CASSADAGA It takes a special person to commit their career and livelihood for the betterment of others, and that is exactly what the staff of the Cassadaga Job Corps Academy has done. The academy held its annual employee recognition night on Wednesday. Employees of the academy were recognized for the outstanding commitment and dedication they have shown to the Academy. Academy Director Ann Anderson opened the evening by commenting "you are Cassadaga's secret weapon, the longevity and quality of service of our employees are the reasons our academy and our students perform so well. Thank you for all that you do for me, our company, our academy and most importantly the young men and women we serve."
The first group of individuals recognized were those with 5, 10, and 15 years of service at Cassadaga Job Corps under Career Systems Development Corp., the company charged with the operation of the academy by the U.S. Department of Labor. The following were recognized for five years of service: Martha Fitzer, Michael Pietrkiewicz, Teresa Gloff, Kathleen VanStry, Barbara O'Connell, Carrie Schafer, Michael Keefe, Laura Henry, and James Winder. The ten year awards were presented to Adam Dolce, Daniel McMurray, Curan Grabias and Stanley Kelley. Dayna Schultz and Louis Acosta were presented with the 15 year service awards. The upcoming retirements of Jan Zeyak and Steven Titus were also announced and the long serving employees were recognized for their dedication and years of service.
The academy recognizes a staff member every year who exhibits and models safety for staff and students. The Safety Award recipient must strive to ensure that staff and students are working safely, living safely and also looking out for those they serve. Charlene Burch, CNA Instructor, received the Academy Safety Award for the year. Betsy Ellis, human resources director for Heritage Village commented that "Charlene is an amazing, nurse, teacher and co-worker; she has Heritage Ministries' core values of respect, excellence, acceptance, compassion and honesty and is sensitive to the needs of both her residents and their families." Burch is responsible for supervising CNA students at Heritage Village Nursing and Skilled Rehab while they complete their clinical experiences. In the last year she has supervised 160 students at the clinical site and not experienced an incident or injury.
Article Photos
Submitted photo
Pictured above are Academic Manager Scott McDonald, Cassadaga Job Corps Employee of the Year Jennifer Hazelton and Career Development Director Robert Benjamin.
All employees recognized as Employee of the Month throughout 2011 were on hand and one of them was selected as the 2011 Employee of the Year. Those receiving the Employee of the Month award in 2011 were Joseph Jagoda, Jenna Roberge-Karns, Erin Riley, Victoria Yonkers, Benjamin Wickerham, Martha Fitzer, Charlene Burch, Edward Guziec Jr., Leah Marsala-Chase, Jennifer Hazelton and John Falkner. Jennifer Hazelton was honored as the Cassadaga Job Corps Academy Employee of the Year.
Hazelton has been employed by Job Corps for four years. She currently works as a testing administrator but also serves as a tutoring coordinator and advanced college training coordinator. Hazelton graduated from SUNY Fredonia and holds two Bachelor Degrees, one in Criminal Justice and another in Middle Childhood Education Mathematics. Scott McDonald academic manager and Hazelton's supervisor said, "Jenny is an incredible asset to our school and our Academy. She takes on every challenge with a positive outlook accomplishing any task you put in front of her." Hazelton was taken aback by receiving the award. "It was hard to accept Employee of the Year knowing that all of the nominees bring something unique to our Academy and are all very deserving. I am very honored and grateful to have been chosen and will keep working hard to pave the way for next year's employee of the year recipient," she stated.
Job Corps is a federal program which provides young people age 16-24 with Career Technical and Academic training to ensure they are prepared to compete in the workforce upon graduation. For more information about employment opportunities available at Cassadaga Job Corps you may contact the Human Resources department at 716-595-4218 or email Catherine Doty, HR Manager, at doty.catherine-@jobcorps.org.
