10 Volunteers Receive Meritorious Service Awards

The APA grants Meritorious Service Awards to members who contribute to the payroll profession by volunteering and serving on committees and/or at the local chapter level. During Friday’s Awards Luncheon, 10 members received the award:

• Michael Bateman, CPP, Payroll Manager for Vail Resorts
• Sue Bradley, CPP, Payroll Specialist for Ceannate Corp.
• Linda Dailey, CPP, Payroll Manager for Vertex Aerospace
• Pamela Fack, CPP, Payroll Manager for QAD Inc.
• David Fowler, President of Worksite Compliance Services, LLC
• Helen Karakash, CPP, Consultant for Robert Half International
• Christine Martinez, CPP, Director of Employee Payroll for HCR ManorCare
• Jamie Phillips, CPP, Workforce Solution Consultant for Kronos Inc.
• Jon Schausten, CPP, Payroll and HRIS Director for OneAmerica
• Linda Wong, CPP, Payroll Manager for Powell Electrical Systems

“I never thought I’d be standing up here," Bateman, CPP, said. "I joined APA back in 1997 and over that time I’ve served on many of the subcommittees, boards, etc. I’ve made many, many friends. You get more and more out of joining and participating that you give. I encourage everyone to be involved.”

It was a popular refrain throughout the Meritorious Service Awards.

"I never expected this because there’s so many wonderful people in this organization," Dailey said. "I can only echo what everyone else has said. Get involved. You get so much more back than you give. You meet so many wonderful people.”

Fack, CPP, was, likewise, at a temporary loss for words.

“Speechless,” she said, adding that she got into payroll by accident when she filled in for a woman who left unexpectedly on maternity leave. “My boss said, 'You want to learn payroll?’ I said, ‘Sure, I guess.’ I had two days, what could go wrong? This is the best thing for my payroll career ever and I hope it continues.”

Additional reporting by Greg Mellen