The work of a single UNL employee will allow more than 970 faculty/staff to receive honors today.

Quick with smile and laugh, Rosalinda B. Ramirez has since 2002 organized Human Resources’ annual presentation of UNL Service Awards. She is also among those honored at today’s 10:30 a.m. ceremony in the Lied Center for Performing Arts, having worked as a regular UNL staff employee for 20 years.

“Working on the Service Awards is one of the best parts of my job,” Ramirez said. “It’s great knowing I’m part of this personal touch that the university does for each employee.”

A long-standing UNL tradition, the Service Awards ceremony started as a sit down meal and celebration for employees receiving the honors. In 2002, the event was combined with the chancellor’s annual State of the University Address and the meal transformed into the all-university picnic.

“Combining the events created a really special day to celebrate the university and its employees,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez starts working on the Service Awards ceremony in January, pulling the list of employees who have worked at UNL in increments of five years. Those employees are contacted in the spring, notifying them of the award and letting them pick a specific award.

Each award is engraved with an employee’s name and years of service. Ramirez inspects each item individually, assuring that the information is correct.

“If the engraving is OK, I put the item in a box, attach a label and put it in our storage room,” Ramirez said.

Moving Services transports the awards to the Lied Center the day before the event. Ramirez and other Human Resources employees then organize the awards by year and prepare for the Service Awards ceremony.

On the day of the Service Awards, it’s all hands on deck as Human Resources employees help hand out the honors.

“Everybody in HR does something on the day of the awards,” Ramirez said. “It’s a busy day, but very rewarding.”

Awards not picked on the day of the event are returned to the HR office. Ramirez then works with departments to get the honors delivered.

Her other duties in the process include sending alert and reminder emails to employees receiving awards; assisting event emcee Rick Alloway, professor of broadcasting, with developing the Service Awards ceremony script; and working with the chancellor’s office in planning the overall Service Awards, State of the University and All-University Picnic event.

“Rosalinda works tirelessly to make sure this is a fun and uplifting event for UNL’s faculty and staff,” said Bruce Currin, assistant vice chancellor for Human Resources.

While the Service Awards event takes up a small portion of her overall responsibilities, it is the duty that Ramirez finds most satisfying.

“Overall, the Service Awards ceremony is a great event for the employees of the university,” Ramirez said. “Everyone in HR is glad to be a part of it. It makes you feel good doing something for your fellow employees.”

For more information on UNL’s Service Awards program, go to http://hr.unl.edu/er/serviceawards.

The list of employees receiving Service Awards today is available here.