Sanders County recognizes its long-time employees

In today’s rapidly evolving employment market, finding good employees is one thing, keeping them in the fold is quite another.

The presentation of 18 awards to Sanders County employees last week for continuous service ranging from five to 25 years is indicative of employee satisfaction with their work environment.

“These awards recognize a significant milestone in these employees’ careers,” said Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox. “These days it seems like people don’t stay in their jobs very long.”

A total of 12 of the employees recognized for their longevity have been employed with the county for 10 or more years, topped by the 25-years on the job by Commissioner Carol Brooker of Plains.

Cox and Commissioner Glen Magera were among a host of fellow employees who had words of praise for Brooker’s two-and-one-half decades with Sanders County.

“Carol has been here 25 years and everyone knows if they have a question about the county or its history, she knows the answer,” Cox said. “She made my transition to commissioner a lot easier than it might have been. I hope she’s here for another five years.”

That seems a pretty good bet, given Brooker’s 2019 election to a fifth six-year term to the Commissioner’s office.

Others receiving recognition for their time with the county included County Detention and Dispatch Supervisor Shawna Chenoweth who was recognized for her 15 years serving the county.

“In her 15 years of service Shawna has been proven to be a trusted and honest employee,” said Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel, who presented the certificate of award to Chenoweth during the courthouse ceremony. “I remember watching her graduate (from police training).”

Chenoweth was also a presenter, handing out a 10-year service award to Dispatcher Jerrie Reichert. She also presented a 20-year award to Detention officer Lisa Wadsworth, who she praised for going above and beyond in her duties with the county jail.

“We don’t get a lot of recognition in our line of work,” Chenoweth said. “It’s a part of our job. But we do want to recognize the people who go over the top in performing their duties.”

Chenoweth also recognized Lisa Gregory for her work that prevented marijuana from being smuggled into the jail.

Chenoweth noted a recent incident where Wadsworth was checking out unusual activity outside the jail and came across what she first thought was a vaping device.

Upon further inspection she realized it was a container filled with marijuana that someone was likely trying to sneak into one of the prisoners.

Those actions prevented the drug from getting into the jail and creating more problems for officers and inmates.

Others receiving recognition for the years of service were: 20 years, Cindy Lidtke; 15 years, Rory Nygaard, Katherine Maudrone, Roy Mosher and Justice of the Peace Doug Dryden; 10 years, Jerry Johnson, Sandy Hough and Dwight Miller; five years, Ben Bache, Jim Burnette, Tiffany Broyhill and Jason Peterson.