The 11th Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jacket Awards ceremony took place March 28, 2017 in The Pavilion at Birdsong Hall. Yellow Jacket Awards are given to staff who demonstrate distinction in one of three categories: Excellence in Service, Excellence as a Team Member, and Excellence Behind the Scenes. Each award recipient received a certificate and a cash award. President Robert R. Lindgren welcomed staff to the ceremony.

“Paying tribute to our great staff is easily one of the best parts of my job,” said Lindgren. “I know that each of you works extra hard, day in and day out, often past normal work hours and always with a sense of pride in what you do. That is why our campus is beautiful, our residence halls and classroom buildings are clean and our offices are operating with remarkable efficiency. Thank you for all you do to support this fine college. Our successes are due to your talent and dedication.”

The Excellence Behind the Scenes Award is given to a staff member who provides excellent service behind the scenes, showing initiative and drive, and making Randolph-Macon a better place for work and study. Three staff members were presented this award.

Brian Martin (physical plant)
“When he joined us in August 1990, Brian quickly became known campus-wide for his hard work and excellent service,” said Lindgren. “And in the ensuing almost three decades, he has earned everyone’s respect for his terrific efforts on behalf of the college. From serving on-call after hours to working during snow storms and other weather events, he consistently helps wherever needed. His great service even includes providing demonstrations to our Resident Assistants about the different types of smoke detectors in the residence halls. Well-liked by everyone, Brian is known for his quiet determination, hard work and commitment. He is a highly dedicated employee.”

Deborah Green (physical plant)
“Since 1989, Deborah has worked at RMC, and in that time has worked in virtually every building on campus,” noted Lindgren. “She is a very hard worker, and her work in both Olin and Irby Residence Halls is much appreciated. She is also responsible for the Dalton House, which is the ‘front door’ of RMC for many of our alumni. She is known for spending extra time to make sure that our campus buildings look outstanding, and always with a friendly and easygoing attitude. We are so appreciative of Deborah’s great work and terrific attitude.”

Jeff Keeton (physical plant)
“Jeff joined RMC in 2005 and has become a well-respected housekeeping team leader in his 11 years here,” said Lindgren. “No matter where he has worked—on the west or east side of campus—he performs outstanding work to keep our buildings in top condition. Jeff consistently goes beyond the tasks in his job description to achieve excellence, not finishing with the job until the job is 110% completed. He and his team work very hard to cover our special events and programs around the clock, making sure our buildings look beautiful and welcoming to our guests. Jeff exudes an easy-going friendliness and warmth that is appreciated by everyone. Thank you, Jeff, for your great work.”

The Excellence as a Team Member award is given to an employee who exhibits outstanding teamwork and cooperation, both in his/her own department and with others.

Ed Turnage ’64 (athletics)
“For nine years, our Men’s Head Golf Coach, Ed Turnage, has been an outstanding coach, leading our men’s golf team to numerous victories,” said Lindgren. “He has also been a great mentor to our students, treating everyone with great kindness and respect. An RMC alumnus and terrific Yellow Jacket ambassador, he always has warm greetings to share with everyone he meets. To show you how effective he has been in not only developing good golfers, but also building good character, three of the seven most recent recipients of the Ted Keller Good Sportsmanship Award in our ODAC conference have been Yellow Jackets. His work on the Yellow Jacket Club fundraising golf tournament for the past 15 years has become legendary. It is a wonderful annual event to bring together faculty, staff and alumni. We appreciate Ed’s great contributions to the college.”

The Excellence in Service award is given to an employee who provides excellent service to students, staff, faculty, parents, alumni, or visitors. Five staff members were presented this award.
Emily Bourne (library)
“Emily has been an outstanding professional on our McGraw-Page Library staff, doing a truly terrific job of maintaining the library’s print and electronic reserves and working daily with faculty and students to best assist them with their library needs,” said Lindgren. “She is very skilled with new technology that is critical to library patrons, and she has been an invaluable resource partner to ITS on updates to the library. She is creative, adaptable, highly professional and well-respected by her colleagues, and our faculty, staff and students. After 10 years, Emily will be retiring this spring. We are sad to see her go, but are delighted to acknowledge her excellent work with a well-deserved Yellow Jacket Award.”

Wendy Farmer (business office)
“Dealing with financial matters can be an anxious business for our students and their families, but Wendy’s friendly smile, delightful demeanor, and skill at her job puts people at ease.”
Lindgren continued, “Wendy answers thousands of calls and meets regularly with our students to answer questions, and is known for handling all these inquires with grace and a can-do attitude. I have personally experienced how our students and their parents regularly send Wendy thank-you emails and cards, or they stop by the Business Office to thank her personally. In fact, one student was so appreciative of her help that he stopped by the Business Office to play his bagpipes for her as a thank you. Wendy, we thank you for all you have done for Randolph-Macon.”

Jayme Watkins (student life)
“As director of Student Life, Jayme has been a model for great teamwork,” said Lindgren. “She has built strong partnerships with our student organizations and is resource for our students in so many different and important ways, from service learning to leadership building. Since Jayme joined the college in 2012, the number of student service hours has increased by nearly three and a half times. A truly stellar result!”He continued, “She has also made great strides with our quintessential Macon a Difference Day. Under Jayme’s leadership and through her coordination with the greater Hanover County community, last year over 300 student volunteers performed more than 15 projects throughout Ashland and Hanover County on that day alone. Jayme has done a great job for our students and for Randolph-Macon.”

Claire Stevens (advancement)
“Claire joined the RMC community in 2008 as director of Annual Giving,” noted Lindgren. “And her leadership in that role started a climb for RMC that found us for the past two years at 16th and 15th in the country for alumni participation. That is a fact I love to share with our prospective students and families. Claire’s early leadership was critical to getting us to this impressive place. Claire has since been promoted to senior director of Leadership Giving. Claire’s warm personality and understated persistence makes her the consummate fund-raiser for the college. We could not be better represented then when Claire goes on the road for us. Whether she is raising money for scholarships, capital projects, academic programs or the annual fund, Claire’s commitment to Randolph-Macon is unwavering. Claire leads by example with her incredible work ethic, calm and consistent demeanor, and willingness to do whatever is needed for the good of the Randolph-Macon College.”

Betty Ann Pierce (admissions)
“For 13 years, Betty Ann has been the face and voice of the Admissions Office and the college to thousands of prospective students,” said Lindgren. “She is known for her helpful, welcoming demeanor to our students and families, answering their many questions and guiding them through the application process and their visits. As our campus visit coordinator, Betty Ann is simply amazing with details, and she cares about each and every prospective student and family. She is absolutely tireless in her efforts to make the visit of every family a memorable one. RMC is known for providing prospective students with simply outstanding campus experiences, and it all begins with Betty Ann. For her teamwork and her effectiveness at making all of our prospective students feel right at home on our campus, please join me in giving Betty Ann a hearty round of applause.”