2024:
THIRTY-SECOND OFFICE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD
During the April monthly meeting, DEBRA FLESSNER was announced as the selected recipient of the 2024 OFFICE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD from the Illinois Administrative Professionals. Debra is the Office Administrator for System Offices Shared Services and was nominated by Shengyan Zhang, Shared Services Coordinator for System Offices Shared Services.
This year’s committee, consisting of Cari West, Beth Lewis, and Colleen Hammel, had the honor of selecting the thirty-second recipient of this prestigious award.
We would also like to congratulate this year’s other nominees:
- Cathy Bialeschki, Administrative Aide, Illinois Natural History Survey, PRI – nominated by Dr. Brenda Molano-Flores, Interim Director
- Kathy Webb, Accounting Officer, Department of Statistics – nominated by Melissa Banks, Assistant Director of Finance & Business Operations/Human Resource Manager
The committee wishes to thank everyone who made this a special event for our nominees!
2023:
IAP Boss of the Year 2023
During the monthly luncheon on October 18, 2023, held in the 4th floor Multipurpose Room in a School of Information Sciences building and via Zoom, the Special Events Committee announced that Kara Carpenter, Assistant Director of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), was chosen as the 2023 Boss of the Year! Kara, nicknamed Stylish Supporter in the nomination letter, was nominated by IAP member Melissa Duong.
Thirty First (31st) Office Professional of the Year Award!
During the April monthly meeting, Cari West-Henkelman was announced as the selected recipient of the 2023 Office Professional of the Year Award from the Illinois Administrative Professionals. Cari is the Office Manager for University Accounting & Financial Reporting and was nominated by Nikki Melander, Director of Controller Operations for University Accounting & Financial Reporting.
This year’s committee, consisting of Marcy Frerichs, Teresa Spence and Sandy Hardin, had the honor of selecting the thirty-first recipient of this prestigious award. The committee wishes to thank everyone who made this a special event for our nominees!
IAP Member of the Year 2022-23, Teresa Spence
At the June IAP meeting, Teresa Spence received the 2022-2023 Illinois Administrative Professional Member of the Year award. Teresa has been a member of IAP since February 2020 and has served as chair of the Programs and Events committee and was recently elected as President-Elect for 2023-2024. As nominator Colleen Hammel states, “…[she] has made quite an impact since joining our organization…[she] has provided consistent leadership in our Executive Board meetings, with good ideas for a variety of events to keep members interested in attending the general meetings….[Teresa] is very committed to her position at the University, often wearing “several hats” to assist four high-level administrators and recently received the inaugural Student Success Champion award in recognition of valuable contributions over the past year for loyal and dedicated services, playing an integral role in supporting student success….[she] also was the president of the high-school Music Boosters and junior high Parent-Teacher Organization at her local alma mater.” Congratulations Teresa!
2022:
IAP Boss of the Year 2022
The Boss of the Year event for 2022 was held on October 19 in Coble Hall. Christine Hopper, Assistant to the Dean, School of Information Sciences, has been named the IAP Boss of the Year. Christine was nominated by Beth Lewis.
Additional nominee honored was Rohit Bhargava, Director of Cancer Center at Illinois, and Founding Professor in Bioengineering. He was nominated by James McGraw. The IAP 2021 Boss of the Year winner, Kristi Kuntz presented a short talk on the benefits of participating in organizations such as IAP.
David Perryn selected 2021-2022 IAP Member of the Year
At the June IAP meeting, David Perryn received the 2021-2022 Illinois Administrative Professional Member of the Year award.
David has been a member of IAP since July 2018 serving as chair/co-chair of the Programs and Events committee for the last four years. He provided programming on many relevant topics to our members and shifted gears as our meetings transitioned from in-person to remote during the pandemic. David was instrumental in helping to raise money for our organization, volunteering at fundraising events over the last four years and as nominee, Colleen Hamel, stated, “David naturally lifts people up”. She shared that he continually strives to make a difference in all aspects of his University of Illinois job, his work with IAP, and in the community.
Thirtieth (30th) Office Professional of the Year Award!
During the April monthly meeting, Marcy Frerichs was announced as the selected recipient of the 2022 Office Professional of the Year Award from the Illinois Administrative Professionals. Marcy is an Administrative Assistant in the Office of the President and was nominated by Special Advisor to the President, Mike Bass.
Also nominated for the 2022 award were: Dimitria Johnson, School of Information Sciences, by Penny Ames; Jill Ouellette, Illinois International, by Debora Lowe-Morgan; David Perryn, Prairie Research Institute’s Illinois State Water Survey and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, by Kevin O’Brien; Cindy Smith, Human Resources, College of Law, nominated by Patrick Rietz; and Teresa Spence, Office of the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, by Jean Hanks, Kristi Kuntz, Kathryn Martensen and Theresa Beckett.
This year’s committee, consisting of Jane Baumgartner, Andréa Fain, and Deb Flessner, and led by Debbie McCall, had the challenging task of selecting the thirtieth recipient of this prestigious award from the very strong nomination letters submitted for the six outstanding and deserving nominees.
2021:
IAP Boss of the Year 2021
The Boss of the Year “Virtual” Event for 2021 was held on October 20. Kristi Kuntz, Executive Associate Provost for Academic Programs & Polices, has been named IAP Boss of the Year! Kristi was nominated by Teresa Spence.
Additional nominee honored was Diana Gonzalez, Associate Director for Graduate Student Success, College of Engineering, She was nominated by Liz Johnson. The IAP 2020 Boss of the Year winner, Paul Ellinger presented a short talk on office support, teamwork and benefits of the IAP program.
Angie Coy selected 2020-2021 IAP Member of the Year
Angie Coy has been announced as our Illinois Administrative Professional Member of the Year for 2020-2021!
She has been a member of The Secretariat/Illinois Administrative Professionals for the past 20 years. During this time, she has served IAP in many roles, including IAP President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Chair of Nominations and Elections committee, chaired the Kathryn G. Hansen Scholarship committee, served on the Membership and Mentoring committee, and served as Bylaws/Parliamentarian. While serving as IAP President, Angie led the charge in changing the name of our organization from The Secretariat to the more “current” Illinois Administrative Professionals.
In addition to her service on IAP, she has also volunteered her time to the community by serving for several years as a bell ringer at the kettle for the Salvation Army, and volunteered at the Toys for Tots event through IAP to help those in need pick out items for Christmas. She has also volunteered in many ways when her kids were in school, as well as volunteering for her daughter’s sorority’s philanthropic activities at NIU for 3 years. She also donates to the causes that IAP supports, such as the flowers from the Philanthropy Committee.