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The Lewis County Board of Commissioners took a moment during its business meeting on Tuesday, July 22, to honor county employees for their service to the community.
Lewis County Manager Ryan Barrett, on behalf of the county and the board of commissioners, introduced county employees starting with those selected for the Lewis County Employee Spotlight program, which honors individuals for exceptional work.
Next, he introduced groups of county employees being recognized for their long service with the county marked in five-year increments, with the first group reaching five years of employment and the last individual being recognized for 35 years of service.
One employee, Vickie Thormahlen, was also recognized for 22 years of service ahead of her upcoming retirement.
Six employees were recognized during the county spotlight. Barrett shared a brief description or anecdote of the work each of the employees does for the county and why they were recognized. First on the list was a group of three men working for Lewis County Facilities. Mel Coon, TJ Snodderly and Tommy Dembisky were recognized for their work with the county and specifically for their recent effort in repairing the flag pole on the roof of the Lewis County Courthouse. According to Barrett, the speedy repair allowed the county to raise the American flag once again above the local historical landmark just in time for the Fourth of July.
“This project was no small task,” Barrett said. “When it was discovered that the courthouse flagpole’s halyard had failed and its winch was completely seized from years of rust and neglect, the team took on a restoration effort that required technical skill, ingenuity and commitment to excellence.”
Barrett also recognized Steve Hunt, Grace Jimenez and Darol Hamilton individually for their work with the county. Hunt is a lead maintenance technician in the Lewis County Facilities Department and was recognized for facilitating major facilities projects in the county. According to Barrett, Hunt has repeatedly received stellar feedback from county partners and contractors.
Jimenez works as chief accountant for the Lewis County Auditor’s Office and was recognized during the meeting for receiving national recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association, as previously reported by The Chronicle. She is one of 53 individuals in the country to receive the award, which recognizes people for mastery and mentorship in the workplace.
Hamilton works for Lewis County Information Technology as a network engineer and was recognized for his work with the county, most notably for recently coming to the rescue when the county was having trouble with its permitting software.
“Although out of the country at the time, Darol was able to find a quick fix to get the software up and running with only three and a half hours lost,” Barrett said. “Upon his return, he found a unique solution that has allowed the software to continue to operate while the county transitions to a new permitting software.”
Finally, the county honored almost 20 employees for five-year service milestones, although not all of those recognized were able to attend.
Ron Scharber and Josh Rogers, who both work with Lewis County Public Works, were recognized for 30 years of service, and Kevin Korpi, who also works with Lewis County Public Works, was recognized for 35 years of service.
Five years of service:
• Sara Bumgardner, public health and social services
• Detective Kelton Wheeldon, sheriff’s office
• Michael Johnston, community development
• Stacy Hull, clerk’s office
• Geoff Soderquist, public works
• Jonathan Kendall, juvenile detention (unable to attend)
10 years of service:
• Oscar Silvestre, public works
• Dan Anderson, public works
• Rieva Lester, board of county commissioners
• Chris Brewer, information technology
• Dan Sayad, public works (unable to attend)
15 years of service:
• Shad Hail, juvenile court (unable to attend)
20 years of service: (both unable to attend)
• Jared Rogers, public works
• Jeff Vanasse, public works
25 years of service:
• Amanda Price, information technology
• Shelly Stewart, treasurer’s office
30 years of service:
• Ron Scharber, public works
• Josh Rogers, public works (unable to attend)
35 years of service
• Kevin Korpi, public works
