June Spirit of Excellence recipients recognized

Four employees have been recognized as Spirit of Excellence recipients for their contributions to Auburn University for the month of June.

Candace Konietzky, Office of the Registrar, Office Administration

“In order for Auburn students to have everything they need as they graduate and prepare to graduate, Candace has needed to consistently pick up extra work alongside helping to train a temporary employee and work with a temporary direct manager to keep everything in order during a transitional period that has lasted almost three months,” Konietzky’s nominator wrote. “Candace's work has been accurate, consistent, and timely. It is a testament to her efficiency, experience and skill that Auburn students will be able to graduate without delay or interruption while the team was faced with so much turnover and adversity within a short period of time.”

James Stillwell Jr., Automotive Shop (Facilities), Service/Maintenance

“During part of the 2023-2024 school year, Jim Stillwell served as interim supervisor for the Automotive Shop. The quality of customer service remained extremely high during his tenure as interim supervisor and he has provided excellent, proactive customer service,” Stillwell’s nominator wrote. “The empathy he showed is rare to find these days.”

Stacy Taylor, Residence Life (Student Affairs), Administration/Professional

“Stacy is devoted to making sure that that housing residents have an outstanding experience. The 2023 move-in was the best in my 25 years of service and is primarily due to the efforts of Stacy Taylor. She possess outstanding customer service, and working with her on a daily basis makes the Housing Office better every day,” Taylor’s nominator wrote. “Stacy believes that there are always opportunities to improve herself and the department. She is an outside the box thinker that continually tries to create new processes that with make the student experience at Auburn Housing the best in the country.”

Jose Ramon Ortiz Rodriguez, Auburn University Libraries, Technical/Paraprofessional

“Jose demonstrates a professional attitude at all times in his work environment. He is dependable, polite and communicates well. He is a thoughtful, creative person who anticipates ways to accomplish good results on job tasks He demonstrates good organization from the way he keeps his workspace to the way he discharges daily duties,” Ortiz Rodriguez’s nominator wrote. “For example, Jose's to detail with the records affect the accuracy of the catalog and the status of books, their locations and availability. This year he took an online course about Serials to further his knowledge of continuing resources. He also found a way to be creative by introducing a white board interaction project, where, every week, he comes up with a subject or question and uses artistic drawing or writing to illustrate the board. Then, anyone can contribute to the board that week. It is an excellent way of interacting with the student employees and staff of the Circulation department.”

Visit aub.ie/soe to nominate an employee for this monthly award.