And the kudos go to:
Rebecca Ackley for working two jobs to make sure we all got paychecks!
Destiny Sayles for always jumping in to help the team, sharing resources and ensuring the Stafford cases are covered.
Child and adolescent case management team for covering cases, responding to crises, and supporting children and families.
Emily Chappell for being a team player and helping her teammates out by completing visits and meetings throughout the month.
Christina Rezendes for helping a co-worker during the snow storm who did not have power in the completion of required documentation.
Infant/Child Support Coordinators for perseverance and grace in trying times.
Kelly Lefler for doing a fantastic job during an assessment with spotty connectivity and a difficult start.
Sheila Winslow for having the best sense of humor, all ways offering the most realistic answer to a question about the Job, and for all ways putting her heart and soul into the work she does!
Melissa Roth for her warm and open-hearted approach to the people she serves and the providers that she supports. Melissa is always available to answer a question or provide an experienced opinion when asked.
Sherry Norton-Williams for getting accepted to the train-the-trainer for ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training). It was a competitive application process across Virginia.
Kellly Kockler for her kindness in welcoming a new Support Coordinator to the team. Kelly is a great instructor and very knowledgeable of the Service Coordinator role. Kelly is a go with the flow person and handles unexpected problems with ease and confidence.
Kari Norris for doing an outstanding job presenting on compassion fatigue at our January Lunch and Learn.

Laureese Lane from Spotsy RAAI and Robert Spindle from Caroline RAAI have gone above and beyond in helping the individuals in our residential programs, during a few trying weeks!
Laureese amassed an impressive 110 hours between working at RAAI and picking up shifts at Stonewall. She even drove out to Stonewall during the storm, and helped to care for the individuals while they were being tested for COVID, all the while, still showing up to the day program with a positive attitude for her normal shift.
Robert has volunteered to not only work evening shifts for Devon Group Home all this week, but also went in early to pick them up and drive them to the day program and back to the house at the end of the day. Robert said that he considers the guys at Devon family and that we would do anything for them!
Steve Curtis, DD Residential Coordinator, shared this story about Property Supervisor Todd Larkin:
Day or night I can call him up and he answers, helps me troubleshoot, and goes the distance to have my back. Most of the time this involves him having to physically go and check something out during hours and times where most are asleep or spending time at home. I’ve never once heard a complaint about these kinds of situations from him- he always approaches with a heart to help and a curiosity to problem solve.
I can’t even tell you the exhaustive lengths Todd went through during the snow storm AND every single weather situation we ever face.. The guy is amazingly resilient in difficult situations. But here’s the kicker……I found out that he moved 2 recliners for me yesterday for the Stonewall transition to Myers. I couldn’t pull away to do it, and I assume Dan asked him to help. Todd’s got my back behind my back when I don’t even know he’s helping me. He’s such a team player and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate him.

RACSB employees truly have gone above and beyond this past month or so, with Covid cases and lots of winter weather! In an Information Friday email, Jane Yaun shared these words of gratitude:
It has snowed. A lot. More than I remember in a long time. And you all have been amazing. With short staffing everywhere, 24/7 coverage happened by our Emergency Services clinicians; ID and MH residential staff hunkered down at our sites to be sure people were safe and warm; telehealth and tele-psychiatry happened when possible; group home residents were driven in the dark of night to a safe place – with LaToya, the manager, insisting to stay at work to be able to offer residents a familiar face; our property manager was amazing – even sleeping on the floor of Jackson Street Monday night when there were no cars moving in the area; and an array of other quiet direct service and administrative work that occurred behind the scenes. A great show of teamwork and commitment to support our mission. Thank you.

France Lowndes, Lead Day Support Specialist at RAAI, received a lovely e-mail from family member of an RAAI participant who passed away:
Dear France……In case you ever wonder how far your reach is…. I just got an email from Liepha (Whit’s sister). Attached was a quarterly review from 2015. I thought I was the only one who goes back to look at some of her days through your eyes. For me it is the emails you sent letting me know about her day. We would just like you to know that the world would be better if we could clone you! I hope you are happy and healthy and that you are still using your remarkable talents to brighten the lives of others. In turn you will reach out like rings in a pond to brighten many more lives.
The family of the individual served made clay medallions that contained some of her ashes. They gave medallions to people who have made a difference in her life and asked them to take the medallions to a special place, take a picture, and send the picture to the family. France chose to bring the medallion with her when she took the oath to become an American citizen.

Arianna Colley, Rachel Lewis and Wanda McAndrews for representing RACSB at the Inspiring Hope event and for helping more people learn about recovery services.
Caitlin Summers for going above and beyond to ensure an individual got the treatment he needed.
Krysta Thomas for making sure ES had coverage during staffing difficulties and for working on a difficult case.
Karla Lewis for being recognized by a community partner for her compassion and hard work.
Kari Norris for providing compassion fatigue training.
Emergency Services staff for their continued dedication and commitment helping individuals experiencing crises.
Latroy Coleman for her excellent collaboration to seek services for an individual.
Eleni McNeil for taking on extra duties to assist the Fredericksburg Clinic.
Nicole Bassing and Patricia Newman for their work on the establishment of a mental health docket.
Child and Adolescent Case Management staff for taking on extra cases to assist with vacancies.
Toni DeLeon for always being on top of things.
Priscilla Lockner, for her continued dedication to our Medication Management courses and her continued willingness to lend a hand and answer questions.
Jane Yaun for dedicating well over half her lifetime (2/3??) to providing great service in many capacities to this agency, its staff, and especially to the individuals we serve. Congratulations on retirement. We will miss you.
Christina Leonard, who consistently provides great services to our clients at D21 Probation and Parole. Christina works hard every day to advocate for the best interests of our clients, build connections with them and change their view of “the system”. She is a great employee, co-worker and friend. Keep it up Christina; Your work does not go unnoticed!
Krystal Parker who has provided quality services to our drug court and Veteran’s court clients for years. She’s been adaptable in recent months by taking on new tasks and assisting wherever needed. The specialty dockets programs would be nothing without her. Keep it up Krystal, you are appreciated!
Heather Hernandez and Jessica Jones: Heather Hernandez is the Site Lead at Kings Highway, the largest day support site at RAAI. Jessica Jones has stepped in to the role of Assistant Site Lead at the Kings Highway RAAI site and has just done a wonderful job. Together they have re implemented the Community Engagement outings for all the individuals at the site. We had been restricted with Covid, with the restrictions and the virus itself. Now we are headed back towards normalcy and the ability for individuals to go out and enjoy the world is returning. There is an incredible amount of planning that goes into making a schedule for both staff and individuals but it’s a task Heather and Jessica are getting done.
Clarice Barker who heads the Community Only group which has also recently been able to start back up. Clarice had made a community book of places to visit, places to eat, where to park, and where bathrooms are; it has been absolutely implemental to the program.
Arianna Colley, Substance Abuse Case Manager, for facilitating Rapid REVIVE! and dispensing Narcan at the recent Inspiring Hope event.
Jennifer Bateman, Prevention Specialist, for a recent HALO lesson with a preschool that positively impacted the confidence of one student.
Sherry Thompson, Prevention Specialist, for completing so may registrations for community partners to attend the Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools virtual conference.
Sherry Norton-Williams, Prevention Specialist, for being our resident expert on the new Mental Health First Aid Connect platform.
The Healthy Families Rappahannock Area team for an outstanding TA site visit.
Suli Lisk, Administrative Assistant ID Support Coordination, for helping with an unscheduled pick-up from a community partner.
Sherry Norton-Williams, Prevention Specialist, for becoming an ASIST Trainer (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training).

Kudos to Anne Jones for stepping in to support a client.
Kudos to Emergency Services for helping with recommitment prescreens.
Kudos to Michelle Runyon for helping provide some information during a tough time, and her kind words.
Kudos to the CSB as an agency for sending a get well basket when my child was undergoing medical issues.
Kudos to all the clinic front desk staff for helping out with state hospital discharge appointments!
Kudos to Chanda Bernal for stepping in to offer assistance covering a meeting.
Huge Kudos to Patricia Newman for helping out tremendously and being an amazing supervisor on a daily basis.
Kudos to Tammy Grymes for going above and beyond to help the Sunshine Lady Nursing department running smoothly. Tammy has been flexible changing her schedule to help accommodate staffing needs. She frequently is willing to stay over to see that the work gets done. She is thoughtful in supporting both our guests and other staff.
Kudos to the Manager Katie Parr and Assistant Manager Laura Watson of Galveston Group Home for keeping the residents along with staff feeling happy and appreciated! You guys rock!!
Kudos to Emergency Services for collaborating on a complex case that involved an out of area CSB!
Kudos to Kathy for her ongoing support of face to face meetings for state hospital discharges!
Kudos to everyone who helped to host a lovely retirement celebration luncheon for Jane Yaun.
Kudos to Jennifer Bateman, Prevention Specialist, for all of her recent work with King George High School to address the prevention of underage vaping and alcohol use.
Sherry Norton-Williams, Prevention Specialist, for being recognized by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing on being a top Mental Health First Aid Instructor!
Sherry Thompson, Prevention Specialist, for being such a great support and having a can do attitude!
Kudos to Katie Barnes for her work with Spotsylvania Schools starting school based therapy services.
Kudos to Latroy Coleman, Nancy Love and Sarah Davis for representing RACSB at community events.
Kudos to Anne Jones for going above and beyond to provide zoom access to a bed ridden client in need of a medical appointment.
Kudos to Healthy Families Rappahannock Area on hosting a successful open house and inaugural poker chip run.
Kudos to Jennifer Bateman, Prevention Specialist, for training all of the 9th and 10th graders at Spotsylvania High School on tobacco and vaping prevention.
Kudos to Sherry Norton-Williams, Prevention Specialist, on becoming an ASIST Trainer.
Kudos and thank you to the King George County Clinic staff and Nancy Love, Caroline County Clinic Coordinator, on representing RACSB at community events on April 30th.
Kudos to the Prevention Specialists for all of their community engagement activities.
Kudos to Jessica Cooper, Brigitte Mensah and Kathleen Keller for their dedication and commitment RACSB programs and staff as it relates to compliance standards.
Kudos to the Project LINK team for recognizing a mom in crisis and acting to facilitate safety for her family. And kudos to Jane Bumgarner and Eleni McNeil for coming to River Club to provide additional support.
Shout out to Nathan Reese for his leadership in launching AvatarNX and also participating as the lead for the early adopter process for Bells A.I.
Kudos to Amy Umble for her attention to detail when creating amazing communication for RACSB.
Kudos to Joe Wickens for a successful first 30 days.
Kudos to RACSB staff who have represented the agency at multiple weekend events.
Kudos to Clark Thomas for extraordinary support in maintaining agency vehicles and supporting a variety of programs.
HUGE thank you to Kemp Ferguson, Paul Mueller, Heather Hernandez, Sharika Mitchell, Jessica Jones, Katie LaFleur, Raven Neal, Lacey Fisher Curtis, Steve Curtis, Clark Thomas, and Todd Larkin for their caring and supportive responses following a vehicle accident in April.
Kudos to Alexis Fox and all those who supported another successful RAAI plant sale.
Kudos to Perry Campanella for providing stellar leadership for Sunshine Lady House during Heather’s leave.
Kudos to the HR Team for working so hard in preparing for Open Enrollment!
Kudos to Tarah Stanley – she updated the bulletin boards in the lobby at Jackson Street and they look amazing!

And the June kudos go to:

• Kudos to Priscilla Lockner for providing nurse coverage to the Sunshine Lady House on short notice. Your assistance was greatly appreciated!
• Kudos to Steve Curtis for sharing his staff to offer support for the Sunshine Lady House. We appreciate you!
• Kudos to Patricia Newman for providing OVERNIGHT coverage to the Sunshine Lady House on short notice. Wow! Your kindness and willingness to help out was appreciated tremendously!
• Kudos to Perry Campanella for taking on additional duties at the Sunshine Lady House while the Coordinator was on maternity leave. 
• Kudos to Melody Allison for adjusting her schedule to provide overnight coverage at the Sunshine Lady House on short notice.
• Kudos to Stephanie Hine for taking on additional duties to support the Sunshine Lady House while the Coordinator was out on maternity leave. 
• Kudos to Nichole Inbody for going above the call of duty to offer support to the Sunshine Lady House Nursing team.
• Kudos to Anna Hebert, RN, for going above and beyond with Sunshine Lady House Nursing Duties.
• Kudos to Tammy Grymes, LPN, for always taking such good care of guests of the Sunshine Lady House. 
• Kudos to the entire Sunshine Lady House team for always offering high quality crisis stabilization services! 
• Kudos to Amy Jindra for all of the ways she has supported the Sunshine Lady House since she transitioned into the role of CSS Director. We appreciate you!
• A huge thank you to the team at 750 Kings Highway especially Katie Lafleur and Jessica Jones for holding down the fort while the supervisor was out on leave. 
• Kudos to Tina Cleveland for the hard work and long hours she put in to make sure everyone got paid during the transition to a new payroll system. 
• Kudos to Teresa McDonnel for pitching in help with the transition to  Dominion Payroll, fielding emails and answering timesheet questions.
• Kudos to the HR Team for their efforts in training the staff on Dominion within two weeks.  
• Kudos to Vanessa Nunez for her stellar care to our individuals. A family enthused about wonderful Vanessa has been with their loved one. Vanessa has made such a difference in their life. They describe their loved one being more engaged, learning new things, improving communication, and being happier than they have ever been. 
• Kudos to J’Me Horne and LaChelle Anderson at Stafford RAAI.  Faced with a devastating emergency to handle during program hours, they performed CPR on one of the individuals. They acted so bravely to do what was necessary at such a high intensity moment, and we all appreciate their efforts in the midst of a true emergency.
• Kudos to Lacey Fisher for being the best leader. We appreciate you and everything you do!!
• Kudos to Teresa McDonnel, Human Resources Specialist, for all of her help with time card verification with the new Dominion system. 
• Kudos to everyone involved with organizing and hosting the family picnic at Braehead Farm.
• Kudos to Healthy Families Rappahannock Area on the success of their playgroups.
• Kudos to all Day Support staff – it’s been a rough couple of weeks and everyone has worked together so well and helped each other out. 
• Kudos to Nancy Price for continuing to advocate for her staff by obtaining an assistance manager position at Home Road and Lafayette.   Great Job!!!!
• Kudos to the case managers (Brian Anderson and Shawn Brown) and supervisor (Nancy Price) at the PSH program for stepping up and filling in all the gaps left by the empty positions within the program.  Thanks for all your help and patience!
• Kudos to Amy Umble for taking the wonderful photos at the RACSB Picnic.
• Kudos to those who planned the RACSB Picnic. Wonderful location & wonderful food.
• Kudos to Priscilla Lockner for being the best Medication Management teacher ever and for always being so kind! 
• Shoutout to the Stafford Team. Anytime there are questions or help is needed, everyone pitches in. There’s definitely a family feel in this office. 
• Kudos to all front desk staff. 
• GREAT JOB, Brian Anderson, in assisting J to obtain a truck through Compassion Restoration. It was a long process, with many steps. However, you followed it through and made sure that J not only completed the paperwork and each individual step in the process but had the money in order to complete all the final steps. In addition, you fielded not only daily calls from J asking when they would receive a car, but concerns from mom about J actually obtaining a car. 

Kudos to Logan and Nathan in the IT department for their work getting servers and cameras up and running in group homes. 

A huge thank you goes out to the following staff for their efforts and help in supporting Stonewall residents over the past several weeks: Vickie Lomax, Madison Fanning, Heidi Heyse, Scottie Spindle, Laureese Lane, Lashawn Broome, Candice Choiniere, Lisa Desmet, Tiffany Childs, Kelley Bunner, and Ashley Smith.

Another huge thank you goes out to the following staff for their efforts during an unexpected need at Igo Road Group Home on 8/5:  Courtney Ross, Heather Hernandez, Scottie Spindle, Chris Lyons, and Sierra Samuels.

Much appreciation to Paul Mueller and Dan Bairley for the assistance with Leeland while the home’s manager was on leave.

Shout out to Mario Anthony-Williams, Alex Cornell, and Jasmine Thompson for leading the charge at Ross/Lucas ICF’s.

Great job to Lisa Walker for her work and coverage at New Hope while the manager was on leave.

A big thank you is extended to Katie Parr for her efforts during recent COVID cases.

Thank you so much to Ashley Clark and her team for the work put in prior to the DBHDS commissioner’s visit to Wolfe Street ICF and for their work during the VDH survey.  We also sincerely thank Antwan White and Angie Reiordan-Horn for doing a great a great job with the VDH survey process.

Thank you to Dan Bairley for accompanying an individual to a rehabilitation appointment for an individual.

Thank you to Babs Brown for sharing healthy recipes with a program.

A huge pat on the back to Madison Fanning and Laureese Jones-Lane, Stonewall Group Home, and the Stonewall team for their work and diligence in ensuring needs are met and finding quick resolve as issues arise.

Shout out to Lisa Walker, New Hope Group Home Assistant Manager, for covering the program during the manager’s recent leave.

Thank you to Evelyn Dixon, Piedmont Group Home Manager, for having such grace, patience, and positivity, even amongst staff shortages and challenges.

High five to Denisha Hopkins, Assistant Manager at Leeland Road Group Home, for quickly responding to a family’s recent request to purchase an item on the behalf of their loved one.  Denisha nailed the task down in record timing, which was very much appreciated by the parent.

A big thank you goes out to Shirley Scott, Assistant Manager at Ruffins Pond, for covering the program while the manager was on leave.

Thank you to Sophia Masvaure, New Hope Group Home Manager, for helping a new manager with preparing a PCP and with entering it into the system.

Great job to Paul Mueller, Churchill Group Home Manager, for recently responding to an emergency situation with a resident.

Gracias to Canan Gipson, Scottsdale Group Home Manager, for hosting a recent training session.

Props go out to Katie Parr and Laura Watson for handling 2 emergent issues recently at Galveston.

High five to Todd Larkin for addressing a faulty valve that threatened to cause a water issue at a group home recently.  You saved the day!

Nice work to Katie Parr for helping introduce some aspects of sign language to the staff at Stonewall to help better communicate with individuals that do not use words to speak.

Great work to Latoya Powell and Tiffany Childs for handling a medical emergency recently at Devon Drive.

Thank you so much to Sophia Masvaure, New Hope Group Home Manager for such thorough assessments in her program recently, and for accommodating tours and visits so quickly.

Thank you to Angie Reiordan-Horn, ICF RN Manager, for your ongoing advocacy and assessment for an individual that has been hospitalized.

Congrats to Courtney Ross, DD Assistant Residential Coordinator, for her 15 years of service at RACSB.