Governor, First Lady Haslam Honor 23 State Employees With Excellence in Service Award

Recipients Attend Luncheon at Tennessee Residence

NASHVILLE – In a luncheon at the Tennessee Residence today, Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam honored 23 state employees for their exceptional service to the state and their fellow Tennesseans. This is the second group of state employees receiving the Governor’s Excellence in Service Awards, a program Gov. Haslam launched in 2016 to honor outstanding state employees.

“Great service in state government is like great service anywhere – the key ingredient is great employees,” Gov. Haslam said. “The 23 state employees receiving this honor are on the front lines of what we do, leading the effort to help us make Tennessee the best managed state in the nation. I appreciate all the work they and other state employees do to help make Tennessee the best place to live, work and raise a family.”

Employees selected by their department’s leadership to receive the biannual award are helping transform the way state government delivers services. By exceeding leadership and customer expectations, creating innovative solutions or improving processes and services, these employees are helping provide taxpayers with the highest quality service at the lowest possible cost.

The fall 2016 recipients of the Governor’s Excellence in Service Award include:

Art Colebank, Agriculture

Christy Espey, Children’s Services

Ashton Bode, Commerce and Insurance

Landon Kenderdine, Correction

Paul VanderMeer, Economic and Community Development

Rick Zadd, Education

Randy Hedgepath, Environment and Conservation

Jennifer Brinkman, Finance and Administration

Christy Adams, Financial Institutions

Linda Green, General Services

Helen Allen, Health

Suzanne Grader, Health Care Finance and Administration

Randy Roberts, Human Resources

Patricia Hymer, Human Services

Bruce Davis, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Melinda Boner, Labor and Workforce Development

Liz Ledbetter, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Mike Helms, Military

Michelle Hudson, Revenue

Lisa Knight, Safety and Homeland Security

Sharon Reed, Tourist Development

Alan Durham, Transportation

William (“Bill”) Pichette, Veterans Services

You can read more about the recipients by visiting https://www.tn.gov/governor/priorities/governor-s-excellence-in-service-awards/2017-spring-recipients1.html