Bre Walker-Schadler deserves to be Employee of the Month because of her constant and consistent friendliness and welcoming attitude for each person coming through the McKinney Center front doors or calling in.  Bre is the face of the McKinney Center and works hard to maintain a positive and professional atmosphere at our center.  She strives to make sure every student, parent, renter, etc., feels heard and has a positive experience at the McKinney Center.

Bre easily gets along with our coworkers and faculty.  She is a favorite of our Advisory Committee and each of the hosts that work here loves to take a moment to stop and chat with Bre.  Bre works hard, is always willing to help by showing up to outreach events, staying after hours, and giving a helping hand whenever needed.

Bre interacts with students, parents, faculty, guests, customers, volunteers, every single person that comes through our front door.  The most difficult part of her job, in my opinion, is keeping up with our constantly changing schedule including private lessons for three different teachers, McKinney Center events, and rentals.  Bre keeps exceptional organization  of every little thing going on.  Within the past month, she has helped to organize the Masterpiece Mingle, the Center’s biggest fundraiser, by moving art pieces all over the building for the show and silent auction.  She catalogued all the donations for the silent auction, wrote bid sheets for the items, and arranged them in a pleasing fashion for the event.  She checked with artists to make sure they were informed about the special reception the night prior to the Mingle, helped set up for the reception, and worked to clean the Center and get it looking its best for the big night.  Thanks to her efforts, we hand another sold-out event with glowing reviews from the people who came and participated.  While all this was going on, Bre was also registering students for class, for summer camp, fielding rental calls, and scheduling our hosts to make sure the Center is well staffed.

One of Bre’s goals this year is to increase rentals at the McKinney Center.  She has created and distributed rental brochures, sent out press releases to advertise the McKinney Center, designed advertisements for the paper and bridal show magazines, and even went on the local news this year to bring attention to the McKinney Center as a rental facility.  She has also created plans for  Skye McFarland to post about rentals on our social media throughout the year.  This extra attention tot his part of the McKinney Center offerings has been something we have needed for years!

Not to mention, everything Bre has been doing lately she has been doing while expecting her first child.  It hasn’t slowed her down at all.  She is still more than willing to run up and down the stairs, move tables, etc.  In preparation for her upcoming leave, Bre has been creating a guide for everything she does, and it is A LOT.  She has actively been training fellow staff and the hosts to take over certain aspects of her job.  It’s easy to say, though, that she will leave big shoes to fill in her absence.  Nine times out of ten when the phone rings, we hear, “Is Bre there?”  Our hosts, students, parents, and renters all trust Bre to take care of them.  She has become synonymous with the McKinney Cetner and unparalleled customer service.  Good job, Bre!

Submitted by:  Theresa Hammons, McKinney Center Director

Thank you, Bre! You are appreciated!

I would like to nominate Morgan Rogers for Employee of the Month. Morgan works as the Options Counselor for the Senior Center and has worked for the Town for four years. Morgan assists area seniors with services in their home. Meals on Wheels and works to help keep them independent as long as possible. Her job takes her all over Washington and Unicoi County and she is a champion for the underprivileged. Her heart is so ready to help and give back to her community. She does an excellent job working with different agencies to secure services and resources for seniors in need. She helps with getting individuals additional food through partnerships with the First Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability. Human Resource Agency. Good Samaritan, Neighborhood Service Center and area churches. Morgan is a great help at the Senior Center as well, always the first to help the front desk, in the kitchen with meals or when volunteers can’t deliver meals. she is happy to help deliver.

Morgan has a can-do attitude and takes every opportunity to help any senior she can. After the flooding when the Senior Center collected food, Morgan helped with the collection every day and helped deliver food to various churches. The work Morgan does can be very difficult, being in some of the home situations in our area can be discouraging and she handles it with grace. Always showing the upmost respect for those she works with and realizes the limitations of certain situations: she takes that all in stride and works hard to change the things she can. Recently when talking with the staff about their goals for 2025, Morgan shared that her goals were for the Senior Center to provide more outreach to Bethal Housing, to have some specific events for the residents. She had the idea to use some of the Benevolence funding that we raised from the Christmas trees at Lincoln Park to help the residents of Bethal Housing. With some of that funding, detergent and quarters were provided to each person who lives at Bethel. In February, Morgan completed Understanding Dementia Training seminar to stay current on best practices in working most effectively with individuals and their families dealing with dementia. The Senior Center received a large number of adult briefs that were donated to our center and Morgan worked very hard contacting various agencies to get them to folks who need them most. I appreciate that Morgan always works diligently to get resources to those most in need. I could not be prouder of Morgan and the heart she has for our area seniors. She is an advocate and a champion of people in need. She is someone you want in your corner, and she serves with a giving heart every day. I would like to nominate Morgan Rogers the work she does every day to improve the lives of our seniors.

 

Thank you, Morgan! You are appreciated!

The January Employee of the Month is an employee who has demonstrated consistent quality of work, been an asset to the community, presented an attitude of helpfulness, cooperative and been a positive role model for the Town of Jonesborough. This person was not only nominated by their entire staff but by a fellow co-worker who reflected on her commitment not only to her staff but to the Town of Jonesborough.

Mary Regen joined the Town of Jonesborough in 2015 as the Senior Center Director. She is known for her commitment to the Senior Center, her highest desire to serve the Town, the dedication she has for her staff and her continued support of all Town activities.

One nomination that was received states that the Jonesborough Senior Center is highly acclaimed, has received multiple awards, is accredited- the very valid reason for the success is Mary who works tirelessly throughout her tenure to build a firm foundation for our senior community. The passion Mary shows for the members is nothing short of amazing but is a small portion of the excellent work she accomplishes for her members day in and day out. One of Mary’s recent accomplishments is the

First Annual Christmas at Lincoln Park which not only brought together local businesses and community organizations to decorate Christmas trees to raise funds for the Senior Center Benevolence Fund, but this endeavor brought the community together and added a special new holiday tradition for many residents. Mary worked alongside the Park & Rec Director, Chris Kudera, to make this event as successful as it was. The tree lighting was a resounding success and enjoyed by all. If you know Mary, you know she strives for excellence in everything which she is involved; the Senior Cetner is providing mental, physical and emotional fitness, entertainment and most of all community- it is indeed providing a place to be active, fit and connected which is their mission statement.

The nomination from the Senior Center Staff was signed by every employee of the Senior Center which demonstrates their level of support for their leader who treats them with compassion, respect, and dignity day in and day out. The nomination spoke to the work of Mary with the Lincoln Park tree project and the amazing success of this project. In addition, the staff spoke of Mary’s commitment to teaching cooking and craft classes and managing the vegetable garden which feeds the senior center members through the

Café Connection meals. The nomination spoke of Mary’s willingness to host the Honor Flight of the Appalachian Highlands preview party of the WJHL special filmed during Mission 10. This event displayed to over 70 guests that night, the amazing facility. Mary’s commitment to serve Veterans is demonstrated through the work with Honor Flight but, also, with her organization and support of the monthly Veterans meeting hosted at the Senior Center and the Annual Veterans Day lunch for over 100 Veterans and guests at the Center. The staff shared that Mary is a diligent worker with a positive can-do attitude and is not afraid to ger her hands dirty and never asks the staff to do anything she is not willing to do herself. These words speak volumes to the dedication that the staff has for Mary, but that dedication is a two-way street as she cares about her staff and is dedicated to coaching, empowering, and leading the amazing Senior Center team.

Thank you, Mary! You are appreciated!

I want to nominate Zach Williams, Equipment Operator II Water Distribution – County Crew, as the November Employee of the Month. Zach has been employed for over a year and in that short time he has showed great potential he volunteers to work over and on call. He strives to do his best and will help coworkers and other departments in need. He has been a true asset during the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Not only has he performed his regular duties, but while out assessing the damage caused by the flooding to our water system, Zach came upon a car trapped in the rising waters, and without hesitation or a thought to his own personal safety, he jumped out and ran into the flood waters in order to rescue a woman, her child, and a disabled man. Zach Williams was able to remove all parties safely from the vehicle. Zach Willaims goes above and beyond, not only in his duties, but gives his all for his community and the Town of Jonesborough. It is for these reasons that I am nominating Zach Williams for November Employee of the Month.

Thank you, Zach! You are appreciated!

Skye McFarland is the Community Program Specialist at the McKinney Center. Skye has worked for the town for over ten years, starting out as a part time host at the Visitors Center. She began at the McKinney Center in 2017 as a part time employee and became full time by the end of 2019. As the community program specialist, Skye does the center’s community outreach events, manages volunteers, records a monthly podcast, manages the center’s social media accounts, and so much more.

This month Skye did a lot of work on the current McKinney Center exhibit Living Here: A Portrait of Jonesborough, which features 35 different people who live and work in Jonesborough. Everyone was interviewed by Isaac Wood, which was recorded by Skye. Skye then took a portrait of everyone. These interviews included family history, what they like about Jonesborough, working in Jonesborough, the Jonesborough community, and much more. Every interview lasted between 30 minutes to an hour. Skye edited each of the 35 videos down to 10 minutes long. Skye created a YouTube playlist of said videos so the Jonesborough community can hear stories from their neighbors. Skye spent time with Isaac reviewing the videos so he could pick out what quote from each video had the most impact. Skye spent Thursday and Friday of that week working on the presentation of the portraits in the auditorium so that the exhibition would look amazing for the opening reception that celebrated the lives of 35 community members.

The center does community outreach to share information about the center, introduce people to what the center does, and provides free crafts for people to engage in. Skye picks out the major festivals and events in the surrounding areas for staff to attend. Skye signs up to attend crafts at the Farmers Market in downtown Jonesborough once a month and helps to decide which downtown events we do outreach at. Skye attended the UMOJA festival on September 14th from 11 am-8pm to do a bead craft with children who attended the festival and to just share general information about the center. Skye plans to attend the Farmers Market in downtown Jonesborough on September 21st from 8am to noon with our new Arts and Culture Education Assistant AmeriCorps Volunteer Martha. They will be doing a popsicle scarecrow craft and passing out information about upcoming events at the center.

As the coordinator of community outreach, Skye has the greatest need for volunteers in the center. Skye gets three volunteers for every 2-3 hour period of doing outreach at festivals and events. Skye must organize when she needs volunteers, send out the information to get volunteers to sign up, typically multiple times, and then coordinate the volunteers on where to go once the festival begins. Skye then instructs volunteers on how to do the craft. Skye also gets volunteers for special events that the center hosts, such as the Masterpiece Mingle, art receptions, and fundraisers. Skye organizes the volunteers for the StoryTown radio show, volunteers who usher and run the concessions stand.

Skye started producing Conversations That Matter the Podcast in July 2020. The podcast began with Michelle Treece and Katelyn Yarbrough as moderators. Michelle Treece and Brittany Butler are the current moderators. Each episode of Conversations That Matter has two individuals that live or work in the Jonesborough/Johnson City area that get together and discuss how their lives are different and how they are alike. Topics of each episode vary depending on the guests for that area, although there are general overarching questions that each episode tends to touch on. In 2024, there have been episodes discussing the Jonesborough Area Ministerial Association Food Pantry, the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance, Langston Centre’s Health Task Force, and two teachers from Science Hill High School. It is beautiful that Skye can get people together every month to discuss what it means to be a part of the community in East Tennessee, especially Jonesborough and Johnson City.

Skye manages the social media sites for the McKinney Center, such as the McKinney Center Facebook and instagram pages. She helps the Program Manager and the AmeriCorps Volunteer StoryTown Assistant with the StoryTown Facebook and instagram pages. Skye is the one who makes graphics for each event we have and makes event pages on social media. These event pages and sharing general posts on a regular basis are why the McKinney Center events are so well attended. Skye promotes each class we have periodically throughout the semester, which is why our classes are able to make and even fill up. Skye takes the graphics she designed and has them printed out so that way staff can distribute them throughout Jonesborough and Johnson City to help attract attention to catch different crowds that are outside of the normal fan base.

Thank you, Skye! You are appreciated!