DATA Analyst Maggie Reyes on Friday was named the first ever Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Employee of the Year.
She was also the OVR employee of the month in August of last year.
Having served OVR consumers for the past 17 years, Reyes mainly handles the numbers for the office.
“She loves her numbers, loves the data, and really is so critical to the admin team. She’s such a sweetheart and such a ray of sunshine for all of us here, always giving energetic vibes,” shared OVR transition specialist Sam Santos in an interview on Wednesday.
He added, “She really has witnessed the growth of OVR, has resiliently gone through and surpassed the challenges and obstacles of what it means to work in an agency that constantly faces changes, and yet, she’s still here being a team player and finding that purpose… In fact, she’s one of our early risers among the employees, always being in the office as early as 7 a.m. She takes her job very seriously. I think I speak on behalf of our director that Maggie when I share that there really is nothing but praise for Maggie. She’s really an exemplary employee.”
Santos said Reyes’ attendance, tenure, commitment, and dedication to the OVR mission factored into her being selected as the recipient of this award.
OVR, led by its new executive director Arlene M. Reyes, first began its Employee of the Month Award ceremony in the summer of last year, in hopes of boosting employee morale.
Director Reyes believes that “recognizing other’s greatness is an active process, an ongoing renewable resource, and important to the growth of each and every single one of the staff at OVR.”
“Acknowledging their efforts, their accomplishments and contribution to the agency strengthens our team,” she added. “There is so much growth to be made, consumer successes to be achieved, and all that starts from our strong foundation built within our team. Only through our internal successes can we serve our consumers in reaching their vocational goals.”
With the staff nominating and selecting recipients internally, including providing justification for their nominations, this process of selecting the employee of the month was also adopted in the selection of the employee of the year, and includes a review of nominees by the OVR administration.
From June to December 2021, various individuals have received this award, namely former planner Tiava To’omata, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Aide Sherraine Flores, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Aide Elvira Seman, Independent Living for the Older Blind Program Case Manager Jemmie Agulto, Office Clerk Ann Marie Marciano, and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Shana Iguel.
In a full-circle moment between consumer and counselor, OVR on Wednesday also shared one of its success stories, November 2021 Employee of the Month Ann Marie Marciano, who started off her journey as an OVR consumer, taking part in the Work Experience Training Program as an office clerk for three months, and eventually the On-the-Job Training Program for six months before being hired as a full-time OVR employee.
Marciano’s vocational rehabilitation counselor was December 2021 OVR Employee of the Month, Shana Iguel.
Awardees receive a certificate, a $50 cash award courtesy of the management team, and have their names engraved in a perpetual plaque.
OVR is located on Delegado Drive in Upper Navy Hill.
For more information, visit www.ovrgov.net or the OVR Facebook Page (@CNMI OVR), call (670)322-6537/38 or email nmidir@ovrgov.net
Data Analyst Maggie Reyes, sixth right, poses for a photo with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation administration and staff members after receiving the agency’s 2021 Employee of the Year Award.
