Nebo PEAK Award winners announced

r Nebo School District has announced the winners of its February 2017 PEAK Awards. The PEAK (Positive Energy and Kindness) Awards are designed to focus on “raising the bar” on providing exceptional customer service. The awards are presented monthly to employees of Nebo School District who “really get it” when it comes to providing great customer service, which is turn results in positive impacts on everyone including students, parents, co-workers and members of the community.

Faculty and staff members are nominated for PEAK Awards by anyone in the community through the Nebo School District website, www.nebo.edu/PEAK, wherein a special Customer Service link is provided. All nominations must include information on how the individual has provided exceptional customer service as well as how the employee’s actions impacted the nominator’s overall perception of Nebo School District schools. The name and contact information of the nominator must be included.

The February 2017 PEAK Award Winners are:

Keith Bellows, Custodian, Springville Junior High SchoolrNominated by Brent Taylor & Brenda Balesr“I am the recreation photographer for Springville City. I had a wonderful experience with your custodian last night. He was so accommodating to help me get to where I needed to be, unlocking the gates and unlocking doors, making sure an old man like me didn’t have to carry my gear too far.”

“Keith is one of the happiest people I know. He laughs and whistles wherever I see him. He is a great example to those that work for him.”

Mary Joy Dekker, Teacher, Rees Elementary SchoolrNominated by: Adam Gull & Lynn Adamsr“Mary Joy goes out of her way to provide service to her students and faculty. Recently, one of her former students who had left the district returned to the school. This student had difficult behaviors and required extra attention by his teacher and members of the school team. Even though this student was technically no longer Mary Joy’s ‘responsibility,’ she has been instrumental in helping the team develop and implement a school-wide intervention to help him be successful. She took the time to summarize a massive amount of information and work about him when he was in her class, which in turn saved the school team a lot of time and energy. As part of that team, I was grateful for her invaluable assistance. She provides amazing service to her own students.”

“Mary Joy goes above and beyond the call of duty. She puts in overtime hours in her assignment as the DART representative. She makes learning fun by dressing in character when teaching specific reading strategies. She shows excitement in everything she does from teaching to assemblies and dressing up for Halloween.”

Zach Hanks, IT Technician, Hobble Creek & Meadow Brook elementary schoolsrNominated by: Linda Baird & Ryan Pitcherr“Zack responds quickly, within an hour, when we send out a request for something to be done. He takes care of things early in the morning and even late in the day. None of our questions are dumb questions. He works the hardest of all the IT personnel I know.”

“Zack is amazing! He has the ability to fix any technical issue that comes around, and his ability to communicate with teachers and staff is legendary! As soon as a work order is put in, he communicates to the teacher that he has seen the job and has a plan to fix it. I have never had a district computer technician do such an amazing job as quickly as Zack. He even sends follow-up emails to confirm that the technology is still working correctly. We love having Zack at Meadow Brook Elementary.”

Blake Mortensen, Dean of Students, Payson Junior High SchoolrNominated by: Julie Carlisle, Alesha Lemmon, John Plaisted, Rachel White, Laurel Spencerr“Blake is solid and consistent every day and in every way. The students like and respect him. He shows great kindness and respect for all. When students need help, they come to the office and ask, ‘Where’s Morty?’ They know he will answer their questions and go out of his way to find solutions. Blake will jump in to teach a class while waiting for a substitute teacher, help new students open their lockers, and teach teachers about PGP and SLO goals. Blake is always ready to help to improve the school in any way he can.”

“Blake is a ‘work horse.’ He comes to work every day with a smile on his face and ready to tackle any problem that comes his way. He is always calm and rational. The students often go to him for advice and know that they will be treated fairly. He handles discipline problems in a timely and consistent manner. He can discipline a student and retain a good relationship with the student and parent at the same time.”

Heidi Dimmick, Teacher, Spanish Oaks Elementary SchoolrNominated by: Jenna Lambert, McKensie Bellomy, Chrissie Robinson, Carolyn Aagardr“From my first experiences with Heidi Dimmick, I felt that she was a magician in the area of collaboration. She has pulled so many educational miracles out of her hat. All members of our team were consulted and listened to. She meets people where they are, accepts them, serves them, and helps them along their way. She advocates for the members of the entire team.”

“Heidi is a trend-setter. She pioneered the use of technology with parents, teachers and students on our team. She has helped with a new keyboarding program and pulled together amazing units on indigenous peoples, poetry and persuasive writing. Heidi believes in students that require extra counsel and patience, giving them the guidance and support they need. She recorded the voices of every third-grade student for our hour-long Christmas program so the show could go on.”