Glory Novak, Director of Human Resources Finance & Administration, was in the middle of a meeting when we surprised her.  She had been witness to an earlier visit in her building by the surprise patrol but never though she would be a winner...Imagine her surprise when we broke in.

Darci Thompson, Director of Life & Work Connections: Human Resources, was very honored and glad to be surrounded by her supporters to receive this year's prestigious Billy Joe Varney Award for Excellence presented to only one employee each year, to an employee with at least 15 cumulative years of employment at the University, who merits special recognition for a career of dedicated service to the University, its employees, and the community.

Andrea Lee, Administrative Associate in Financial Services Administration, was in a meeting and quite surprised when the surprise patrol broke in to announce her award.  Her supporters made it a festive event and presented her with a balloon bouquet.

Prisca Zimmerman, Lab Coordinator in Physiology, was surprised during a meeting at Life Science North.  Her nominator was getting nervous since the meeting was about to wrap up and they were having trouble figuring out how to extend things until the surprise patrol arrived. The patrol was invited to enjoy ice cream in celebration.

The Physics Academic Support Team, made up of Linda Passarelli, Susan Arnold and Eva Gonzales, was missing a member on the day their surprise visit was made but were still very happy to hear they had won a University Team Award for Excellence.  This award is presented to a team whose members have complementary skills, are committed to a common purpose and share specific performance goals.  The award is presented in recognition of the team’s outstanding contribution to its unit, department, or University as a whole.

The Psychology Advising Team, made up of Bethany Johnson, Taylor Robertson, Margaret "Maggie" Anderson, Christy Winkelman and Arezu Corella, were busy with a 'psychological enrichment' meeting when the surprise patrol busted in and took over.  The team was quite surprised to hear the news.

The Childhood Asthma Clinical Research Unit Team, made up of Melisa Celaya, Anna Valencia, Janet Lawless, Rosemary Weese, William Hall, Yolanda Meza, Maria Fierro, Janette Priefert and Samira Ehteshami, had been moved to another room causing some confusion for the surprise patrol but were quite happy to hear the news of their award.

Trying to set up the surprise visit for Anne Marie Jones, Program Coordinator Sr for the Vice Provost for Instruction, was quite a chore.  She is very efficient at protecting her nominator and boss until she has screened persons thoroughly.  Our surprise patrol ended up having to go through his wife to get in touch with him to set up the announcement as we could not breech her defenses.

Maria Perez, Custodian with Custodial Services, was among the FM group who were wondering who this group of strangers were who were interrupting their service awards event at Bear Down.  Imagine her surprise when she found out we were the surprise patrol and she was a recipient.

Julia Rosen, Health/Safety Officer with Risk Management & Safety, was a hard person to surprise but we were able to do it with the help of several of her coworkers.  Julia was embarrassed, but folks who attended all agreed they were happy she was a winner.

Kay Clark, Assistant Director of Admissions with the Rogers College of Law, was well aware what the appearance of the surprise patrol signified as she has helped to set up a surprise in the past.  She was pleased to be among this year's winners and her coworkers turned out in force to congratulate her.

Tim Ruddy, General Maintenance Supervisor in University Animal Care, is a hard man to catch as he is always busy and on the move.  The surprise patrol caught him in the middle of his team meeting and congratulated him on his award.

Rafaela Farney, Administrative Assistance in German Studies, the surprise patrol was a little surprised when Rafaela popped out to meet us at the front door, but recovered quickly and her coworkers were around her as she was given the good news.