 January 2025
Quarterly Employee Recognitions
Please join us in congratulating our WDVA Employees of the Quarter (pictured left to right) Joyce Yanny, Gayle Preuss, Christine Morey, Christine Fox, and Gina Fernandez!
Joyce Yanny
Joyce, who works as a custodian at Union Grove, was nominated by her peers for her exceptional skills and dedication to her role.
Joyce exemplifies the words dedication and teamwork. She consistently goes above and beyond for both our members and staff. Her hands-on approach and willingness to adapt to sudden changes, such as unexpected call-offs or new projects, demonstrate her remarkable flexibility and positive attitude. She is always ready to lend a hand to others, creating a supportive environment on the floor delivering quality and compassion as part of our skilled care team.
Thank you, Joyce, for your outstanding commitment and for being such a valuable member of our team at in Union Grove.
Christine Fox, Christine Morey, and Gayle Preuss
A team of three - Christine, Christine, and Gayle - from our Food Service staff at King, are being recognized for their reliable and efficient collaboration, which exemplifies the high-quality care we provide to the members at our home.
Commandant Tammy Servatius shares her praise, by saying, "These ladies go above and beyond each and every day. They are dependable and always willing to assist where and when needed."
As part of the food service team, they work together daily to ensure member's meal tickets are printed and ready for each tray line without fail, ensure tallies and counts are printed and available for the kitchen manager, foodservice supervisors, cooks and food service staff, including working in close coordination with our registered dieticians for each member.
Most recently, in addition to their regular duties, they have taken on the task of member menus. This has been no small feat as they personalize over 50 menus a week that must be processed, tickets updated, and all changes communicated to appropriate staff in the kitchen.
WDVA appreciates the above and beyond efforts of this outstanding team and their compassion for our members at King.
Gina Fernandez
Gina Fernandez, our relatively new Finance Services Bureau Director, is being recognized for her dedication, outstanding leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence over the past 10 years at WDVA.
Secretary James Bond noted that, "Gina’s colleagues clearly hold her in the highest regard, and that is well-earned and well-deserved. I know firsthand that Gina is considered an exceptionally knowledgeable, reliable, and thoughtful employee."
As Finance Director, she has overseen a seamless handling of the office and records consolidation and her ability to foster a supportive and productive environment for the fiscal team which speaks volumes about her character and leadership.
Thank you, Gina, for everything you do. We are grateful to have you as part of the WDVA team!
After 20 years of service to the people of the state of Wisconsin, Kevin Hampton, Curator at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, will be heading east to join the state of Virginia as their Assistant Director of Programs and Education for the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission. Although he hasn’t reached the age of 40 yet, Kevin has worked at the museum for more than half of his life. He began here in 2004 as a high school volunteer during summer youth camps. When he returned as a college graduate, he was hired as a part-time curatorial assistant, and was able to boast to his mother, “See, they will pay me to do history!”
For the next 14 years, Hampton worked his way from a temporary part-time position, to full-time, permanent positions, first as an associate curator, then curator of research and public programs, and finally curator of history. Few, if any, of his colleagues would doubt his commitment to preserve and remember the veterans of Wisconsin. Perhaps the only opportunity that could lure Kevin away from the stories of Wisconsin veterans is what ultimately did – the chance to be a leader and to tell even more stories to a national audience.
At a staff luncheon last week, Secretary Bond presented Kevin with a plaque in honor and appreciation of his service to Wisconsin's veterans (pictured above). Kevin's good humor, creativity, and friendship will be missed greatly by staff and volunteers. We wish Kevin all the success he deserves, ten-fold.
Thank you everyone who attended our Central Office Collaboration and Training Day in December! Deputy Secretary Chris McElgunn kicked things off with some departmental updates before recognizing many WDVA employees celebrating milestones in years of service to the State of Wisconsin. (*Pictured above: Deputy Secretary Chris McElgunn presenting a service pin to Chris Apfelbeck in recognition for 30 years of service.)
Congratulations to our WDVA employees who are celebrating work milestones!
- 30 years
- Chris Apfelbeck, Director of IT in Division of Enterprise Services (DES)
- James Bond, Secretary
- Amy Millard, Deputy Administrator in Division of Veteran Benefits (DVB)
- 25 years
- Craig Jensen, Budget Policy Analyst, DES
- Jill Waldman, Financial Specialist, DES
- 10 years
- Gina Fernandez, Finance Director in DES
- Matthew Korbol, Veterans Program Specialist in VBRC, DVB
- William Ray, Building & Grounds Supervisor at Southern Cemetery, DVB
- Scott Sussman, Deputy General Counsel
- 5 years
- Paul Huber, VORP, DVB
- Diane Lynch, Division Administrator for Homes
- Todd Marks, VORP, DVB
- Chandler Miller, VORP Supervisor, DVB
- Cristina Peterson, Senior Accountant, DES
- Mark Provencher, VORP, DVB
- Luke Sprague, Oral Historian at Museum
In addition to staff recognitions, our colleagues from the Bureau of Cemeteries and Memorial Services presented an overview of the cemetery and burial services for veterans and eligible spouses. Cemetery Directors Lee Kelley (Southern), Andrew Whitman (Central), and Joel Clapero (Northern) gave updates and statistics for the facilities they oversee. And Jeff Hughes gave a comprehensive overview of the Military Funeral Honors Program and the process to apply for honors at veteran funerals.
WDVA is grateful to our staff, especially those who travel long distances to these quarterly all-staff meetings. They help our department stay up to date with trainings, information, and bring our employees together for an important day of learning.
(Pictured below: Andrew Whitman, Director CWVMC, gives an overview of Wisconsin Veteran Memorial Cemeteries.)
Please help us welcome new WDVA employees who have joined us this past quarter:
- Monte Lewis - Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Jacob Anderson - Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Sloan Butler - Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program (VORP)
- Xee Khang - Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program (VORP)
- Amber Krokstrom - Veteran Outreach and Recovery Program (VORP)
- Kelly Holzer - Milwaukee Claims Office
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Cemeteries Receive Injury Reduction Grant Award
Congratulations to our Bureau of Cemeteries and Memorial Services team as WDVA has very recently received a DOA Risk Management FY25 Injury Reduction Grant Award in the amount of $9,577.70. The grant will help purchase special equipment to be used at our three cemeteries to reduce the amount of manual labor currently required to hand-dig the sockets for placing veteran grave markers and prevent injuries to our cemetery caretakers in addition to improving operational efficiencies.
*Pictured: SWVMC caretakers and grounds crew preparing for an interment on January 15, 2025. Picture credit to Lee Kelley.
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