County honors employees for longevity

Longevity matters, and Sanders County employees were honored for their time in service last week. Employees were recognized for creating "a great place to work, where we want to stay and have a good time while we are here," County Commissioner Tony Cox said while giving a sincere thank you to each employee for serving the public.

Shirley Kinkade with the Sanders County Extension Office topped out the honorees with 25 years of serving the county. Her supervisor, Juli Thurston, presented Kinkade with her certificate, mug and flowers recognizing her service. Kinkade is known in the 4-H community for providing the backbone for operations and having an eagle eye when it comes to administrative perfection. It was announced that Kinkade will be retiring this year after the county fair and will be greatly missed.

Following was Brad Sythe (Road Crew, District 3) who was given accolades for 20 years of service. Bill Naegeli (Emergency Management Coordinator) and Bill Brown (Sheriff's Office Dispatcher) received recognition for 15 years of serving Sanders County. Robert Patch (Solid Waste Management), Shelly Wrightson (Sheriff's Office Dispatcher), Paul DeLong (Solid Waste Management), Rebecca McDonald (Sheriff's Office Dispatcher), Kurt Beernsten (Road Crew, District 2) and Cox (County Commissioner) were recognized for their 10 years of service.

Those recognized for their fifth anniversary were Tracy Vanicek (Deputy, Plat Clerk), Judson Shively (Weed District Coordinator), Allison Smith (Legal Assistant, Crime Victims Advocate, County Attorney's Office), Shawn Sorenson (Sanitarian), Brent Stovall (Road Crew, District 3), Les Lantz (Maintenance Supervisor), Lisa Gregory (Detention Officer), Nicole Scribner (Clerk and Recorder, Superintendent of Schools, Treasurer), Ted Tompkins (Detention Officer) and Jeff Lundberg (Justice Court Clerk, Restitution Officer).

A standout presentation was given by Sheriff's Office Detention and Dispatch Supervisor Shawna Chenoweth who could not give enough kudos to her team of employees; a group of dedicated, diligent workers who do not have an easy job with a high burn-out rate. She shared some jokes about what it takes to become a "seasoned" dispatcher or detention officer which gathered a plethora of laughter. "In all reality, quality is not an act, it is a habit and they have it, even those who are not here because it isn't their anniversary," she shared.

County Commissioner Glen Magera presented Cox with his 10-year award after sharing a story of a car wreck that took place years ago on the Perma curves. No one quite knew where Magera was going with the story, but by the end it was clear. He was showing that Cox has been serving the county longer than 10 years and Magera had to make good on his opportunity to poke a little fun at Cox while sharing an adventure that bonded the two.