Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Twelve Mississippi State employees are 2017 selections for Donald W. Zacharias Distinguished Staff Awards.

The honors are a memorial to the university’s 15th president in whose 1985-97 administration the annual Staff Appreciation Day and the accompanying awards program were established.

Organized by the MSU Staff Council, the recognition program was a part of the university’s Staff Appreciation Day activities held Friday [May 12].

To be eligible, award nominees must be classified as a professional or support staff employee working at least half-time and with a minimum of three years of campus service, among other criteria.

At the event, MSU President Mark E. Keenum presented each honoree with a plaque and $1,000 check. Tommie Zacharias, widow of former MSU President Donald Zacharias, also personally congratulated each recipient. The group included (alphabetically, by category):

Professional

—Amy Adkerson, associate registrar in the Office of the Registrar.

—Cliff Covington, extension associate for the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond.

—Scott Langlois, research associate and industrial engineer for the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Poplarville.

—Ashley N. Meredith, feed and fertilizer lab manager for the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory.

—Tommy Parker, senior systems analyst and team leader for Information Technology Services.

—Carmen Wilder, assistant director of the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement.

Support Staff

—Ericka Bazzill, administrative assistant for the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

—Jeremy Hamilton, electronics technician for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

—Quintara Miller, business coordinator for the Department of Political Science and Public Administration.

—Ken Palmer, journeyman lineman for physical plant administration.

—Ann Ray, administrative assistant to the associate provost in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President.

—Jennifer Robertson, Nunnelee Hall custodian with the Department of Housing and Residence Life.

For more about MSU Staff Council, its awards program and other activities, visit www.staffcouncil.msstate.edu or follow on Facebook @MSUStaffCouncil.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.