A total of 303 employees were recognized on February 2 for their years of service to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

The employees were honored at the 2023 Service Award Luncheon at Talking Stick Resort, which was attended by the honored employees, their supervisors and Community leadership.

The 2023 Service Award Recognition Program was organized by the Community’s Human Resources Department to recognize employees for reaching specific employment milestones.

“One of the greatest things about today’s program is that over 300 people were recognized,” said Human Resources Director Steve Haydukovich. “If you take a look at this number in a broader sense, the Community should be very proud of the number of people who attended this event and the number of people who ‘work for the Community, stay for the Community.’”

Haydukovich said that it’s a testament of a great organization and Community to show members that once you’re in as an employee, it’s an excellent growing and learning opportunity.

SRPMIC Community Manager Bryan Meyers, who was honored for 30 years of service, provided the opening and closing remarks for the event.

SRPMIC Vice-President Ricardo Leonard gave the blessing, and President Martin Harvier briefly expressed his appreciation to the employees before joining the rest of Council on stage to congratulate the employees as their names were called.

One of the most notable employees honored was Teresa Leonard, who has worked for the Community for 45 years, beginning in 1978. Leonard couldn’t make it to the event, but her supervisor, Director of Administration Glen Law, talked about her hard work and service to the Community.

“She has so much knowledge about our operations,” said Law. “She knows what to anticipate and what to expect, [and it’s] very valuable for someone like a director to have someone like that who knows these things. I hope you all have a ‘Teresa’ in your department.”

Teresa’s daughter Crystal Leonard, who was recognized herself for 10 years of service to the Community, spoke on her mother’s behalf.

“She enjoyed her years working for the Community and met thousands of people,” said Leonard. “She thanks all of her bosses, former and current, and says ‘thank you’ to the Community for allowing her to serve for 45 years.”

Haydukovich and Assistant Community Manager Lena Jackson-Eckert presented the awards.

Employees Recognized (15-45 years):

First Name – Last Name – Yrs of Serv. – Title

Teresa Leonard 45 Sr Budget Analyst

Robin Hendricks 30 Recreation Coord II (Athletic)

Diana Johnson 30 Time Keeper/Office Assistant

Bryan Meyers 30 Community Manager

Fannie Mike 30 Paraprofessional

Nelson Wood 30 Battalion Chief

Tsosie Wood 30 Deputy Fire Chief (Sppt Svcs)

Carmelita Briones 25 Parent & Comm Involvement Spec

Maria Chavez 25 Parent & Comm Involvement Spcl

Chris Christy 25 Behavioral Hlth Svcs Manager

Davina Dallas 25 Legal Office Manager (OGC)

Garfield King 25 SHRRP Prevention Svcs Coord

Kyland King 25 Gaming Agent Supv

Carmen Lopez 25 Edu ECE Teacher

Alma Nez 25 Data Ops & Support Manager

Ritu Sharma 25 School Teacher

Yolanda Stacey 25 Deputy Defense Advocate

Keith Andrews 20 Sr Survey Party Chief

Dawn Burstyn-Meyers 20 School Teacher

Sasheen Castaneda 20 Desktop Services Manager

Shavon Coburn 20 Corrections Sgt

Heather Harmon 20 Corrections Officer

Toni Harvier 20 Community Wellness Manager

Albert Jordan 20 Clinical Director (HHS)

Dawn Lomahaftewa 20 Sr Tribal Court Advocate

Louis Lombari 20 Police Lieutenant

Janice Manuel 20 Homecare Asst III

Marie Montero 20 Material Control Specialist

Garfield Nish 20 Water Distribution Worker I

Myra Ochoa 20 Group Home Supervisor

Peter Prieto 20 Sr. Infrastructure Specialist

Dawn Sinoqui 20 Assistant Community Manager

Randolph Villa 20 Deputy Fire Chief (Operations)

Leonardo Villanueva 20 Plumber

Kevin Westberg 20 Police Lieutenant

Forest Wood 20 Police Sergeant

Wilfredo Aguilar 15 HVAC Technician

Paul Alberts 15 Sr. Economic Dev Analyst

Patricia Almaraz 15 Right-of-Way Specialist

Eleanor Andreas-King 15 Sr. Accts Payable Specialist

Gregg Bacome 15 Roads Maintenance Supv

Anthony Badalamenti 15 Fire Captain

Timothy Baldemore 15 App System Mgr

Renee Banuelos 15 Office Manager (FAC)

Nina Baptisto 15 Budget & Accounts Specialist

Jason Barker 15 Fire Engineer

Vincent Barraza 15 DAO Director

Aaron Benally 15 Water Distribution Field Supv

Stephanie Burns-Soliz 15 Construction Manager (Resid)

Vicente Cendejas 15 Police Officer

Immanuel Chavez 15 Firefighter (EMT)

Jacob Coombs 15 Corrections Sgt

Michelle Cooper 15 Legal Secretary (DAO)

Shaunton Davis 15 Civil Engineer

Nancy Dedakia 15 Sr Proj Mgr (Special Proj HHS)

Stephanie Deel 15 Licensing Manager

Briana DiCarlo 15 Public Safety Com Shift Supv

Sean Dospital 15 Corrections Officer

Lorenzo Edwards 15 Heavy Equip Tech I

Melanie Emerson 15 Secretary (Facilities)

Macelyn Enas 15 Administration Div Mgr (PW)

Terilyn Esplin 15 Edu ECE Teacher

Keven Ficken 15 SharePoint Administrator II

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs15 School Teacher

Bolivar Garcia 15 Special Systems Technician

Jerrod Glaser 15 Video Production Editor

Angela Gower 15 Court Operations Manager

Darrell Harris 15 Maintenance Worker II (REC)

Alan Harvier 15 Maintenance Technician

Steven Haydukovich 15 Human Resources Director

William Hertenstein 15 Corrections Sgt

Russell Hillis 15 Fire Engineer

Jennifer Jack 15 Roads Section Manager

LaRue Jackson 15 Edu Board/Supt Secretary

Avarae John 15 Social Worker II (SRSVS)

Miranda Johnson-Moya 15 Education Program Manager

Paul Johnston 15 Food Services Manager

Casey Kingry 15 Fire Captain

Terry Kubal 15 Fire Engineer

Anthony Little 15 Licensed Associate Judge

Sherrie Logg 15 Water Resource Section Mgr

Jeremy Lovato 15 School Bus Driver

Lance Lytle 15 Sr Internal Auditor

Erwin Manuel 15 General Laborer (Sanitation)

Daniel Martinez 15 Com Rel Mgr (Multimedia)

Dustin Massey 15 Police Sergeant

Richard McAllister 15 Principal Planner

Manuel Medina 15 Corrections Officer

Jared Miles 15 Fire Captain

Mayita Montiel 15 Edu ECE Asst Teacher

Roxanne Moreno 15 Civil Engineering Tech II

Rachel Norton 15 Secretary (Prosecution)

Henry Osif 15 Transportation Project Manager

Heidi Picard 15 HR Generalist II

Patty Powers 15 Assistant HR Director

Pamela Prasher 15 CCDF Program Manager

Kierstin Prince 15 LSO Managing Attorney

Connie Reifschneider 15 Accountant (Tax Coll & Rpt)

Shannon Reina 15 Food Services Manager (EDU)

Scott Rork 15 Fire Captain

Christopher Russo 15 Machine Compliance Technician

Omer Saleem 15 Principal Data Specialist

Deena Savage-Chapple 15 Paraprofessional

Carolyn Scarbrough 15 Group Home Supervisor

Melissa Sherman 15 Compliance Manager

Loren Sidney 15 Gaming Agent Supv

Heather Silversmith 15 Trainer II

Corwin Smith 15 Environ Spcl

Herbert Stephens 15 Desktop Specialist II

Mallory Thomas 15 CommunityHealth Representative

Paula Thomas-Smith 15 Lead VocationalRehab Counselor

Annette Thurman-Ross 15 Budget & Accounts Specialist

Allison Tinkler 15 Project Coordinator -MRPM

Frank Turfler 15 Video Production Editor

Janice Van Winkle 15 Social Worker I (Reunifcatn)

Joseph Vesely 15 Fire Captain

Martha Villalobos 15 Behavior Intervention Counslr

Theresa Wills 15 Legal Secretary (PRO)

Brenna Wilson 15 Operations Manager (ECS)

Stuart Wilson 15 Water/Wastewater Section Mgr

Thomas Wright 15 Staff Archaeologist