EXTRA MILE/ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARD:
This award recognizes a person or group frequently and consistently working outside normal expectations to make a difference within the Libraries, while maintaining quality service or outstanding production levels with a positive and professional attitude.
NOMINEES:
Shannon Bennett
Shannon Bennett is the cornerstone to the smooth functioning of the Miller Learning Center. If you have a problem, never worry, Shannon will take care of it! We would be lost without her. From her running of events and security, to her procurement of much needed supplies, Shannon is an indispensable Asset to the Miller Learning Center.
Shannon Bennett and Matt Beecher
Shannon and Matt - the Dynamic Duo - they fight crime, they keep peace, they have mental telepathy that allows them to solve problems before they even happen, they leap tall domed buildings in a single bound. This is NOT an exaggeration (well, maybe the last one). Just this past semester, they have gone undercover to solve problems such as the Mystery Sculpture Garden of spring 2010 and braved corporate evil to eject would-be pyramid schemers from recruiting in our fair building.
Shannon and Matt work together on Security and Events at the MLC to ensure the integrity and safety of our academic space and to guarantee that each event we hold here is lovely and perfect in every way. They are supportive supervisors to their staff and indispensable colleagues who are essential to the success of the MLC. Switching metaphors to match the current theme, like Ashford and Simpson they are "Solid as a Rock" and like Hall and Oates, they "Make Our Dreams Come True." Bravo bravo to Shannon and Matt!
Sheila Devaney
Where's Sheila? Not at her desk! She could be holding office hours in the business school, working on a library committee, helping patrons at the reference desk, or figuring out what to do with the Libraries' innumerable data sets, resources so scary some reference librarians just point and say "they're over there," then hide. Even with all that on her plate, Sheila is never too busy to meet with business students or faculty, helping them with research questions so scary some reference librarians just point and say "Sheila's over there," then hide. Sheila is always helpful, and always happy to help.
Chantel Dunham
On behalf of the Development office at the UGA Libraries, we would like to nominate Chantel Dunham, Director of Development, for the Extra Mile/Above and Beyond Award.
As the first Director of Development for the UGA Libraries, and serving in this role for the past 16 years, Chantel has helped to establish a Board of Visitors, found prospective donors, created unique events, and cultivated interest in and excitement about the important and amazing materials we have to offer. Chantel has also helped develop and endow the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame program and created signature events like the White Glove Dinner that have attracted the University's top donors. In her time as Director of Development, she has helped raise over $15M for the UGA Libraries.
Most recently, Chantel has been instrumental in helping raise the private funds that constitute one-third of the construction costs for the new $45M Special Collections Libraries Building. She travels frequently around the state and region seeking financial donations as well as historic materials to add to our ever-growing collections. There are many times when she is on the road for days at a time or working nights and weekends, sacrificing time with her family and friends to spread the word about the UGA Libraries.
Her passion for and dedication to the UGA Libraries is unparalleled. We have seen her seeds of ideas grow into successful programs and events which create awareness about the Library and the wonderful materials we have.
Not only is Chantel a great supervisor for whom to work, she is caring, funny, and always willing to lend a listening ear. We believe she is a great asset and should be recognized for her passion for the UGA Libraries, hard work, and dedication.
Nancy Stamper
I would like to take this opportunity to nominate Nancy Stamper for the Extra Mile/Above and Beyond Award.
This year, Nancy has been a great resource to various Hargrett cataloging projects, most notably the Wymberley Jones DeRenne collection cataloging project. Nancy's knowledge of the collection and its quirks has been invaluable when trying to figure out just what we have in hand. Dealing with rare materials isn't familiar territory for the cataloging staff working on the DeRenne collection however; Nancy always takes the time to answer our questions.
When Nancy isn't letting us pick her brain about some of the materials in the DeRenne collection, she is working on items contained in the rare book collection in preparation for the move to the Special Collections building. Recently, she has been working through a large gift collection from Dr. John Dowling. This collection is of great interest to several faculty members in the Romance Languages and they have commented on how excited they are that these materials are available for their research. Nancy's work is helping bring more exposure to the collections in the Hargrett Library and is creating a lot of interest in some of the older, rare materials that Hargrett owns.
Nancy's knowledge of cataloging rare materials, her knowledge of many of the Hargrett collections, and her sense of humor make her a really interesting and fun person to work with. I'm happy to nominate Nancy Stamper for this ASSET Award.