FP&M Employee Recognition team at recognition@fpm.wisc.edu.
