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April 5th, 2024- The Department of Athletics and Recreation hosted our 9th annual Part-Time Staff Appreciation Banquet. Bringing together all of the teams that run our facilities, events and programs for the University of Guelph community. There were many highlights and all of our teams should be congratulated for a year full of serving our UofG community.

Congratulations to all our award winners!

Matrix Student Leadership Award

This award is presented to the part-time employee who is a current full-time post-secondary undergraduate student and acts as a role model for their peers. This person is a leader within the department and demonstrates the following qualities:

• Someone who makes coming to work enjoyable
• Motivates their coworkers
• Takes on a mentorship role among their peers
• Looks for ways to improve their work environment
• Leads by modelling a friendly, inclusive and professional attitude
• Encourages cross-unit co-worker bonding and development
• Supportive and encouraging of the spirit of arc (athletics and recreation committee)
• Has worked a minimum of 2 semesters for the Department

Nominees:

Diane Mezei from Active Kids and Camps and Climbing Wall
Harvey Marchant from Fields/Fieldhouse

The Winner:
Diane has been employed with the Gryphons since 2018. She is someone that truly believes in growth, not only for themselves and customers, but for those that work with her. She is driven to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable, supported and looking ahead to changes. There is a quote that says, “your energy introduces you before you even speak.” This is a perfect quote to use to describe Diane. From a distance you can tell that she is excited and enjoys her job. Diane is constantly smiling, showing open body language, asking people if she can help them out or share tools. She brings an energy that is contagious, and everyone enjoys being around her. Diane has a huge respect for other’s ideas or thoughts. You will never hear her raise her voice, rather she is respectful of opinions and listens attentively to all points of view. When we talk about leadership, Diane is someone that I would want to have other staff look at and be trained by due to her attentiveness to details, professionalism, and genuine passion for our Gryphon values.

Service and Dedication Award

This award is presented to the part-time employee who puts service first in their daily job tasks. This person understands the value of excellent customer service for both internal and external customers. The characteristics of this employee are:

• Displays enthusiasm and dedication to their work unit and the department as a whole
• Greets all members and customers with a smile and takes the time to get to know them
• Extremely reliable
• Interacts with other campus organizations on behalf of the Department

Nominees:

Jessica Kouleas from Client Services
Logan Acevedo from the Gryphon Centre
Lexi Runstedler from Fitness Centre

The Winner:
Logan has been involved with athletics at the University of Guelph for three and a half years. He ranks 4th all-time in total career hours with the current arena crew. A total of about 1800 hours or 75 calendar days. After being hired, Logan quickly took advantage of the opportunity he was presented applying himself in all aspects of the role and showing a high level of dedication and great enthusiasm to the position. Logan plays a pivotal role in the day-to-day operation of the arena. Logan’s efforts are noticed by all and greatly appreciated.

Directors Award

This award is presented to the part-time employee who exemplifies the true nature of the department of athletics. This person is an individual who conducts themselves as an ambassador of athletics at all times. The characteristics of this employee are:

• Ambassador for athletics throughout the campus and city communities
• Excellent leadership within the department
• Goes above and beyond and conducts themselves with maturity
• Creates a sense of teamwork within their units
• Has worked a minimum of 3 semesters for the Department

The Winner:
Maria’s career with Athletics began in the depth of the pandemic. Managing our guests through the constantly evolving and everchanging operational regulations was her first introduction to facility operations. It quickly became evident that Maria had the willingness and potential to lead a team to success. Less than a year later she would become a student manager with experience totaling over 3775 hours of service - that’s 472 full-time working days. To describe her contributions to the Fields and Fieldhouse team I would use words and phrases like ‘outstanding’, ‘excellent’, ‘exceeds expectations’, and ‘above average’. Maria works hard with the ARC team to put on this very event, gathering many of the door prizes you all entered to win, and planning and hosting us all here. Her energy and commitment are unmatched, her attitude is always positive and upbeat, and her hustle is exemplary. Maria is undoubtedly a leader amongst her peers in the Athletics Department. Her contributions have been invaluable, and her passion for fostering a positive and thriving athletic community deserves recognition. Thank you for your dedication, enthusiasm, and contributions to the facilities unit and the Department of Athletics.

Unit Awards

THE GRYPHVISION MVP 2023-24 AWARD     GEOFFREY BRANDOW
FITNESS – ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24    MATTEO PUGA
FITNESS CENTRE STAFF OF THE YEAR 2023-24    LEXI RUNSTEDLER
FITNESS - HEART AWARD 2023-24    CLAIRE MACDOUGALL
FITNESS – GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD 2023-24    INDIGO WALKER
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24    ASPEN GALLANT
PERSONAL TRAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24     EMILY JENKINS
FITNESS MVP OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24    GRAY YATES
FIELDS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2023-24     EVAN ABBOTT
FIELDS MVP 2023-24     CALEB TAYLOR
FIELDHOUSE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24    CLARA SANGSTER
FIELDHOUSE MVP AWARD 2023-24    IJEOMA NWAFOR
GGAC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24     NYAH DYMOCK-BROOKS
GGAC MVP AWARD 2023-24     JOSHUA FELTON
GRYPHON CENTRE ARENA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2023-24     SCOTT CREMASCO
GRYPHON CENTRE ARENA MVP 2023-24     LOGAN ACEVEDO
CLIENT SERVICES ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24     ADELIE TARDIF
CLIENT SERVICES MVP AWARD 2023-24     ZAYN ABBAS
CLIENT SERVICES TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD.2023-24     RYLEE DAVISON
CLIENT SERVICES CLIENT CARE CHAMPION AWARD 2023-24      JESSICA KOULEAS
ROOKIE OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24      JULIAN ATTARD
OUTSTANDING INTRAMURAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2023-24    LIAM FISCHER
INTRAMURAL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24     KOVAR YU
AQUATICS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2023-24      SIMONE SCHOFIELD
AQUATICS INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR 2023-24      HAILEIGH CHENIER
AQUATICS INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR 2023-24       SAREENA SINGH
AQUATICS LIFEGUARD OF THE YEAR 2023-24       MATT CRUICKSHANK
AQUATICS LIFEGUARD OF THE YEAR 2023-24      BHAVYA GUPTA
EVENT STAFF ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023-24     GWYNETH JARRETT
EVENT STAFF MVP AWARD 2023-24     REBECCA PARKER
GAME DAY MANAGER MVP 2023-24     SABRINA BERARDI
GAME DAY MANAGER MVP 2023-24      LAUREN HINCHLIFFE
THE STATS MVP AWARD 2023-24      SARAH BRUNER
ACTIVE KIDS TRAILBLAZER AWARD 2023-24      VERONICA FISHER
GRYPHON ACTIVITY CAMPS STAFF PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 2023      LAUREN CARSCADDEN
CLIMBING WALL MONITOR IMPACT AWARD 2023-24      DIANE MEZEI
CLIMBING WALL MONITOR VISIONARY AWARD 2023-24      THOMAS MATTHIAS