Each year, Human Resources recognizes and honors staff celebrating 20-plus years of service to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with an awards ceremony and reception. This year, due to social distancing restrictions, HR will virtually honor the more than 600 employees celebrating milestone service anniversaries in 2020.
These staff members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, traditions and experiences, have seen VUMC through many changes and have remained committed to providing excellent care to our patients, their families and to their co-workers. It is through their dedication, expertise and insight that we meet daily challenges in patient care, education, and research. The Medical Center is successful because of the collective brain power, diverse experiences and various perspectives each person brings to their jobs, so it is a privilege to recognize those who have invested so much of their career and talents with VUMC.
Howard Price, technical supervisor III, in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, is celebrating 60 years of service. “VUMC is a great place to work. Everyone I have ever worked with has treated me well. Being able to advance is one of the reasons I’ve loved being here,” he said.
Loreita Little, grants manager in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Odessa Settles, case manager, Pediatrics Neonatology & Pulmonary Medicine; and Ronnie Thompson, senior computer facilities analyst, VUMC IT Data Center Services, are all celebrating 50 years of service. You can read more about their impact at Vanderbilt in a series of MyVUMC articles over the next few weeks. Price, Little, Settles and Thompson have also been honored with pole banners along Garland Avenue, leading to the Medical Center North shuttle stop.
In the coming weeks, MyVUMC will publish articles detailing how the Medical Center has changed over the years for our honorees, what they have learned during their tenure and why many still say VUMC is the best job they’ve ever had. We’ll highlight the biographies of our colleagues celebrating 45 years of service and share stories from those staff members who have been employed at VUMC for 35 and 40 years.
In November, we’ll share a pre-recorded celebratory video with thank-you messages from leaders and cameos from some of the honorees.
For a list of all staff celebrating 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 60 years of service, visit hr.vumc.org/employee-celebration/awards.