Meet the 2022 5-Star Award Winners

Nominator:  Sandy Cormack

Justification: Gregory Adams has worked tirelessly to help realize the SWIP vision. His willingness to actively participate in the development of an online referral system has led to the selection of a more functional platform which better protects the client’s personal information. This will help us reduce redundant information requests and deliver better results to the client. He helps inform our partners’ staff how to utilize his organization’s resources, which builds the cross-organizational network and increases awareness of partner resources. In professional development training sessions, Greg always provides a high level of insight, adding his perspective to the training material and helping others get more out of their participation. With his help we are putting the systems and processes in place to deliver a true one-stop solution for all WIOA customers.

Nominator:  Alan Sexton

Justification: Debbie is an extremely energetic, competent, and talented executive director of the Cecil County Chamber of Commerce. She came to the chamber about five years ago with a great deal of work experience having worked for a variety of organizations before coming to the chamber. One of her goals as executive director was to sustain and increase membership. She has accomplished this goal in an exemplary manner. The chamber’s programs / events are of tremendous assistance to all businesses, large and small. She has been and continues to be a well known and respected leader in our community.

Nominator: Kim Justus

Justification: Belinda is an amazing 5-Star member of the Susquehanna Workforce System! She is the force that makes large workforce system events happen, ensuring that the monthly Workforce Board Meetings are set up, sending out all documents to attendees, and managing the technology so the meetings run smoothly. Belinda coordinates the Harford County Job Fair, Cecil County Job Fair, the Entry Level Job Fairs, and the Virtual Job Fairs, working tirelessly behind the scenes to make a great event for businesses and job seekers. Every time that a business or jobseeker in the Susquehanna Region benefits from an event, Belinda is the force behind that success.

Nominator:  Terri Kearney

Justification: Heather Murphy in her role as vice president of the Harford County Chamber has been a strong advocate for the businesses of Harford County in numerous ways. One of the many roles Heather performs is to grow and maintain the number of member businesses active in the Chamber. Also, Heather worked to keep business leaders informed of the assistance available to them from Federal, State, County and local grants. Examples of Heather’s exceptional level of communication include the promotion of Chamber events, pertinent legislative issues, new Chamber initiatives and the opportunities afforded by the local partnerships that Heather has cultivated over the years.

Nominator: Bryanna Leonard

Justification: Lesley goes above and beyond at her job. She is extremely flexible and helps fill in where she is needed. She always has a smile on her face and tackles any challenge with a positive attitude. She builds relationships in the community so she can help customers not just with barriers to employment, but with personal lives and family issues as well. Lesley is always thinking about others. Whether it is baking a delicious treat for someone’s birthday, or creating a cute craft to make someone smile. She is a natural born leader that we all look up to and appreciate at the WISH Program. Thank you, Lesley, for all the hard work you do here WISH!”

Nominator: Karen Hamilton

Justification: Denise is the Follow-Up Specialist who contacts customers after they complete services with the Career or Employment Specialists. She checks that the customer is still working and reconnects that person to the Workforce Centers if there is a need. She researches questions that customer may have and develops a supportive relationship with them. She is an integral part of the team at SWN. I appreciate all of her contributions.

Nominator:  Mary Kearney

Justification:  Alan Sexton has been a Business Services Representative for SWN for over 11 years serving the businesses of Cecil County to determine how SWN can best satisfy their recruiting and training needs. During the past two years Alan has been instrumental in keeping employers informed about the help available to them as they worked to succeed in business during these transitory times brought on by the Covid pandemic. Alan has continued to maintain a positive outlook with all he serves, including coworkers, job seekers, partners, or local employers. Alan is a firm believer in ‘Learning by Doing’ and he takes pride in connecting individuals with the services and resources they need.