Gray Skies Cannot Wipe Away Employee Smiles at Annual Brooklyn College Day Festivities
6/13/2008
Leaden clouds shaded the Midwood campus at noontime on Thursday, June 5, as Brooklyn College Day 2008 festivities got under way.
But the gray skies overhead did not dampen the bright party atmosphere that was registered on the smiling faces of hundreds of faculty, staff members and friends and relatives who showed up to have a good time on the Brooklyn College athletic field at the western end of the campus.
“This is my second year,” said Yugunda Hatchell of the Central Routing Office, who came with his wife and son Amari, 2. “I think it’s good to get everyone, family and friends, out to party. We need a day of appreciation.”
The Library Tech Services’ Deborah Gelfand, who brought her husband Dennis, said she had won wine in the Brooklyn College Day raffle. “This year is better than last year,” she said. “If only because my husband is with me today.”
“I’ve been working for Brooklyn College for the last three years as a cataloguer and I love it. It’s got wonderful people and a great atmosphere. This bash is great that the college recognizes our hard work.”
T-shirts, jeans and sneakers formed the uniform of the day and children of all ages clung to the hands of their parents as they arrived.
More than one hundred round tables and a score of white tents had been erected on the field in preparation for the annual event. Oldie-but-goldie music favorites of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s wailed along the breezy air and the rich aromas of grilled hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, Italian sausages and peppers, and other dishes wafted through the lines of hungry employees waiting to fill up their plates and settle down to eat. Workers from the telecommunications office and the mailroom sat at tables at opposite ends of the big central dining tent.
Physics Professor Victor Franco, who has been with the College for thirty-nine years, said, “I think it’s a good idea to celebrate Brooklyn College.
“We work hard all year,” he added. “It’s nice to be recognized. It’s also nice to have an opportunity to relax with your colleagues. The weather is nice, I’m enjoying watching people dance.”
At one p.m. exactly, the appointed hour, Brooklyn College President Christoph M. Kimmich stepped to the microphone. “This is not a day for speeches,” he told his audience. Rather, he said, it was a day to acknowledge this year’s achievements made by the employees of the College.
Kimmich paid tribute to the fifty-year-long service to the College by Pepi Horing of the Library staff, who arrived on the campus in 1958 and has been here ever since. The President presented Pepi with a replica campus clock as a token of appreciation for her long and loyal service.
Next he saluted two employees with twenty-five years of full-time service apiece. James Brown and Peggy Scott each received a wrist watch for their long service.
Other employees who were acknowledged by Michael Hewitt, assistant vice president for human resource services, for their long terms of employment were:
- Twenty years of full-time service: Ahad Farhang; Sarah Fleming; Kenneth Forsh; Marshall Johnson; David Kissel; Fred Lake; Patricia Mangan; Lois Pilieri; Marla Schreibman; Maria Signorelli; Howard Spivak; Linda Sparkman;
- Forty-five years of continuous service: Mellita Firstenberg; Sylvia Haber;
- Forty years of continuous service: Frank Angel;
- Thirty-five years of continuous service: Maurie Callahan; Irene Harris; Adrian Holland;
- Thirty years of continuous service: Margaret Bergamasco; Lionel Cutting; Mary Sullivan; Mario Vergona; Eileen Zarneski;Twenty-five years of continuous service: Arlene Capeci; Charles Cammarata; Caroline D’Agostino; Marian Trupiano.
Hewitt also congratulated the past year’s Employees of the Month: September 2007 – Andrew Steketee; October 2007 – Young Cheong; November 2007 – Claudette Guinn; December 2007 – Yvonne Williams; January 2008 – Gunnar Dessources; February 2008 – Hernan R. Sierra; March 2008 – Denetra Christian; April 2008 – Ruth Weinstein; May 2008 – Annsonia Garrick; and June 2008 – Ursula Chase.
Hewitt also announced that one hundred thirty full-time staff members who graduated or completed professional certificates in June 2008 are listed on the Staff Appreciation Awards page of the Brooklyn College Human Resources Webpage.
Shortly after the awards and acknowledgements wrapped up the clouds started to clear and the music began anew, with dancing, game shows, volleyball and a tug of war for all those who chose to partake.
Sitting with her husband and son, Nanie Merilus, from the Learning Center, said: “Let the sweat prove it, I’m having a lot of fun. This is very festive. We’ve got family here, we’ve got coworkers. It’s beautiful!”
