Poole College Staff Awards for Excellence Recipients Announced

Franklin Finch, director of information technology for Poole College, and Yolanda Sanders, human resource specialist for the college, were selected as the Poole College of Management’s 2017 Awards for Excellence recipients in the category of customer service and public service, respectively. 

They were selected from among six Poole College staff members who were nominated for the 2017 awards by their colleagues in the college. All Poole College nominees were honored at a luncheon on April 19. Annette L. Ranft, Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. chair and dean of the college, read excerpts from the nomination documents for all the candidates, commenting that each represented the quality and commitment of the college staff.  

Finch and Sanders are now in consideration for the NC State University Awards for Excellence. Staff are nominated annual university awards by their colleges. All nominees are recognized at the college level, and the two college award recipients advance to the university award program. The campus-wide recipients will be announced at a ceremony on June 7.

Following are this year’s Poole College nominees.

• Ashley Creech, Efficiency and Innovation Category
• Tuesday Cross, Customer Service Category
• Franklin Finch, Customer Service Category
• Brian Newton, Efficiency and Innovation Category
• Thuy Nguyen, Efficiency and Innovation Category
• Yolanda Sanders, Public Service Category
• Melusian Wright, Human Relations Category

Read about Poole College’s 2017 Award for Excellence Recipients

Franklin Finch joined Poole College as director of information technology in 2016. He established his expertise in prior roles with the NC State Office of Information Technology and now applies his expertise to strengthen Poole College’s IT infrastructure. In his short time at Poole College, Finch has developed a reputation for responding quickly to IT help requests, being supportive of his staff, implementing improvements in instructional technology, and responding quickly and efficiently when problems arise. His nominee writes, “He wants the best from his colleagues in PCOM and across the University; and he gets the best, because he gives the best.”

Since joining Poole College (then the College of Management) as a human resource specialist, Yolanda Sanders has taken steps to advance her knowledge and expertise in the field, completing both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She also has established a reputation for her dedication to public service. Sanders serves as a member of the Feed the Pack Advisory Board and in 2015 was co-chair of the Bountiful Food Harvest Food Drive. She has served on the NC State Council on the Status of Women in the 2015-2016 academic year, chaired a subcommittee on underrepresented women in leadership, contributed her time and efforts in various roles with the Staff Senate and has served as a committee member of family support here at NC state. Her nominee writes, “I simply cannot imagine how someone could be so excellent in her full-time job, earn not one but two different business degrees, and be dedicated enough to give herself to the larger NC State community and beyond. One simply has to stand back in awe.”