Easterseals staff honored at annual meeting for going the extra mile

​(Pictured, left to right, are Tracey McLaughlin, Chele Wallens, Cat Hammons, Lourdes Rodriguez, Jaslyn Clemmons, Brenna Giblock, Lori Ebanks, Lynn Carew, and Awilda Koolhaas.)
 
At the Sept. 13 annual meeting of Easterseals of Northeast Central Florida, held in Daytona Beach, several staff members were recognized for going above and beyond in their efforts at the nonprofit. “The Extra Mile Awards” were distributed by Board Treasurer Melissa Burt DeVriese to a room full of Easterseals board members, volunteers and staffers.
 
“At Easterseals, we recognize that our staff is extraordinarily involved in our overall success towards our mission. They do the meaningful, hands-on work at Easterseals, and are the driving force behind our purpose,” said Burt DeVriese. “They are our link to clients, giving us insight into the real impact we have in stories and in numbers.”
 
“They are the ‘heart and soul’ of Easterseals,” she added.
 
Burt DeVriese individually recognized the 2018 recipients of The Extra Mile Awards; her remarks are below. Easterseals thanks and honors these recipients for a job well done!
 
The Extra Mile Award Recipients
 
Tracey McLaughlin – Daytona, Executive Assistant
Tracey is always willing to take on additional assignments, tasks and responsibilities. She is an incredible researcher, diving into every question or problem and seeking answers before ever asked to do so. Tracey happily accepted the responsibility for HIPPA Compliance across the organization this past year and is staying one step ahead of the game, ensuring we are safe and secure around every corner.
 
Chele Wallens – Daytona, Accounting Manager
Chele has been with Easterseals for 11 years. She is very knowledgeable about the organization and is a resource for everyone. A great deal of change has occurred in the last year and Chele as embraced it; she continues to help make our organization more efficient. 
 
Cat Hammons – Daytona, HR and Accounting Coordinator
When the HR and Accounting Coordinator role was suddenly vacated, Cat jumped into it with no experience. She was not afraid to dive in and figure things out in the human resources office. Cat is always pleasant and has a great, willing attitude. She is great with following up on tasks and has been very reliable.  
 
Lourdes Rodriguez – Daytona, Charter Teacher
Lourdes is the first to step up and serve as a mentor to new teachers and staff in the Charter School. She embodies the definition of “team player.” She goes above and beyond to ensure the children have materials they need to learn successfully (she’s the master of garage sales, too!) and works with the families to ease any concerns about their children transitioning to kindergarten, or as they call it, “big school.”
 
Jaslyn Clemmons – Daytona, CDC Teacher
Jaslyn is a committed and caring member of the Child Development Center staff. She doesn’t leave the building until she knows everything, and everyone, are “okay.” She constantly seeks ways to improve her craft as a teacher, and when you walk into her classroom you never want to leave. Jaslyn moved from the one-year old classroom to the two-year-old classroom this year and our parents couldn’t be happier. They didn’t want to lose their “Ms. Jas!” and we couldn’t agree more.
 
Lori Ebanks– Deland, Site Administrator
Lori has been the backbone of the Easterseals DeLand campus. During the center’s transition and opening of the Charter School, Lori wore many hats to keep things running smoothly. She always asks, “What do you need?,” and provides an answer, delivering more than expected. Lori is a key member of our ECE team.
 
Brenna Giblock – Deland, Early Steps Supervisor
Brenna is hard working and very attentive to details. She has stepped up in Early Steps and has taken on more responsibilities to include not only supervising her DeLand staff, but she also becoming more involved in other aspects of the program to include file reviews and auditing. Further, she represents Easterseals occasionally on the west side for check presentations and outreach. She has been a tremendous asset to the program.
 
Lynn Carew – Daytona, Medical Records
Not many people see Lynn as she is often in our medical records room organizing and caring for our clients’ charts, but Lynn always has a smile on her face. Lynn took on a huge project this past year and did so willingly – she is extremely organized and keeps us moving in terms of all our health information.
 
Awilda Koolhaas – Leesburg, Early Steps
No matter what Awilda has going on, she has a smile on her face. It is quite apparent that Awilda loves her job and helping the families she works with through Early Steps. Awilda can be found at many of our community events spreading information, education and her beautiful smile.

---