WCHRA Professional of the Year, Dave Knutson, SPHR Photo courtesy of Chad Mahlum Photography

WCHRA Recognition

WCHRA HR Professionals

WCHRA 2007 Professional of the Year

Human Resource leaders from the Western Slope announced the selection of the 2007 Human Resource Professional of the Year recipient at 12:00 p.m. during the WCHRA October monthly luncheon.

The winner, Dave Knutson, SPHR, Minister of HR and Sustainability at Chaco, Inc., has been chosen from a pool of six finalists who were nominated by their peers. Lisa Martin, President of WCHRA is pleased to state, " Dave Knutson represents the best in Human Resource professionals. He is creative, smart, and supportive, and works tirelessly for the good of the employees he works with, and the company he represents. We are very honored to have Dave as our 2007 Western Colorado Human Resource Association Professional of the Year."

WCHRA 2007 Professional of the Year Finalists

Photo courtesy of Chad Mahlum Photography

WCHRA nominees also included: Margie Arney, PHR, HR Director of Western Building Solutions and WCHRA Director of Certification, Terri Gird, HR Generalist of Hilltop and WCHRA Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Sandy Perry, SPHR, HR Manager of Mesa County, David Porfirio, Manager of Business Services for Mesa County Workforce Center, and Shelly Williams, PHR, Benefits Specialist for the City of Grand Junction and WCHRA Director of Communications.

WCHRA Professional of the Year, Dave Knutson, SPHR Photo courtesy of Chad Mahlum Photography

Knutson received an engraved commemorative award and a $100 Gift Certificate.

All six will receive recognition in the regional SHRM newsletter and the WCHRA website.

An independent panel of judges which included prominent community leaders selected the winner without being aware of any of the nominees' names in order to create the most impartial judging possible.

Each nominee's supervisor participated in the selection process by writing a letter of support. To qualify, each person nominated is a member of WCHRA in good standing who has been in the field of Human Resource for at least one year; have commendable performance in duties and responsibilities within their organization; have demonstrated initiative, innovation, and professional leadership in the HR field; have served to promote and advance the HR profession to others; and, contributed to community or charitable organizations.

WCHRA 2006 Professional of the Year

Photo courtesy of Fay Timmerman-Traudt at Synergistic Visions Photography

WCHRA 2006 Professional of the Year Finalists

Margie Arney PHR, Western Building Solutions; Barbara Burr SPHR, Mesa County Public Library District; Linda Davidson, Horizon Consulting, Terri Gird, Hilltop Community Resources; and Shelly Williams PHR, City of Grand Junction

Photo courtesy of Fay Timmerman-Traudt at Synergistic Visions Photography

WCHRA Professional of the Year, Barbara Burr SPHR

Photo courtesy of Barbara Burr

WCHRA Professional of the Year for 2002

This years award goes to a person who exemplifies what SHRM and WCHRA stand for by practicing the six core principles of the SHRM code of ethics which are Professional and colleague development, professional and personal responsibility, leadership, fairness, trust, and respect for individuals.   The nominee has demonstrated over the years not only a very sound value system as it relates to dealing with employees and prospective employees, but also demonstrates those values while working collaboratively in a community based partnership.  An example of this collaborative effort is this individual was tasked with developing and implementing a multi-agency "succession planning" workshop for all leadership and management staff throughout Hilltop and Mesa County Department of Human Services. The dialogue that was created and the skills and interests, which were generated, speak extremely highly of the nominee’s ability, skills and strengths. This person is always willing to share information, experiences and support with other HR professionals. 

As a professional in Human Resources this person is in charge of all HR/Payroll processes, which includes Employee Health, Employee Benefits, Workman’s Compensation, OSHA & EEO reporting.  They are also responsible for special trainings such as Coaching, Supervisor Classes and Orientation as well as being the employee liaison for problem solving between supervisory staff and the employees. This person is a dynamic leader that thinks "outside of the box", and sees the vision in a leadership position while maintaining the ability to represent the needs of the main employee population. Their coaching skills are superb and are used to train and promote the growth of the staff.  The nominee has an A.S. degree in Administration of Justice, a B.S. degree in Organizational Management, emphasis in HR and has their PHR certification.  The nominee has worked for Hilltop Community Resources for 12 years and was recently promoted to VP of Human Resources.  Community involvement includes:

• Board of Directors for Grand Valley Transit, and Mesability – transportation for the elderly and disabled.
• Board of Directors for Home Care of the Grand Valley
• Board of Directors for Mesa County Crime Stoppers
• Member of the Grand Junction Downtown Lion’s Club
• Member of the Western Colorado Human Resources Association as well as the National Society for Human Resource Management. 

It is with great pleasure that we present the 2002 WCHRA Professional of the year award to Gary Wallace. 

WCHRA Chapter Awards & Reocgnition

WCHRA

Congratulations WCHRA!

The WCHRA was the recipient of the 2006 Outstanding School Civic Group Award presented at the annual Mesa County Valley School District # 51 Community Partnership Luncheon. Read all about it in the October 2006 Newsletter (page 3).