Employee Recognition 2024 - Camp Fire Alaska

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Friday, October 18, 2024, Camp Fire Alaska hosted its annual Employee Recognition Celebration. This blog post shares photos and stories reflecting on the organization-led work party.

The Why

At Camp Fire Alaska, our mission is impossible without our staff, their ongoing effort, and ongoing commitment. Our organizational culture strives to bolster an encouraging environment acknowledging team members’ accomplishments, contributions, and milestones — Employee Recognition is the culmination of those efforts.

It is an opportunity for us to celebrate with one another, enjoy fun teambuilding exercises supporting interdepartmental connection, and give away prizes. It is a celebration of our team, our work, and our impact on the community.

Employee Recognition Planning Committee

Employee Recognition 2024 was made possible by the collaborative effort of its Planning Committee. Together, the team of nine coordinated the event, choosing a fall theme, securing a venue and catering, pushing out notifications, planning thoughtful group activities, and obtaining giveaway prizes.

A huge thank-you to the 2024 Employee Recognition Team, listed below:

August Joseph, Marketing Manager | Jill Dutton, Director of Human Resources | Krystal Eastman, Accounts Payable/Receivable Associate | Christina Taliva’a, Office and Accounting Manager | Salwa Abuamsha, Human Resources Coordinator | April Luck, Senior Site Director | Alicia Reando, Learning and Development Manager | Sarah Rosen, Recruitment Manager | Gloria Barnett, Family Services Program Coordinator

The Food

This year’s meal starred everyone’s favorite comfort food: potatoes — specifically, baked potatoes. Our entirely catered spread, provided by Peppercini’s Catering, featured a fully loaded baked potato bar, salad bar, fruit bar, and dessert bar, with options accommodating even the trickiest dietary restrictions.

The Activities

To maximize staff interaction, we specifically chose the following activities: Employee Connection Bingo, Puzzle-Piece Designing, Gratitude Leaves, and Prize Raffle.

During Employee Connection Bingo, the room came alive with staff collaboration as everyone eagerly searched for coworkers to sign off on their bingo squares. Each square had a descriptor, like, “Prefers tea instead of coffee,” or “Has been to five states,” with the instructions to have a coworker matching the description sign their names in the square. Employees were dashing around the room, racing to be the first with a blackout card. Their reward: knowing their teammates more intimately.

Puzzle-Piece Designing gave staff the opportunity to design a puzzle piece, illustrating what working at Camp Fire Alaska uniquely means to them. After independently working on their puzzle piece, four large groups were formed and they talked about their puzzle pieces, sharing their distinct perspectives.

Throughout the event, several prizes were raffled. The giveaways included LEGO sets, coffee, heated blankets, home décor, and so much more!

Tenure Awards

As with our tradition, the event climaxed with our Tenure Awards, where staff are presented with gifts corresponding to their time working at Camp Fire.

This year, we recognized:

20 to 32 Years of Service

32 Years of Service!
Mary Ramsden, Assistant Site Director

26 Years of Service!
Salwa Abuamsha, Human Resources Coordinator

10 to 19 Years of Service

19 Years of Service!
Meghan Boltz, School Age Program Director

13 Years of Service!
Nichole Boyden, Director of Operations | Melanie Hooper, President and CEO

11 Years of Service!
Sarah Rosen, Recruitment Manager

5 to 9 Years of Service

9 Years of Service!
Maddie Rachow, Development Manager

8 Years of Service!
Ariana Lematta, Senior Site Director

7 Years of Service!
Jill Dutton, Director of Human Resources | Anne Geuss, Rural Program Director

6 Years of Service!
Tom Martin, Camp K Program Director | Theresa Rinehart, School Age Program Operations Director | Rachel Rodriguez, Camp Fireweed Program Director | Garrett Siebert, Camp Fireweed Assistant Program Director | Crystal Stricklin, Family Services Manager | KatDee Yang, Senior Site Director

5 Years of Service!John Brooks, Senior Site Director | Jamesha Russell, (Former) IT Administrator | Christina Taliva’a, Office and Accounting Manager | Kendalyn Mckisick, Director of Marketing and Communications | Brenda Ta’atiti, Senior Site Director | Melissa Webber, Director of Development

1 to 4 Years of Service

4 Years of Service!
Caitlin Adair, Senior Site Director | Zahria Garner, Senior Site Director | Nicole Gilliland, Senior Site Director | Brett Lindsay, I.T. Liaison | Connor Tetlow, Senior Site Director

3 Years of Service!
Gloria Barnett, Family Services Program Coordinator | Jadee Draughn, Chief Financial Officer | Emma Montagna, Senior Site Director

2 Years of Service!
Caitlin Fogle, Program Staff | Haley Manriquez, Assistant Site Director | Javier Rodriguez-Galvan, Program Staff | Eris Soellers, Program Staff

Camp Fire Alaska-Branded Gift

Following the Tenure Award, there was only a single event left for recognition: the Annual Swag Gift. For 2024, we wanted the gift to align with our fall theme, so it needed to be cozy, warm, and wearable. After deliberating, we chose to giveaway a pair of autumn-colored socks, designed by our Marketing Team. Much to our enjoyment, they were a hit amongst staff!

Conclusion

Like other festivities at Camp Fire Alaska, Employee Recognition strengthens our team’s interpersonal connections. It provides us with an opportunity to bond, reflect, and recharge. Although we commend our staff daily, Employee Recognition is the day we officially commemorate our achievements.

Here’s to another successful year! Here’s to Camp Fire!

Employee Recognition 2024 Official Photos graphic with an arrow pointing at photo carousel below.

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