Title
Award 2023 Employee of the Year to Karen VonCannon, Food & Nutrition Supervisor, Department of Social Services
Abstract
Action Requested: Award 2023 Employee of the Year to Karen VonCannon, Food & Nutrition Supervisor, Department of Social Services
Introduction & Background: Karen started at the Chatham County Department of Social Services on January 28, 2002 as a Processing Assistant and was promoted to a Lead Worker in her division within three months. She was again promoted in 2005 to an Income Maintenance Caseworker and worked her way up to the Food and Nutrition Supervisor in May of 2019. Karen was nominated by Melinda Cleary, an Income Maintenance Caseworker who has been with the agency since 2018.
According to her nomination:
“Karen has served the residents of Chatham County for 15+ years while at the Department of Social Services. She has worked in several roles throughout her time and is currently serving as the Food & Nutrition Supervisor and Program Integrity Supervisor for DSS. While under Karen’s leadership, not only did she supervise a staff of 8 employees throughout the entire COVID-19 crisis and the cyber-attack on the County, but she has also helped recover thousands of dollars in fraud overpayments to the County and State of North Carolina over the past 4+ years. Karen is compassionate, caring, and diligent in making sure her employees know how valuable they are to her team and to the agency. She is quick to recognize a staff member’s extra effort and does weekly check-ins with each employee. Karen goes above and beyond to make sure she is on top of the latest updates from the State and keeping her staff informed of the many changes handed down by the federal government for the Food and Nutrition Services Unit monthly. When our unit was short staffed, Karen jumped right in and worked cases right beside the rest of us, to help ensure as a team we did not fall behind on our duties. Most importantly, Karen understands that sometimes you just need time off and is always willing to find a way to make that happen for her staff with ever changing schedule. Simply put, she is an amazing leader, co-worker, and supervisor, she is such an asset to DSS and to the County of Chatham.”
Discussion & Analysis: Presentation will be given at the regular session of the December 18, 2023 Board of Commissioners meeting.
Budgetary Impact: None
Recommendation: Award Employee of the Year to Karen VonCannon