Pine Belt Times

Jones College faculty and staff accomplishments honored

Fifteen Jones College faculty and staff members were recently honored for their accomplishments in the workplace over the previous academic year. The Employee Appreciation Awards began in 2004 with funds contributed by retired JCJC President, Dr. Ronald Whitehead, and the college’s Foundation, Inc. Finalists were selected and interviewed by the Faculty and Staff Recognition Program’s Selection Committee. Prior to the employee recognition program, an outdoor lunch was provided by the college and the JCJC Foundation Inc.

“Honoring and appreciating all of our employees is the least we can do considering how we all work together for the good of the college, our students and our community. Offering an afternoon of fun and fellowship is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for making Jones great,” said Amie McQueen, Interim VP of Advancement.

The Leadership Award for Administrative Excellence was established six years ago to honor a mid-level administrator whose commitment to the profession stands out amongst their peers. John Howard Robertson, VP of Information Technology was selected as the recipient of the 2023 Leadership Award for Administrative Excellence.  Jones College President, Dr. Jesse Smith praised Howard’s ability to overcome an incredible number of obstacles and being the most level-headed leader over the five years he has served at Jones College.

“It was very encouraging for me to receive this honor,” said Howard. “As an administrator, I believe my goal is to work alongside others to make things run more smoothly. Jones is a great place to work, and I’m thankful my teammates feel I’ve been of some help to them.”

Speech instructor, John Burks was selected to receive the Barbara and Gary Sauls Award for Excellence in Teaching Humanities. The Humanities Division faculty member has been teaching at Jones since 2007. The scholarship and awards committee acknowledged how Burks exemplifies intellectual integrity in the classroom, and has encouraged independent analytical thinking skills, loves humanitarian pursuits and fosters a positive rapport with students. This award was initiated by JCJC alumni, Mr. & Mrs. Gary W. “Buddy” and Barbara Sauls. Their daughter, Tracy was a 1990 JCJC graduate. Mr. Sauls was a former JCJC Board of Trustees member and Barbara Sauls is currently on the JCJC Foundation’s Advisory Board. Burks was awarded a $500 cash prize and an acrylic plaque.

“I have been teaching at Jones College for 15 years. Jones is a family tradition with my grandmother, mom, uncle, and aunt all attending Jones,” said Burks. “Teaching and working with students is very rewarding. In addition, my colleagues make each day delightful.” 

In the individual employee appreciation honors, 12 individuals from three categories of employees, faculty members, office staff and administrative support, and employees working in, maintenance, housekeeping, campus grounds and campus police were each awarded certificates of achievement. Faculty finalists each received a cash prize of $250 and the overall winner received an additional $750 and an acrylic plaque. Each staff employee finalist was awarded a cash prize of $125, and the overall winner received an extra $500 and an acrylic plaque.

One of the finalists for the faculty awards was Dr. Ben Burge, who has worked at Jones for six years as the Director of Bands. For the past 22 years, he has been a band director for bands in Madison and Pearl River Counties, including Belhaven University. Dr. Shelby Hanna has been employed at Jones for 13 years as the Career Technical Student Services Coordinator and teaches Smart Start Pathway for the CTE programs. Welding instructor, Tommy Freeman has been teaching at Jones College for nine years at the Greene County Center. Thomas Johnson has been teaching the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Program for five years. Tim Morris was selected as the Teacher of the Year honor. He has taught English and World Literature at Jones College for the past 10 years. He was also recently selected as the Mississippi Humanities Council, Jones College Teacher of the Year.

“Being recognized for my work in the classroom means the world to me. As an educator, I enjoy working to encourage my students to pursue their dreams, and while seeing their success is very rewarding, I am humbled and overwhelmed to be honored by the College as well. This recognition has allowed me to reflect on my journey to this point in my career, and I look forward to many more years of serving in the field of education,” said Morris.

Nominated for the Office Staff and Administrative Support Employee of the Year award included Stephanie Bey-Enrollment Management, Crystal Nail-Grant Funding, Lisa Sims and Taryn Tyree-Enrollment Management. Candace Geddie, who works in Enrollment Management, was selected as the Employee of the Year for the Office Staff and Administrative Support division.

In the maintenance, housekeeping, campus grounds and campus police departments division, Environmental Safety/Housekeeper, Rebecca Covalt was nominated along with Campus Policeman and I.T. specialist, Tony Hales. Taking the top spot as Employee of the Year was Jeffrey Morris who works on the campus grounds.  

As an honorary employee of the college, Sodexho cafeteria employee, Cherylon Crosby was honored for her work. She received a $500 cash award for her efforts on behalf of the college.

Original source can be found here.