2018-19 Kevin Taylor Memorial Service Award winner and nominees
The Kevin Taylor Memorial Service Award program was established in 2014 to recognize superior service and ongoing contributions by UIT employees. The award committee, UIT Leadership, and fellow colleagues thank all of this year's nominees for their service excellence!
L-R: CIO Steve Hess congratulates Jason Moeller, of University Support Services, winner of the 2018-19 Kevin Service Taylor Award. The award was presented at the UIT All-Hands Meeting Sept. 17 at the Alumni House.
Winner: Jason Moeller, University Support Services
Highlights from his nomination letter
Jason is an outstanding, tireless worker for USS. As associate director of Engineering, Jason is responsible for all the USS development teams.
Jason works hard to make sure that our associates are heard, and that their opinions are considered and aired. He has a genuine concern for the well-being of his teams and customers.
As an advocate, Jason does a masterful job balancing the needs of the university with the needs of his team and his customers. He is open to new ways of approaching things, and has been instrumental in moving forward our new development methods, and working with [Quality Assurance] to make sure that the concerns of all parties are addressed.
Jason worked with Kevin, and to this day, considers Kevin a mentor for the way he goes about his work.
Other nominees
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2018-19 Kevin Taylor Service Award nominees, L-R: Danial Ebling, Judy Yeates, Robin Horton, Chris Moore, Jason Moeller, Rob Lake, Rob Birkinshaw, and Matt Leatham. Not pictured: Vijay Kammili and Anita Orendt.
Excerpts from their nomination letters
Craig Bennion
Craig is a stellar example of being kind to all. He always has a smile on his face, [and] I think is the epitome of “Be nice, be nice, be nice!” Who is nicer than Craig Bennion?
I have always been impressed with how he first seeks to understand someone or a situation before jumping in. ... Craig is always the voice of reason when heated discussions are taking place. He calmly works through problems and situations, helping us all come to a resolution.
Rob Birkinshaw
When Rob joined our team about six years ago, and saw the need for users to access [PeopleSoft] data, he became the “yes, we can do that” guy. … He's also what the industry calls an “Oracle Ace,” getting the certifications and education needed to make the databases well architected and running smoothly.
He is a great team lead, keeping us on track with whatever is needed. Rob is the most dedicated, friendly and most qualified person who I have ever worked with.
Danial Ebling
Danial has been the greatest resource to the students in the [Network Operations Center]. He has gone above and beyond to assign automation projects and help me learn how to be a better coder. He works very hard and is very good at what he does.
He organized an independent automation crew that meets weekly to talk about projects that would make our systems better and allows input from students. Danial and Brian Sorenson (who is unfortunately gone) changed my experience in the sUdo program.
Robin Horton
Robin Horton, [lead] campus telephone operator, is a fantastic example of dedicated service and commitment to the University of Utah.
Vijay Kammili
Vijay is the epitome of service excellence, commitment, initiative and mentorship. When he does not know how to do something, he digs in and educates himself, frequently on his own time, and takes it a step further by documenting the process for the rest of the team to learn from as well.
Vijay has saved the university several hundred thousand dollars by performing upgrades that we would normally pay Avaya professional services to perform. He upgraded our contact center call recording and forecasting tool without the need of Avaya professional services.
Vijay is an invaluable employee to this organization. He deserves to be recognized for his innovative and collaborative efforts!
Rob Lake
Robert is always willing to go the extra mile to help ensure that the customer gets what he or she needs in a timely manner, even if it means staying late multiple times a week.
He is always cheerful and approachable. He has an eagerness to help. Even if it isn’t exactly related to his position, he has been known to help others figure out how to solve issues and clean up messes without complaint. Robert truly cares about the people he works with.
Matt Leatham
Matt is definitely an unsung hero in UIT. As a member of the Middle Tier group, Matt manages the entire PeopleSoft environment for all systems and silos. He has extensive experience managing PeopleSoft systems, and is considered the resident subject matter expert for numerous critical items and processes.
Matt embodies the spirit of Kevin Taylor in his humble attitude and his willingness to serve. He is someone who takes his work very seriously, who works hard but quietly. For this reason, he is often overlooked when it comes to honors and awards ... [but numerous people] have benefited from his dedication, kindness, and caring attitude.
Chris Moore
Chris Moore is by far the best support tech we have ever interacted with at UIT. Whenever we call him, he has an excellent demeanor, is eager to help, and always solves our issue or ensures that a ticket gets to the correct group. Chris even follows up to make sure that we have been taken care of.
Everyone who has had the pleasure of dealing with Chris feels the same, as he consistently provides great service and goes above and beyond our expectations.
Anita Orendt
[Anita's] contribution to the success of CHPC cannot be overstated. She is highly respected at both the regional and national level. ... Her people skills are top-notch, which is one of the reasons she was chosen to be our primary liaison with faculty. In a recent CHPC survey of faculty, several people have singled out Anita as being instrumental in enabling their research. ...
Anita exhibits the traits of approachability, civility, organization, collaboration, follow-through, technical awareness and knowledge, and engagement. She has been key to the success of CHPC’s mission in support research computing and researchers, and helped develop CHPC’s respect as a trusted research service provider and information source on campus and beyond.
Judy Yeates
Judy exemplifies humility, empathy, compassion and kindness, and treats each individual she works with or otherwise corresponds with as a very important person, regardless of their role or seniority within or outside the organization.
Judy demonstrates an infectious optimism and eternal youthfulness that positively influences the work environment around her. She is inclusive of those around her, and is quick to engage with her coworkers. Her sense of humor and laughter alone can brighten up an otherwise challenging day! She is easy-going, intelligent and witty. ... Judy has a tremendous positive influence on UIT as an organization.