2009-2010 PIC Divisional Employees of the Year

Congratulations to Sheila Barclay, Mary Lou Friedline and Shannon Kossar who are being recognized as Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. Divisional Employees of the Year. In June each was awarded a $500 check and a bouquet of flowers.

PIC Early Childhood Development Divisional Employee of the Year - Sheila Barclay
Sheila Barclay is the Secretary for Head Start/Early Head Start. In this role, she assists the management team in day-to-day work and stays current with program priorities, procedures and policies. Sheila's nomination noted that she is self driven, organized, excellent at prioritizing assignments, and takes advantage of opportunities to improve her skills. Her ability to develop systems to improve the organization of information has improved inter-office communications and was greatly appreciated by the federal review team that monitored the Program earlier this year. Sheila has taken a leadership role on the Program Improvement Planning and Design (PIPD) committee and has successfully led groups in completing sections of the Program's Self-Assessment. She has spearheaded several activities including Relay for Life Walk, March of Dimes Baby Walk, and Daffodil Days for the Cancer Society all of which have been supported by many generous staff members.

PIC Education Divisional Employee of the Year - Mary Lou Friedline
Mary Lou Friedline is an Instructor in the Adult Education Department and currently works in the Greensburg office. With PIC for 23 years, Mary Lou has taught GED, Adult Basic Education, Work Readiness, skill-specific, and transitioning curricula and more recently has taught job readiness and professional development for PIC's EARN program. She is very conscientious about providing the most effective instructional methods including contextualized and computer-aided, individual, and group instruction incorporating authentic and up-to-date materials including newspapers, textbooks, and online resources. In addition to her teaching duties, Mary Lou has led a number of special projects including her current assignments as the PA WIN Project Coordinator and the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) Professional Development Specialist. The latter has helped to prepare PIC to meet the required adult education professional development requirements for our staff.

PIC Workforce Development Divisional Employee of the Year - Shannon Kossar
Shannon Kossar is the EARN Coordinator in the Greensburg office. In this role, she also oversees the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP). Her knowledge and commitment to the programs are noted by her nominators and supervisor as exemplary as are her patience and willingness to help her coworkers. Shannon is also described as professional and conscientious especially in regards to organizing and tracking information and reports required for measuring program performance. She demonstrates a willingness to do what is needed to maintain successful programs and has effectively resolved many client issues. In addition, Shannon is a member of the PIC Safety Committee.

Congratulations Sheila, Mary Lou and Shannon! Keep up the great work!