Annually, the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. (PIC) honors four exemplary employees as the Employee of the Year for their respective division for Workforce Development, Education, Head Start/Early Head Start of Fayette County and Head Start/Early Head Start of Beaver County. Each employee is chosen based upon their Program Knowledge, Job Performance, Extra Effort beyond regular work duties and Additional Work/Special Projects assigned or volunteered. Each Employee of the Year is recognized in the following ways:
- Picture posted in the Greensburg, Lemont Furnace and Beaver Valley Mall reception area on the PowerPoint
- Picture posted on the PIC Website
- Receives a cash payment of $500
- Engraved gift from Things Remembered
- Lunch with an Executive or Vice President of winner’s choice
On Thursday, July 11, 2019, PIC announced their Workforce Development and Education Employee of the Year. The Workforce Division Employee of the Year is Michelle Ferguson. Michelle is the Project Supervisor of the federally funded Fatherhood Grant, DADS MATTER. Michelle has worked for PIC just shy of four years. She was nominated and chosen for operating a quality program and by meeting all performance standards despite being understaffed. Michelle was selected as a feature presenter at the 41st Annual Missouri Child Support Enforcement Association Professional Development Training Conference. Michelle was also selected to organize and host a research site visit for a study conducted by Mathematica Policy Researchers earlier this spring. Michelle’s skill energy, determination and passion for her fathers is the reason she was chosen to be recognized as the 2019 Workforce Development Employee of the Year.
The Education Employee of the Year is Sharon Tinkey. Sharon is an IT Coordinator and is responsible for managing all of the technology that PIC has invested in the last few years such as computers, touch screens, iPads, Surfaces, Hatch tablets and tables and projectors to name a few. Sharon has been with PIC for three years. She was nominated and chosen for completing her IT Tickets in a timely fashion in addition to volunteering for a Special Project. Sharon designed, created the procedures and rolled out an electronic purchasing request which replaced an outdated NCR Form. The time and money that is being saved by the organization through this change continues to add up daily. Sharon is also working to streamline and automate processes within the Fiscal Department which will benefit the organization. Sharon’s passion to update outdated processes which result in saving her employer time and money is the reason she was chosen to be recognized as the 2019 Education Employee of the Year.
On Monday, July 15, 2019, PIC announced their Fayette County Early Childhood and Beaver County Early Childhood Employee of the Year. The 2019 Fayette County Early Childhood Employee of the year is Gina Bowen. Gina is the Professional Development Coordinator for Fayette County Head Start/Early Head Start Programs. Gina has been a part of PIC for just under seventeen years. She was nominated and chosen because of her ongoing support and training to implement the Incredible Years Curriculum in Fayette and Beaver Head Start Programs. Gina achieves this by mentoring seasonal staff and training new hires as they join the Head Start Team. This past year Gina trained the home visiting staff for one of PIC’s collaborator’s in Monessen. Gina has always shown leadership ability in the many roles she has held while employed by PIC. Her willingness to train, mentor and model best practices in early childhood is the reason she was chosen to be recognized as the 2019 Fayette County Early Childhood Employee of the Year.
The Beaver County Early Childhood Employee of the Year is Krista Haney. Krista has worked for PIC for three years. Krista was a Home Based Instructor for Beaver County Head Start Program when she nominated. She was nominated and chosen because of her willingness to learn new techniques in early childhood and sharing her knowledge with new and seasoned staff as well as families and collaborators. She is definitely committed to the children, families and program with the quality of work she provides daily and is always found with a smile on her face. Recently, Krista was promoted to the Professional Development Coordinator position in Beaver County so she can focus on bringing quality to each Classroom and Home Base Instructor. Krista has done an excellent job with the School Readiness Goals for the program, her willingness to support all staff and continual efforts to find referrals for potential hires for open positions are the reasons she was chosen to be recognized as the 2019 Beaver County Early Childhood Employee of the Year.
