Governor, First Lady Haslam Honor State Employees for Providing Outstanding Service

NASHVILLE – Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam today honored 23 state employees who are helping Tennessee lead by providing outstanding state services every day. The employees, who were nominated by their departments’ leadership for the Governor’s Excellence in Service Awards, were invited to attend a luncheon at the Tennessee Residence for providing efficient and effective service to the state and their fellow Tennesseans.

“The employees honored today are on the forefront of improving how Tennessee state government delivers services,” Haslam said. “By exceeding leadership and customer expectations, creating innovative solutions or improving processes and services, these state employees are helping provide taxpayers with the highest quality service at the lowest possible cost.”

Haslam launched the biannual Governor’s Excellence in Service Awards in 2016 to honor state employees who provide services in the most customer focused and effective manner. This is the fifth group of state employees to be recognized by the governor and first lady.

The spring 2018 recipients of the Governor’s Excellence in Service Award being honored today include:

• Danny Sutton, dairy administrator, Agriculture
• Britany Binkowski, special assistant to the commissioner, Child Welfare Reform, Children’s Services
• Joe Malone, food service supervisor 2, Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, Commerce and Insurance
• Tanisha Williams-Pentecost, probation and parole manager, Correction
• Miles Hutcherson, technical project manager, Economic and Community Development
• Joanna Collins, assistant general counsel for procurement, Education
• Elaine Boyd, senior advisor for the Bureau of Environment, Environment and Conservation
• David Case, senior business analyst, Finance and Administration
• Anthony B. Rogers, Sr., safety and soundness chief administrator, Financial Institutions
• Jed DeKalb, chief state photographer, General Services
• Dale Reynolds, nurse supervisor, Hardin County Health Department, Health
• Deborah Cato, HR analyst 3, Human Resources
• Edward J. “EJ” Singley, legal assistant, Case Prep Unit, Human Services
• Simone Cuarino, state director of Federal Lawsuit and HIPAA Compliance, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
• Geicole Diggs, program specialist 2, Labor and Workforce Development
• Kristosser “Kris” Jernighan, executive assistant, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
• Charles B. Loveday, firefighter manager, Military
• Sonya Meacham, TR3 consultant, Revenue
• Susan Lowe, director, Financial Responsibility Section, Safety and Homeland Security
• Jim Guffey, web developer, TennCare
• James Brown, transportation program monitor 2, Transportation
• Ryne Cummins, manager, Jellico Welcome Center, Tourist Development
• Gregg Crawford, veterans education coordinator, Veterans Services

More information on those being honored today can be found on tn.gov/governor.