Author: Melody Barrett
Aug. 3, 2017 — Four employees of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services were named Caswell Award recipients in June.
The Caswell Award honors employees who have served North Carolina for 45 years or more. It acknowledges and expresses appreciation for noteworthy, extended dedicated service.
Fifteen state employees were honored this year. The DHHS employees who received the award are:
- Carole Allen, Division of Social Services
- Barbara McDonald, Division of Social Services
- Charles Philbeck, Division of Public Health
- Vivian Williams, Longleaf Neuro-Medical Treatment Center
The employees, along with 11 other state workers, were honored at a ceremony at the North Carolina Museum of History, where First Lady Kristin Cooper, state leaders and other dignitaries held a celebration to recognize them for their longstanding dedication to state service.
“The combined contribution of experience, knowledge and commitment these employees provide to our work force and to our state is invaluable,” said Barbara Gibson, Office of State Human Resources Director. “We admire and respect their tremendous work ethic and the difference they make in the lives of North Carolinians.”
The honored employees from DHHS said the awards ceremony is not a moment they will soon forget.
“Not only did I enjoy the ceremony itself, but meeting the other honorees and learning about their work was a treat,” said McDonald, a quality assurance analyst with the DSS’ Performance Management/Reporting and Evaluation Management Section. “We each talked about how much we cared about the work we do and the people in our great State.”
Williams, a buyer in the Purchasing Department for Longleaf Neuro-Medical Treatment Center, said, “It was a special occasion for me to attend the celebration, accept the award and meet so many distinguished dignitaries and fellow honorees. This occasion was a highlight in my life.”
Philbeck, lead regional consultant in the Immunization Branch, added, “It is always nice to get a ‘pat on the back’ and the Caswell Award was certainly a nice award to receive.”
Williams and others said they were proud of the work they’d done over the course of their many years working in state government.
“I would like to convey that I really enjoy working with our wonderful state of North Carolina,” she said. “It is a pleasure to be a part of such a great undertaking by working for the Department of Health and Human Services at Longleaf Neuro-Medical Treatment Center.”