March EOM is Tom Micklus

The only way to get Tom Micklus to his own Employee of the Month celebration was to tell him that his coworker was the EOM and he needed to escort him to the party.

Tom got a little surprise when he walked into the Student Center in the Student Life Building on Tuesday morning and was named the Employee of the Month for March 2009.

Tom is an electrician foreman for UIS and has worked here for more than 18 years.

"He's one of those quiet wonderful, hardworking employees that always does his job, does it thoroughly and is extremely knowledgeable about the campus, said Dave Barrows, Associate Chancellor for Administrative Affairs.

"Unfortunately he's going to be retiring in a few months," Dave said, to which Tom responded "maybe!" with a laugh.

"We'd like to congratulate Tom and thank him for all of the service he's given us," Dave said.

Tom encouraged everyone to have a good time at his celebration and thanked everyone present.

"I just hope everybody enjoys themselves; I don't know what to say," he said. "I appreciate all of your kindness, thank you."

Emily Welch Boles is February EOM

Even as the applause started and she was handed a bouquet of flowers, Emily Welch Boles had absolutely no idea what the cause for all of the celebration was. But she quickly found out that it was her.

On Monday morning, February 9, Emily was named the February 2009 Employee of the Month at UIS. Emily works in the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning as a Computer Assisted Instruction Specialist.

"She's an exceptional worker, staying late often to provide service above and beyond what is expected, showing original thinking in her solutions to problems, and displaying an infectious 'can-do attitude' in every situation," said Shari McCurdy, associate director of OTEL.

Shari said that Emily is always positive and supportive in her relationships with her coworkers, students, faculty and staff at UIS.

"Emily works tirelessly and moves mountains to help our office fulfill its mission to faculty and staff," Shari said.

Emily was thrilled to celebrate the occasion with her family and coworkers on hand.

"Thank you all very much; I'm floored," she said. "I couldn't do my job without my coworkers."