Employee recognition award winners

Throughout his 30+ year career with the agency, Jimmy has earned the trust and respect of his peers and superiors through his integrity, knowledge, enthusiasm and optimism.

He prioritizes safety, teamwork and collaboration. Long before the agency standardized training for tractor operators, he took the initiative to mentor new hires and has been instrumental in both shaping and preparing them for the challenges they will face. His leadership and commitment to training have had a lasting impact on the agency’s culture.

He is frequently called upon by fellow firefighters and landowners for his high-quality, reliable work, with a reputation for getting the job done right the first time. This level of trust is a direct result of his attention to detail and deep knowledge of his craft.

Jimmy’s firefighting credentials are equally impressive. For several years, he has held the distinction of having the highest number of fire responses in the state, a testament to his tireless dedication.

Over the past year, Jay has performed a vast array of job duties, completing every challenge with exceptional performance and a smile on his face. He is one of our most well-rounded foresters, stepping into any role he’s been asked to serve.

Hurricane Helene hit his entire project area extremely hard. Not only did he help remove debris and clear roads for the following week straight, he immediately transitioned into to helping landowners with an astounding 60 EFRP management plans and many other cost-share plans.

He helped recruitment for the agency by attending a job fair at Mississippi State, completed S-212, helped with Woodland Clinic and also worked on both the Table Rock and Covington Drive project fires.

Because of her unique job description, Chetna is a touchstone for every employee in the agency, making her not only one of the busiest people, but also one of the most helpful.

She is absolutely overrun by requests from employees (and even their family members), but she always goes above and beyond, demonstrating a strong work ethic and excellence in communication and problem-solving skills. Chetna is a pleasure to work with, extends respect to all, and does it all with an exemplary attitude.

She is helpful, informative, polite and professional, always delivering impeccable service and support. Chetna is a great ambassador for the Forestry Commission and by extension for the agency’s mission. She absolutely embodies our agency’s values of integrity, community, service and commitment.

The outstanding communication skills and duties that Andy brings/performs on a daily basis would be enough to warrant his winning this award in most years, but it is the outreach work that he performs OUTSIDE of his normal purview that makes him the most supremely qualified nominee for FY2024-25 Communicator of the Year.

Just this year alone, Andy has done dozens of TV and radio interviews about fire prevention and other aspects of the agency’s mission. With such a busy fire season, the Communications and Fire staffs often were understaffed to handle as many interview requests as could be accommodated, but every time Andy was asked to help cover reporters’ requests, he stepped up immediately, gladly and competently in every respect.

First in the office every day and always one of the last to leave, Cathy exemplifies all of the values this award champions. Her job embeds her in literally every function of the agency, and the time commitment, institutional knowledge and devotion to doing things properly (and on time) that she brings to her work is probably as rare as it is seemingly thankless.

Cathy has an answer for every question, a lot of times off the top of her head, which is amazing, considering the amount of information she’s asked to comprehend and juggle.