October Staff Above & Beyond

All In

Beth McManus, Director— Beth has done a remarkable job stepping into the Director role - she has been the guiding force behind the admin team as we navigate through the changes at CFI adapting to our new roles and responsibilities. Thanks Beth for your calm, confident leadership!!!!

Sheila Conley — Sheila has been "All In" in her new role as Extended Day Coordinator - hiring LOTS of new staff, updating the handbook, getting classrooms licensed and ready, and also subbing as needed! Great job, Sheila!

Alex Carlotta, Data Entry—Always willing to help when work needs done!

Kim Arwine, Purchasing/Receiving Clerk—Kim's entire summer was above and beyond. She did EXTREME ordering because of new classrooms and additional money, worked extensively on Extended Day and a million other things as they popped up. She's ALWAYS willing to jump in and help and does EVERYTHING with a great attitude

Danielle Smith, Health Team—Danielle goes above and beyond for the health team. She is reliable and a great team player!

Brittany Murphy, Classroom Aide, Thomaston Woods 1— She has been doing an awesome job. It is her first year here and she is already a pro. She is all in! Everything is always clean and done in a timely manner.

Sandy Stewart, HS Teacher, Felicity- She goes way above her note taking (documentation in TS Gold).

Christy Sunday, HS Teacher, Classroom 1– Always helpful

Jaime DeMaris, PEEP Program—She has been a game changer since joining the PEEP team especially from the case management side.

Brittany Murphy, Classroom Aide, Thomaston Woods 1— Brittany is always a great team player and works very hard every day. This is her first year with Child Focus and she is catching on very quickly and being a huge help.

Connie Bacon, Program Coordinator—She’s always "ALL IN" by helping out in the classrooms whenever she is needed. She will go that extra mile to make sure her staff is okay and isn't in need of anything.

Pam Bare, Extended Day—She is always willing to help out with subbing in the classrooms!

Brenda Collins, Bus Driver—Brenda has gone out of her way to assist with training the new bus driver and getting the new buses ready. She has been an invaluable resource for Ginny as she is learning the transportation piece of her job.

Carolyn Oliver, Classroom Aide, Willowville 1—Carolyn has been providing coverage in both WV 1 and WV 2 as needed everyday to keep the center running smoothly while we are in the process of hiring a new aide- without complaint!  What a great example of teamwork!

Karen Stone, Program Coordinator– Karen Stone was on call to help with the classrooms in Region 1 while Ginny was out of town - she went way beyond the call of duty by visiting each classroom to touch base with the teachers!

Sandy Stewart, HS Teacher, Felicity- She has been quick to respond to requests made and she is always friendly and kind.

Erin Cunningham, Program Coordinator– Erin deeply cares about the Early Head Start program and works tirelessly to promote the home base program. Erin's love for the population we serve is evident in how hard she works. Erin is open to new ideas, creative ways of thinking, and different opinions. She is what makes this agency wonderful to work for!

Michelle Pendergrass, Family Advocate & Betsy Weiss, Family Advocate— Both Michelle and Betsy have gone above and beyond with helping the new family advocates. They have answered every question and have always been willing to lend a helping hand.

Michelle Gaynor, Teacher, Kassy Bargo, Assistant Teacher and Carolyn Oliver, Classroom Aide, Willowville 1 - have been amazing while supporting their classroom without a designated program coordinator or family advocate. They have been easy going with changes, and supportive for children that have needs without a complaint! Awesome team!

Abi DeHart—Abi does anything and everything to help her co-workers. Whether it’s subbing, attending a meeting, or organizing a training that staff need; Abi truly is "all in" when it comes to the great effort she provides.

Mindy Frizzell—She has gone above and beyond with her new classroom.

Stevy Cunningham—She planned and led a super fun playdoh making activity for the home-base early learning party.

Jenni Dwyer and Vicki Gillespie—The Willowville 2 team has been great at maintaining their classroom especially without a designated program coordinator and family advocate. With open arms they have been flexible with changes, adding new children weekly and accommodating to children who need an extreme amount of support during their first year of preschool! Awesome as always!

Above & Beyond

Kelly Merecicky, Elyse Pyle, Craig Johnson and Bonnie Olds-Carson have been nominated for going Above and Beyond.  They have been working overtime to meet the needs of the Genesis program which was short staffed at the beginning of the school year.  The CFI staff stepped up to help cover and assist with helping them feel welcome and comfortable on managing crisis within the building all while trying to complete their own job responsibilities.

Hats Off

Linnea Lowe has been nominated for Hats Off as a new intern at Genesis and jumping right into her position and responsibilities.  She is able to take initiative in her role and was willing to take on extra hours in the program to help fill gaps in staffing all while attending school and working on her Master’s degree in Social Work.

Catherine Cosker has been nominated for Hats Off as she is always ready to help with the high number of crisis situations whether they include suicidal intent or aggressive behaviors.  She helped with an incident at the school by assisting the administration, school resource officers and police officers.  School administrators commented on how ready Catherine is to help and how fantastic she is at her job as a QMHS! 

Jennifer Brinkdopke has been nominated for Hats Off due to her extensive consultation with AD and Coordinators on numerous levels of needs.  She is the BEST!

Alison Price and Amanda Hager have been nominated for Hats Off.  Both work in a high school setting and volunteered to be at an elementary school one day a week to ensure that the needs of the children were met while a co-worker is out on leave.  Thank you for your hard work, dedication and for making a difference in the lives of the children we serve.  It is greatly appreciated!