Lake Land College Celebrates Employees

Lake Land College recognized employees who will be retiring, those who have achieved years of service milestones, faculty award winners and peer-nominated Shine award recipients at an employee recognition event in March.

Lake Land College congratulated the 2024 retirees: Chemistry Instructor Iffat Ali with 27 years of service; Art Instructor Jodi Birdwell with 25 years of service; Kluthe Site Technician Gary Branson with 19 years of service; Academic Counselor Emily Hartke with 28 years of service; Division Chair Humanities & Communication/Communication Studies/English Instructor Salisa Hortenstine Olmsted with 31 years of service; Electronics Engineering Technology Instructor/Program Coordinator Gary Lindley with 24 years of service; Director of Fitness Center/Softball Head Coach Nic Nelson with 10 years of service; IT Instructor/Program Coordinator, IT-Network Administration Scott Rhine with 27 years of service; Police Sergeant Chad Smith with 26 years of service and Dean of Admission Services Jon Van Dyke with 30 years of service.

At the event, Lake Land College President Josh Bullock recognized college employees who met years of service milestones.

Academic Counselor Bryan Burrell and Dean of Admissions Services Jon Van Dyke were recognized for 30 years of service.

Those honored for 25 years of service included Director of Marketing & Public Relations Kelly Allee; Art Instructor Jodi Birdwell; Business Instructor Angela Davison; Administrative Assistant to the Vice President Becky Earp; Accounting & Payroll Specialist Michelle Gill; History Instructor Matthew Greider; Institutional Equipment Technician II Eric Hamilton; Business Instructor Jonathan Lebold; Economics Instructor Brian Lynch; English Instructor Bob Newell and Application Engineer Brenda Venatta Catey.

Honored for 20 years of service was Online Support & Instructional Specialist Sue Nugent.

Those honored for 15 years of service include Developmental Reading and Writing Instructor Judy Bennett; Chair of the Lake Land College Board of Trustees Gary Cadwell; Application Engineer Matthew Gillenwater; Academic Counselor Jennifer Melton; Groundskeeper Jimmie Shoot and Allied Health Dental Clinical Instructor Sheila Wilson.

Those honored for 10 years of service include Human Service Clinical Supervisor Christa Borries; Print Shop Technician Assistant Peggy Campbell; Psychology Instructor Andy Gaines; DOC Special Projects Manager Harvey Groennert; Associate Dean of Enrollment Management Pam Hartke; Chief of Staff Jean Anne Highland; Director of Athletics Bill Jackson; WIOA Operations Coordinator Tony Logue; Chemistry Instructor Claire Miller; Adult Education Instructor Aleyda Munoz; Director of Fitness Center/Softball Head Coach Nic Nelson; Psychology Instructor Amber Niebrugge; Ag Power Technology Instructor Woody Reinhart; Assistant Baseball Coach Volunteer Zachary Stuart; Digital Media Specialist Aaron Tardy and Library Circulation Assistant Catherine Tillman.

Those honored for 5 years of service included Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Amanda Allen; Emergency Services Program Coordinator Jasmine Ballard; Criminal Justice Instructor/Coordinator Criminal Justice Programs David Chambers; Alternative Education Transition Coordinator Laney Cruit; Lake Land College Trustee Kevin Curtis; Executive Director for College Advancement Christi Donsbach; Student Services Specialist III – Admissions Tanisha Fulk; Mathematics Instructor Sarah Harley; Director Student Success Services Kim Hunter; IDOC CPR Instructor Katherine Johnson; Maintenance II Bill Kearns; Print Shop Technician Amanda Latch; Application Engineer Dustin Mason; Custodian David Matherly; Custodian Scott Mummel; Assistant to Dean of Corrections Brittany Myerscough; Custodian Elizabeth Pinner; Alternative Education Instructor Michelle Redd; TRIO Student Support Services Advisor Gavin Shawver; Infrastructure Administrator/Infrastructure Team Lead Kyle Szabo; Groundskeeper Dalton Todd; WIOA Financial Operations Contractor Debbie Whitacre; Agriculture Instructor/Judging Team Coach Hayden Wilder; Nursing Instructor Bethany Workman; Lake Land College Trustee Denise Walk; Lake Land College Vice Chair Tom Wright and Technical Support Specialist II Phillip Zike.

Adjunct faculty members were also honored for semester milestones. For 80 semesters Carolyn Stephens was recognized. For 40 semesters Brooke Ferguson, Damon McNeill and Jodi Swann were honored. James Jarrett was honored for 30 semesters. For 20 semesters, Jesse Horton was recognized. For 10 semesters, Rachel Daugherty and Traci Becker were honored.

Spanish/English Instructor and Faculty Honors Experience Advisor Casey Reynolds presented the 2024 LLCFA Outstanding Service Faculty Award to Marcy Satterwhite, Business Instructor/Program Coordinator and Desktop Publishing/Graphic Design. Vice President for Academic Services Ike Nwosu presented the 2024 ICCTA Outstanding Full-time Faculty Award to Matt Landrus, English Instructor.

President Bullock then announced the 2024 Shine Award recipients including Director Student Success Services Kimberly Hunter, Police Sergeant Chad Smith and Transportation Training Coordinator Justin Onigkeit.

All Shine nominees were recognized at the event, including Dean of Correctional Programs Jennifer Billingsley; Perkins Specialist Joy Kaurin; Coordinator of Mental Health Services Thomas Moll; Director of TRIO Programs Lori Ohnesorge; Comptroller Madge Shoot; Digital Media Specialist Aaron Tardy and Adult Education Transition Coordinator Mariah White-Landrus.

Two teams were also recognized, including the Admissions and Records department of Bailey Sigrist, Claire Carr, Faith Donaldson, Lesley Coderko and Tanisha Fulk and the Enrollment Management Project Team of Heather Nohren, Kelly Allee and Pamela Hartke.

The Lake Land College Board of Trustees expressed congratulations and gratitude to all of the employees honored at the event for the hard work and dedication the employees have shown to the college.