February's Outstanding Employees

Posted February 4, 2022, 3:55 PM. Updated August 24, 2022, 3:32 PM.

This month's honorees include a roofer, mailroom supervisor, custodian and nurse.

Four APS employees are recognized each month during the school year through the Employee Recognition Program. Anyone can nominate an outstanding employee. A committee made up of people from different employee groups reviews nominations, looking for those employees who go above and beyond to make a difference in their role.

Congratulations to February's honorees:

Anthony Abeyta – Roofer, APS Maintenance & Operations
Frank Jaramillo - Mail Room Supervisor, APS Mail Room
Peggy Lilley – Custodian, Madison Middle School
Melissa Ybarra – Nurse, Seven Bar Elementary School

The honorees are being featured on the APS electronic billboards around town and will be recognized by the APS Board of Education, receiving a lasting memento of the honor.

Learn More about February's Honorees

Anthony Abeyta, Roofer – APS Maintenance & Operations

Debra Larribas, principal at Pajarito Elementary School, explains why Anthony Abetya deserves to be recognized: "During a roof repair visit, Mr. Abeyta noticed the unusual lack of cleanliness at Pajarito. When he approached me, I let him know that I did not have any night custodians, and we had not been getting subs. We were doing the best we could, but we could not make up for the lack of any night custodians. Since then, he has been working his normal shift with M&O and working an additional 4 hours at Pajarito to help keep our campus clean. He is going above and beyond his normal workday to help out a school site."

Anthony, who is from the South Valley community, always has a positive attitude and a smile on his face. "He has made a significant difference in Pajarito," Larribas said.

Frank Jaramillo, Mail Room Supervisor – APS Mail Room

Frank is described as kind, patient, responsive, and professional. He is easy to work with and willing to help his fellow employees.

Ruth Golar, a Behavioral Health Resource Nurse, described why Frank deserves to be recognized: "We sent out over 100 mailings in December. Frank came and helped collect them all...He also said he wanted to come up and collect the mailings himself to help take the workload off of the mail person who would have had to carry all of those from our department. His level of customer service just went above and beyond!"

Peggy Lilley – Custodian – Madison Middle School

Peggy has done an outstanding job keeping Madison's campus exceptionally clean, and she works hard to ensure the school follows COVID-safe practices, such as cleaning water fountains and door handles throughout the day. She often volunteers to do other tasks that are above and beyond her duties, such as checking bathrooms after every period and encouraging kids to be kind and helpful in the hallways and the cafeteria.

According to Principal Tammy Crespin, Peggy has grown a lot as a head custodian. "She takes care of her crew and supports and recognizes them often to promote positive relationships and school culture. Peggy is reliable, funny, and is willing to help all our staff."

Melissa Ybarra – Nurse, Seven Bar Elementary School

Principal Roberta Montoya described why Melissa deserves to be recognized: "Melissa never skips a beat. Melissa is so organized and productive with her time. On a typical day, you might see Melissa conducting screenings with a class, responding to a medical emergency while remaining calm under pressure, coaching staff on how to tube feed or work a glucose monitor, checking in with students, responding to calls about scrapes, and bruises, responding to parent questions, attending a Health & Wellness meeting, then a 504 meeting, logging onto a virtual School Nurse meeting and training, and mentoring a new school nurse. Add a report of a COVID positive case, and it doesn't phase Melissa. She is quick to gather the information, stay in close communication with administration, assess and determine close contacts, complete the rapid response reporting, collaborate with her Health Assistant to make some phone calls. She does all of this with a positive attitude while keeping a pristine health office. Melissa never ceases to amaze me."

How to Nominate an Employee

You can nominate an employee by filling out an online application. The nomination must be completed by someone other than the nominee ( .e., no self-nominations are eligible for consideration).

Award recipients will be selected monthly by a Peer Praise Task Force.