Event honors staff for years of service

By D. Lyn Hunter, Public Affairs

Staff enjoyed a lunch, live jazz music and congratulatory words at a balloon-adorned ceremony in their honor, Sept. 21. Noah Berger photo

26 September 2001 | More than 500 staff members were honored last Friday for their years of service to the university.

Staff who reached their 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40-year anniversaries gathered in a balloon-adorned Pauley Ballroom on the second floor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union for the three-hour ceremony.

The event was organized by the Office of Human Resources to recognize staff for their hard work and loyalty to the university.

“It’s important to have an event,” said Chancellor Berdahl, “to tell those who are so dedicated how much you mean to the campus.”

The celebration included a buffet lunch, live jazz music and congratulatory words from top administrators.

“Your work represents the kind of contributions that are absolutely necessary for Berkeley to be the world class university that it is,” said Horace Mitchell, vice chancellor for business and administrative services. “This will become an annual program to build community on campus.”

Each staff person received a service award pin and a writing utensil with a Cal logo. Those with longer years of service received additional commemorations.

As part of the ceremony, staff were asked to stand as their anniversary year was called out.

According to the Office of Human Resources, the total years of service represented by this year’s honorees equaled 6,675.
“This is really nice,” said Priscilla Cokes, celebrating her 20th year on campus. “It gives us a chance to think about all we’ve given to the university.”

“It’s a real morale booster,” said Leon Schmidt, who recently reached his 15-year milestone. “Staff here work very hard and sometimes in the hustle and bustle, we forget to recognize our contributions.”