Mary Middleton was recently
honored with the Drake University All Staff Council SPOTlight award for her
outstanding work as accounting and human resources manager for Drake’s Head
Start program.
Members of the All Staff
Council presented her with the award earlier this month at an event for
Middleton’s Head Start colleagues.
“It was a
great honor to be selected for this award,” Middleton said. “We have
an awesome Head Start staff that makes my job very rewarding. I’m very blessed
to be part of such a needed and valuable program in the communities that we
serve.”
Cristina Toledo, human
resources administrative assistant for Head Start, nominated Middleton for the
award in November.
“Mary has not only demonstrated excellence, creativity, learning,
community involvement, integrity and fiscal responsibility in her position here
at Head Start, but she has encouraged it in others by example,” Toledo
said.
“She manages both the human resources and accounting aspects of our 22
programs. She is the first one to
arrive and the last one to leave. I don’t know anyone more deserving of this award.”
Drake’s Head Start is comprised of 80 fulltime staff members and funded via
a $7 million federal grant. Middleton has managed staff performance, payroll,
training and hiring for nine years. This past year, she also assumed
responsibility of the program’s accounting division.
Head Start is a
comprehensive child development program that serves children from birth to age five
and their families. The program’s overall goal is increasing the school
readiness of young children in low-income families.
One of only a
few university-based Head Start organizations in the nation, Drake’s program
serves almost 1,000 families in six counties while also providing a training
environment for Drake School of Education students. https://wwww.drakeheadstart.org/
“Being
recognized while our entire Head Start staff was together was very special,”
Middleton said. “It gave me the chance to share with them how important
our work is and how much I appreciate their dedication to Drake University and
the families and communities we serve.”
Staff members nominated for
the SPOTlight are evaluated in the areas of excellence, creativity, learning,
community involvement, integrity and fiscal responsibility. Nominations are
accepted at any time and are reviewed once monthly.
For more information or to
download the nomination form for the SPOTlight awards, visit https://wwww.drake.edu/asc/recognition.php.