For the second year in a row, two staff members were recognized as U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (LM) Employee of the Year.
Both Rich Rogers and Jeanie Gueretta were honored for their hard work and dedication during a virtual town hall held Sept. 30, in place of LM’s annual All-Hands Awards Banquet, due to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rogers said he was multi-tasking when he learned he was given the award.
“I was listening but also watching my 18-month-old son, who gets into everything. Then I hear my name, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, wow!” said Rogers. “Stop everything. I can’t believe this.”
Gueretta was also completely surprised by the announcement.
“They did a great job of keeping it a secret,” Gueretta said. “It was very humbling and a nice feeling to be honored in that way. I feel very blessed.”
The Philip C. Leahy Award recognizes LM employees who demonstrate the qualities of a team player, as described by John C. Maxwell’s The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player. The book lists qualities such as: dependable, enthusiastic, prepared, self-improving, selfless, and tenacious. Philip C. Leahy personified the qualities of a team player by accomplishing his Manhattan Project mission and establishing a legacy of success that LM carries to this date.
Nominations for this award come from both peers and supervisors and are judged by the LM deputy director and two office deputies. The Leahy winner (or winners in this case) with the most noteworthy contributions are also selected as LM Employee of the Year.
In 2020, seven staff members received the Philip C. Leahy Award out of 20 nominations. The 2020 award winners included Jonathan Damiano, Bill Frazier, Jeanie Gueretta, Josh Linard, Tashina Jasso, Richard Rogers, and Sue Smiley. After a thorough review, the award committee determined that both Rogers and Gueretta had earned the Employee of the Year award.
Jeanie Gueretta coordinates with all members of the LM organization to manage LM’s multimillion-dollar support services contract.
Rogers, a member of the Financial Audits and Contracts Services (FACS) Team, led LM through an audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and prepared LM’s budget briefings for Congress. Rogers was described in his nomination as highly mission conscious, competent, communicative, disciplined, and dependable — necessary traits to guide an organization through a successful GAO audit.
Rogers said the key to his success is collaboration. “I understand that I don’t know everything, but I want to know everything,” Rogers said. “That allows me to humble myself and lead when I need to lead, and to reach out for support from my colleagues when I need it. And return that support when they call on me.”
Gueretta is also a member of the FACS Team. Serving as the contracting officer’s representative, Gueretta coordinates with all members of the LM organization to manage LM’s multimillion-dollar support services contract. This year has been especially challenging as LM is closing out the current contract and working toward transition to a new one. Gueretta led the LM team as it managed delays and changes to work scope due to the pandemic, and navigated challenges associated with a contract change. She did all of this while remaining, according to her nomination, adaptable, collaborative, dependable, and communicative.
“I enjoy the interaction with the staff, both on the federal side and the contractor side,” Gueretta said. “And, I enjoy doing work that is meaningful, supporting the LM mission through the long-term stewardship that’s performed on this contract. It’s very rewarding knowing that I’m making a difference in what I’m doing.”
Rich Rogers led LM through an audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Ingrid Colbert, the supervisor for the FACS Team, said that it’s privilege to have Gueretta and Rogers as part the FACS Team.
“Jeanie and Rich are dedicated employees,” Colbert said. “They demonstrate an extraordinary level of experience. Both are strong, trusted, and self-reliant leaders. They inspire with confidence and respect and are highly valued by managers and staff.”
Both award winners said the real satisfaction is knowing that their coworkers nominated and selected them for the award.
“It’s just a complete honor and definitely a pleasant surprise, especially to share this award with Jeanie and the other people who were under consideration — all of my colleagues work really hard and do great work,” Rogers said.
“I feel that LM is a great organization to be a part of,” Gueretta said. “I feel very honored to be a part of this group and be recognized in this way. And I’m grateful to be working with such great people on such important work.”
LM established the Philip C. Leahy Award in 2017 to recognize employees who are outstanding team players. Leahy set up what is now LM’s Grand Junction office in Colorado as part of the Manhattan Project, and later served as the site’s first manager under the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.