December 11, 2020 – Saskatchewan Polytechnic continues to be a key contributor to Saskatchewan’s economic and social development thanks to the tireless efforts and commitment of our employees. Each year, we celebrate our employees who go the extra mile to ensure that our institution, partners and learners succeed.
“Our employee awards program recognizes exceptional contributions that support our mission of inspiring success in every learning journey. These learner-focussed efforts enable us to achieve our vision of leading the rise of polytechnic education throughout Canada,” says Dr. Larry Rosia, president and CEO. “The 2020 employee awards highlight contributions that make Sask Polytech a great place to learn and to work. These employees are the heart and soul of Sask Polytech. Thank you for going the extra mile!”
Congratulations to the 2020 award recipients!
PRESIDENT’S AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Karlene Gibson
Accessibility Counsellor – Regina Campus
Karlene’s focus is always on learners, and she works hard to put strategies in place to help learners succeed during their time at Sask Polytech. As a result of her efforts, hundreds of learners have been successful in their programs over the years. Many of them have gone on to find success in their respective industries. Each year Karlene manages a large caseload of learners. Despite her busy schedule she is always diligent about arranging counselling sessions as soon as possible and doing the necessary follow-up in a timely way.
INNOVATION AWARD
Learning Technology Trainers: Kelvin Hu (program head), Myra Zubot Mitchell, Curt Schroeder, Joshua Coupal, David Trottier, Laurie Jarvis, and Wayne Udey
Technology is playing an increasingly important role in education at Sask Polytech and Learning Technologies have been, and continue to be, infused into every aspect of learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the importance of technology in teaching, learning and working. Sask Polytech’s Learning Technology trainers have offered immense help to employees and learners throughout the pandemic. Now these trainers are working with Information Technology Services to develop new materials and plan training sessions to support the restoration of services as Sask Polytech recovers from the cybersecurity incident. Thank you for your help under very tight timelines, on top of existing workloads.
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Brenda Fallis
Campus Library Supervisor– Moose Jaw Campus
Brenda has a stellar work ethic and is always there to help with whatever issues arise, always in a calm and reassuring manner. Said one nominator, “Brenda is the epitome of what it means to be a positive, resourceful and exceptional leader.”
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Doug Rempel
Associate Dean, Schools of Business, Information and Communications Technology and
Department of Arts and Sciences– Moose Jaw Campus
Building leadership and culture, cultivating strong relationships, driving operational excellence, inspiring courage and innovation, and leading transformation sum up Doug’s twenty-plus years with Sask Polytech. Doug’s nominators share that he embraces all challenges and constantly finds ways to turn them into opportunities.
OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD – MOOSE JAW CAMPUS
Krista Eckel
Facilities Assistant, Facilities Management Department
Krista’s respect for all employees and learners is evident in the pleasant greeting, big smile, dignity, time and patience she gives everyone she interacts with. Moreover, the Sask Polytech alumnus’ commitment to excellence is paramount and displayed by her love of learning new ways of doing things or digging deeper into Sask Polytech systems to learn more about their functionality.
OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD – PRINCE ALBERT CAMPUS
Greg Bell
Program Head, Joseph A. Remai School of Construction
Those who nominated Greg say he has embraced his role as program head with the spirit of the Sask Polytech mission: to inspire success in every learning journey. This can be seen in the commitment Greg makes to ensure that learners and faculty members are supported to the full extent of his ability. Greg is able to do this through his can-do spirit as well as his willingness to listen, learn and support his learners and colleagues.
OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD – REGINA CAMPUS
Amy Isted
Administrative Assistant, Office Administration Program
Amy’s colleagues describe her as the “ultimate team player who puts the needs of others above all else.” Amy is often the first point of contact for learners in the Office Administration program and she is a valuable support when learners become stressed or feel overwhelmed. She also always jumps to assist others when they need help, no matter her workload.
OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD – SASK POLYTECH ADMIN OFFICE
Laurienne Ring
Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, Human Resources Strategy
Laurienne consistently demonstrates Sask Polytech’s core values by making people feel heard, seen and understood by listening actively and non-judgmentally. She shows integrity by keeping confidentiality and acting in alignment with her personal and organizational values. She demonstrates sustainability by taking a long-range view and considering multiple scenarios before taking action, and she demonstrates excellence through her attention to process and details.
OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD – SASKATOON CAMPUS
Lisa Taylor
Instructor, School of Human Services
Lisa’s dedication, leadership, innovation and initiative have an impact that stretches beyond her academic division to all of Sask Polytech. She is one to actively seek ways to improve and create efficiencies in processes that build partnerships internally and externally. A notable example is the work she has done to support Sask Polytech’s partnership with the regional colleges—an important relationship that supports learners across Saskatchewan.
2020 ABOVE & BEYOND AWARD
This is a new award for 2020 that goes to multiple groups with multiple members who truly have gone above and beyond this year. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has worked long hours during the past nine months. Your hard work does not go unnoticed.
The Communications and Marketing Team
The ERT Teams including:
- ERT – Emergency Response Team
- PERT – Pandemic Emergency Response Team
- MERT – Malware Emergency Response Team
- BLERT – Blizzard Emergency Response Team
The Information Technology Services Team
The Learning & Teaching Team