PAT Council votes to combine annual council staff recognition ceremonies

By Lori Wright, Media Relations

At its first meeting of the new year, the PAT Council voted to join the OS Council in a combined recognition ceremony later this spring following a recent request from the OS Council chair.

It was the first action of the council, which welcomed nine new members and new leadership. Phil Hammond is the new chair, Martha Cox is the vice chair and Scott Valcourt is the secretary.

“I hope this year will be a progressive year. I also hope we can work on forging better bonds with our fellow council members, with the OS and extension educator councils, and open some doors into other areas such as the student and faculty senates,” Hammond said.

The council’s decision to combine the two spring recognition ceremonies – which recognize employees for long-time service to the university – was based in part on a desire to unite the councils and assist the OS Council, which is struggling with membership.

In other business, Frankie Dineen, chair of the Professional Development Committee, reported that the December professional development breakfast was well received by attendees, all of whom ranked it as “excellent” on a post-breakfast survey.

The next professional development breakfast, “Eating Well Made Simple,” is Thursday, Feb. 12. Presented by Suzanne Sonneborn, nutrition educator, and Lisa Dinsmore, nutrition counselor, the breakfast will focus on helping attendees learn how to eat well, improve their food habits and learn simple strategies to eating healthy.

The breakfast will be held at Acorns, New England Center, beginning at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and a continental breakfast. To register, visit training.unh.edu.