Related Page

The Vocational Excellence Awards recognize individuals who exemplify the Rotary motto “Service Above Self” attitude in their vocation. These awards are annually given to a limited number of community citizens who demonstrate exceptional service, honesty, and friendliness in performing their jobs.

Rosie Delano, chair of the Vocational Excellence Awards committee, oversaw the distribution of these awards at the Rotary meeting. The following awards were presented by President David Locke, with short introductions by the nominators:

Angela Baker nominated Doreen Borel, Community Coordinator for HEB Plus. HEB does a great job training employees and those employees do a great job of serving customers. HEB employees help shoppers find products in the store and are friendly to do business with.

Cindy Cherry nominated Amanda Toups, manager at Florida Tans and personal assistant to the Cherry family. Amanda has worked for the Cherry family for five-and-a-half years. She takes children to school, athletic practices, cares for their home, pets, etc. She does so in an ethical manner, is a great role model and is extremely hard working. This young lady will graduate from Lamar in May with a degree in accounting, will get married in June, and will be sorely missed by the Cherry family.

Chad Blanchard nominated Shirley Bartos, Chamber of Commerce, with Michael Perez making the presentation. Shirley always strives for perfection in her management of the Leadership Beaumont program. She is extremely focused and dedicated to her work and has only missed 2 of the many programs of the organization in over 30 years of service. She has been a great asset to the Chamber and to Beaumont for many years. Shirley will retire later this spring.

Jane Burns nominated Sari Young, receptionist at Wathen, DeShong and Juncker. She takes initiative in every aspect of her work. She voluntarily decorates the office for holidays, and completely reorganized the office for more efficiency. During tax season, she frequently drives from Port Arthur to bring lunch to the company’s employees on Saturdays when she is not even expected to work.

Cynthia Wolf nominated Yvonne Callison, receptionist and office manager at Temple Emanuel. Yvonne is in charge of all events at Temple Emanuel including the Love Thy Neighbor project and the Social Justice Committee. She is an exceptional person who has the nickname “Mrs. Sunshine.”

Dr. James Simmons nominated Craig Escamilla, Director for the Symphony of Southeast Texas. His work sets the standard for symphonies around the country. He is devoted to his work at the Symphony and to the local community. Craig had to miss the presentation as he was out-of-town on Symphony business.