Staff Council’s Employees of the Month for 2009

January 2009

The Staff Council wishes to congratulate Sarah Boyles, Employee of the Month for January 2009. Sarah was born in Clarksdale and later moved to Decatur, Alabama, where she graduated from Decatur High School. She joined the DSU staff in February 1989 as Senior Clerk in the newly formed Telecommunications Department, was promoted to Data Base Manager and then to Telecommunications Services Manager. In January 2006 Sarah transferred to Graduate Studies as Senior Secretary and in August 2006 was promoted to her current position as Administrative Secretary in Graduate and Continuing Studies. Sarah and her husband Charles (retired from DSU) reside in Cleveland and are members of First Baptist Church. Sarah has two grown children, Melissa and Brian. She is being recognized for her commitment to ensuring that DSU graduate students are well served by volunteering for additional responsibilities on the weekend during a busy registration. We appreciate your dedication, Sarah!

February 2009

Congratulations go to Sheila Rayner, Library Associate in the Instructional Resources Center (IRC), for her selection as Employee of the Month for February 2009. Sheila was born in Biloxi and graduated from d’Iberville High School before attending Delta State. She married Ralph Rayner in 1972, and they have one son, Stacy, and a three year old grandson, Wes. Sheila worked in the public school system for a number of years, joined the DSU family in 1999 as Library Assistant II, and was promoted to Library Associate in 2000. In the IRC Sheila heads the Born to Read program for children under the age of five and assists DSU students learn and use library services, preparing them for teaching and the realities of the working world. She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Ann Grayson Chapter #50, in Biloxi and Gamma Pi Chapter of Beta Signa Phi International. She gives back to the community by working with Friends of the Library and the annual Christmas parade. She also enjoys riding motorcycles with her husband and friends. We salute Sheila Rayner for her attention to DSU faculty and students, DSU’s future students, and the Cleveland community!

March 2009

Congratulations go to Butch Pugh, Golf Course Foreman and Turf Manager, for being seleted Employee of the Month for March 2009. Butch grew up in Hollandale and attended Deer Creek School in Arcola. He received a BS degree in biology from Ole Miss and graduated from UMMC’s School of Respiratory Therapy. For the next 15 years he specialized in ICU care at UMMC and Baptist Medical Center in Jackson. However, as an outdoor person who loved working with his hands, he decided to switch professions. He received a degree in Turfgrass Science in 1983 from the University of Georgia and has worked in the golf course/sports turf industry ever since. He came to DSU Facilities Management in December of 2007. Butch has worked at some of the best golf courses in the state and has served as tournament crew superintendent for four PGA events, including the Masters. He is a member of the Mississippi Turfgrass Association, serving as President and member of the Board. He was named MTA Outstanding Golf Course Superintendent and was nominated as one of the Top Ten Superintendents in the Nation by Superintendent News. Butch is most proud of his family–his wife of 35 years, Peggy, their two sons Tripp and Taylor (both graduates of the MSU Turfgrass Program), and three granddaughters. He also enjoys woodworking and spending time with Zander, his Corgi. DSU is fortunate to have a person with excellent work ethics and love for his job like Butch Pugh.

	May 2009 The DSU Administrative Staff Council congratulates Robert Earl Dorsey for being selected Employee of the Month for May 2009. Earl grew up in Shaw and graduated from Shaw High School where he played football and baseball. He has four children ranging in age from 3 to 19. Earl has been employed at DSU as a groundskeeper since April of 2006. When he is not keeping the DSU grounds beautiful alongside his son Mario, he enjoys playing basketball, hunting, and fishing. Known for his big smile and excellent work ethic, Earl takes on the most challenging assignments in all kinds of weather conditions without complaint. His supervisor says that working with Earl is a real pleasure and wishes she could clone him! Way to go, Earl!

	June 2009 Congratulations go to Nathaniel ‘Buddy’ Dorsey for being selected Employee of the Month for June, 2009. Buddy grew up in Shaw, where he resides with his family. He has been employed at DSU as a groundskeeper since March of 2007, working with his brother Earl (last month’s Employee of the Month). Buddy completed the Bolivar County Correctional Facility training for inmate supervisors, has learned the technical skills required to maintain the golf course, and has taken on the role of sports turf technician and crew leader. He has demonstrated leadership qualities, an excellent work ethic, and a willingness to learn technically demanding skills. Way to go, Buddy!

	July 2009 The Administrative Staff Council congratulates Marjorie Gladden, Coordinator of Third Party Billing and Assistant Cashier in Student Business Services, for being selected Employee of the Month for July 2009. Margie was born in Cleveland and raised in Boyle, graduating from Bayou Academy and then DSU. She worked at Bolivar County Hospital and Pfizer Genetics before coming to the DSU Perkins Loans office in 1990. She moved to the Bursar’s Office/Student Business Services in 2000. Margie and husband Joe have a daughter Jenny, also a DSU graduate, and son-in-law Joseph Brackin and are avid supporters of DSU athletics. She enjoys reading, traveling, scrapbooking, and shopping til she drops. Margie is proud to have three generations of DSU graduates in her family beginning with her mother,Rachel Riley. Margie, DSU appreciates everything you do for our students!

	August 2009 The Administrative Staff Council congratulates Judy Haney for being selected Employee of the Month for August 2009. Judy has been at Delta State for 20 years working in Student Financial Aid Services, Registrar’s Office, and the School of Nursing where she has been a Senior Secretary for 15 years. She is married to Robert Haney and lives in Shaw where Robert is the Pastor of the Interstate Baptist Church. They have two children, Karen Bowen and Thomas Haney, three wonderful grandchildren and one on the way. Judy also works in the children’s ministry at her church and conducts church leadership conferences for our state. She loves to travel, read and spend lots of time with her grandchildren.

	September 2009 The Administrative Staff Council is proud to announce Kay Saia as September’s Employee of the Month. Kay has been at Delta State in the Housing and Residence Life office since February 2006. Before this position, Kay was the Secretary in the Department of Commercial Aviation from 1983-1990. She is married to Joe Saia who is a Commercial Airline pilot for Delta Airlines and the Chief Instructor at DSU’s Flight Operation’s Department. They have two childres. Taylor (16) and Campbell (13), and call Cleveland home. Kay is a member of the First United Methodist Church. She is actively involved with her children and their school’s Parent/Teacher Associations. Kay enjoys cooking, yard work, and spending time with her family.

	October 2009 The Administrative Staff Council congratulates Phaciealeethas "Lucy" Hemmingway as October’s Employee of the Month. Lucy first came to DSU as a transfer student from MDC in 2003. After taking a few years off to be a mother to her daughter, Lucy returned in the Spring of 2007 to finish her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Lucy was hired as a Police Dispatcher. She is in the process of getting her MBA in Social Justice and Criminology. She is the proud mother of her busy six year old daughter, Jzekhyria. In her spare time she loves to cook and bake.

	November 2009 Bevin graduated high school from Germantown High in 2000. She began her college education at Delta State, but earned her bachelor degree in Education from University of Memphis in 2005. Currently she is attending Delta State University working on her masters in Physical Education. She hopes to finish her masters in December 2010. Bevin began working at Delta State as the Senior Secretary of the Alumni Association in June 2008. She resides in Sunflower County with her husband of three years, Charles Lamb (2005 graduate of DSU), and their 10 month old son, Eason. In her spare time she enjoys working out, spending time with her husband and son, and visiting her family in Memphis.

	December 2009 Cathy began working at Delta State University in August 1996; first in the Registrar’s Office then as a Senior Secretary for the Economics and Finance Department in the College of Business. When Billy Moore was elected as Dean of the College of Business she was promoted to the Dean’s Administrative Secretar, the title she still holds. Cathy is the sponsor of the College of Business Dean’s Student Advisory Council, a GST mentor, and served on the Diversity Dimension of the DSU Foundation of Excellence Committee. She taught several Continuing Education Classes on campus, including Cake Decorating, Lap Quilting, and How to Make Homemade Pasta and Ravioli. Cathy is a Cleveland native and was born in the Nursing building on campus, which was the old Cleveland Hospital. She graduated from Cleveland High School where she was on the honor roll and graduated from Delta State University in 2006 where she received the First Diploma. She is a former member of Phi Beta Lambda where she was elected Secretary, member of the Delta Mu Delta and Phi Kappa Phi societies, and was chosen Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities. Cathy is also an American Cancer and American Heart Association Volunteer. She loves to bake and visit her four-generation family farm out in Merigold where she and her husband of 35 blissful years are avid vegetable gardners. She also enjoys playing the piano, crocheting, quilting, oil painting, and writing poems. Cathy and her husband, John, are members of Covenant Presbyterian Church where she has served as President of the Women in the Church, taught Bible School, and directed the children’s choir, and worked as a church secretary for 8 years. Cathy and John also co-own a Piggly Wiggly store where she manages the cake decorating section of the deli. She has two grown children: Marshall, a CPA and DSU Accounting Alum; and Felicia Brinkley, employed in the DSU Math Department. She has one grandson Gray, who is five years old, and she is the proud owner of their 10 year old Maltese named "Salty Dog".