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The November 2005 newsletter, print version
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The November 2005 issue, online version.
DHHS Employees receive
State Employees' Awards for Excellence:
From seizing the opportunity to foil an attempted
robbery to volunteering as a staff nurse attending to critically ill
children with leukemia;
from rescuing a lost hunter in the mountains of 
North Carolina to working
tirelessly in enhancing the lives of students; from going above and beyond
the call of duty to devoting over 40 years to the care and promotion
of quality
of life for those individuals with severe and profound disabilities;
this year’s 10 State Employees’ Awards for Excellence recipients
illustrate a unique type of compassion for fellow citizens, for volunteerism,
and for serving One North Carolina.
High Tech solutions for DHHS Website Redesign
November is Family Caregiver's Month
State Medical Assistance Teams returning home
2005-06 DHHS Teacher of the Year
Lawrence recognized for mentoring dedication
NCSD students sign national anthem for Carolina Panthers game
ENCSD dedicates gym in honor of former coach
DHHS graduates nine from manager program
GMS participates in USBGA National Tournament
DHHS Employees receive State Employees’ Awards for Excellence
From seizing the opportunity to foil an attempted robbery to volunteering as a staff nurse attending to critically ill children with leukemia; from rescuing a lost hunter in the mountains of North Carolina via aerial search to working tirelessly in enhancing the lives of students at the North Carolina School for the Deaf; from going above and beyond the call of duty to devoting over 40 years to the care and promotion of quality of life for those individuals with severe and profound disabilities; this year’s State Employees’ Awards for Excellence recipients illustrate a unique type of compassion for fellow citizens, for volunteerism, and for serving One North Carolina.
Ten award recipients were selected from an impressive group of well-deserving state employees who were nominated by their fellow employees for their outstanding contributions in a variety of areas. Awards were presented to these recipients at this year’s ceremony on Oct. 17, at the NC Museum of History. Other nominees were recognized by their agencies and universities during the “Excellence in State Government Week,” Oct. 17 – 21. The State Employees’ Awards for Excellence is the highest honor a state employee can receive.
DHHS is honored to have two employees chosen as recipients for this year’s awards, they are Dr. J. Iverson Riddle, director of the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center in Morganton and Sharon Hicks, an employee at the North Carolina School for the Deaf also in Morganton. DHHS nominated seven employees for this year’s awards.
J. Iverson Riddle
When a man receives an award for “ruffling feathers” you can expect two things – the ends probably justified the means and those feathers needed shaking.
When
it comes to championing the rights of people with disabilities, Dr. J.
Iverson Riddle, the head of the Developmental Disabilities Center that
bears his name in Morganton has been, without apology, rightly and righteously
ruffling feathers for his entire career.
Dr. Riddle was awarded the State Employee Award for Excellence in the category of Outstanding State Government Service.
For more than 40 years, Dr. Riddle has tirelessly and selflessly dedicated his life and energy toward the care, treatment and well-being of people with developmental disabilities. He dreamed of a North Carolina that both protected and nurtured the profoundly disabled. But more than a dreamer, Dr. Riddle is a doer, for in the words of his own staff who nominated him: “As a result of Dr. Riddle's dreams, the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center has a number of ‘firsts’ in the field, many of which have been replicated in state and federal government.”
Among Dr. Riddle’s firsts is an Institutional Advocacy Program, now a national standard, and the state’s first Early Intervention Program, which has helped thousands of children with disabilities to be successfully supported and cared for in their own homes.
His award also notes that Dr.Riddle is “Always drawn to the notion of
the ‘joy quotient’ rather than the ‘intelligence quotient’,” and that
he “. . . developed a Creative Therapy Department where individuals may
express their feelings through artistic means.”
How do you sum up a life? Many would be hard pressed to do so, but for J. Iverson
Riddle the sum of his life is in the Center and community that surrounds and
supports it. For as his staff has noted, “Even after 40 years, Dr. J. Iverson
Riddle enters the workplace each day with enthusiasm of a professional who
still believes in the ideal and champions the cause. Dr. Riddle is truly a
champion in our eyes.”
Sharon Hicks
“ . . . it’s not only what she gives but the way she gives it.”
In a world where its too easy not to be involved with those around us, it takes a special person to remind us that selfless giving, caring and consideration mark the path of a life well lived.
Sharon
Hicks, a housekeeper at the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton,
is this year’s awardee for the State Employees’ Award for Excellence
in Human Relations.
She was nominated by her fellow employees and supervisor as well as students because all who know her consider Sharon not only an outstanding state employee but also an outstanding human being as well. As her nomination noted “Whether it is a with a student or a teacher, each finds comfort in Sharon’s sincerity along with motivation and inspiration in her encouragement.”
"Sharon Hicks understands the importance of the personal touch in customer service. She greets students and staff alike with a warm smile and she goes out of her way to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary while she goes about doing her work,” said Linda Lindsey, NCSD director. “She is very deserving of the State Employees' Award for Excellence in the area of human relations and all of us at NCSD are very proud of her."
Bob Cannoles, Hicks’ supervisor in the Environmental Services Department for NCSD, also commended her for her work at the school. “Sharon is certainly an asset to the campus of NCSD. It has been my privilege having her as a member of my staff during these past five years. She is a very unique individual who possesses many wonderful qualities rarely found in one individual in today’s workforce.”
In recognition of Hicks, the school held an assembly in the Chapel. The middle school students expressed their congratulations to Hicks by presenting a program in her honor.
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