The University of Georgia Griffin campus recently named Brett Byous, José Gutiereez and David Mann as the 2026 Classified Employees of the Year. The designation was made at the 37th Annual Employee Recognition Ceremony held on April 2 at UGA Griffin.
The Classified Employee of the Year Award of Excellence is presented to classified personnel who have made the most significant impact on the programs at the UGA Griffin Campus. This is reflected through their superior job knowledge and performance, work attitude, initiative, dependability, and time management. To become a nominee, each individual is selected by his or her unit and must have been a full-time employee on campus for three consecutive years. After all nominations are submitted, the award recipients are determined by a committee of their peers.
This year, nine employees of UGA Griffin were nominated for the Classified Employee of the Year Award- Kimberly Allen, Center for Urban Agriculture; Brett Byous, Entomology; Tabitha Crowley, Finance and Administration; Adam Gregory, USDA Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit; José Gutierrez, Facilities Management Division; Bill Kunst, Field Research Services; David Mann, Center for Food Safety; Brian Vermeer, Plant Pathology; Jihong Xue, Crop and Soil Sciences.
David Mann
David Mann is a Research Professional II in the Center for Food Safety (CFS), a position he has held since 2012, having served 22 years overall with CFS. Over the years, he has worked with multiple foodborne microorganisms in projects that were aimed to study their ecology and interaction with foods and the environment. He currently works under the direction of Dr. Xiangyu Deng where he maintains the entire laboratory facility for genome and microbiome sequencing, handles all maintenance and training of employees in CFS on the use of autoclaves, a confocal microscope, lab sterilizers and has co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles during his tenure.
Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, director of CFS, noted David is someone who continually goes above and beyond his regular duties and provides valuable service to all his co-workers. “We are very fortunate to have his as a key member of our academic unit.”
José Gutierrez
Jose Gutierrez is a Building Services Worker in the Facilities Management Division, a position he has held for the past four years. In his daily work schedule he is responsible for cleaning offices, labs, floors, taking out trash, as well as maintaining all entrances and common areas just to name a few. He also routinely assists faculty and staff during special events.
Gutierrez is described as someone who approaches every aspect of his work with pride and great attention to detail and who is courteous and friendly to all he encounters. Dale Hess, Superintendent of Facilities Management Division, stated what truly sets Jose apart is his willingness to tackle difficult and demanding tasks with a smile. “He approaches challenges with a positive mindset and a solution-oriented attitude, never hesitating to set up when work is tough or time sensitive. His dependability and reliability make him someone the entire team can count on and his professionalism reflects positively on the Griffin campus as a whole.”
Brett Byous
Brett Byous has been a research technician of the Department of Entomology since 2014. Throughout the past decade, his skills and expertise have significantly impacted productivity and enhanced the stature of Dr. David Buntin’s Field Crop Pest Management Research Program. Byous routinely coordinates and manages multi-county insecticide trails as well as being active in planting, maintaining and collecting data for Dr. Buntin’s lab.
Byous is known to keep meticulous records, maintaining inventory supplies and providing technical support for research programs. He holds a valuable amount of knowledge in this field. Dr. Buntin states, “Brett has contributed much to the success of my program. Without his skillset, work ethic and talents, our program could not be as productive and well-organized as we currently enjoy.”
In addition to the awards, the ceremony featured a Program Highlight, which showcases a different area of research or extension on campus each year. This year the UGA Weather Network was featured. Pam Knox, Director of the Weather Network, spoke to the crowd about the history of the network, which was started in 1991 on the Griffin campus, as well as what purpose it serves. She explained the 91 networks throughout the state measure temperature, humidity, dewpoint, wind speed and direction, precipitation, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, soil temperature and soil moisture. All of these aspects are beneficial to farmers when dealing with their crops, as well as state and federal agencies who use the stations for real-time and climatological purposes. To check out the information for any of the stations in Georgia, visit weather.uga.edu.
Randall Peters, past President of Southern Crescent Technical College, served as the keynote speaker for the awards ceremony. He drew on his experiences from working towards a teaching degree in college, to serving in the military, to serving as the President of Southern Crescent Technical College to emphasize the importance of working together. Peters noted that each position is important and without everyone doing their part, things would simply not work.
Peters congratulated the nominees for being what helps to make the Griffin campus the great place that it is.
Jeffrey Dean, Assistant Provost and Campus Director for UGA Griffin, congratulated all the nominees. He discussed the many advances and in research done in labs on campus, as well as the multitudes of visitors who have come through the gates for community events, would not have been possible without also the great work of those nominated and the other employees on campus.
“None of this would happen without the hard work and all of the effort of the staff on this campus,” said Dean. “So, let me just say it again- thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Finally, the ceremony also recognized those receiving their Meritorious Service Awards. The awards were presented to faculty and staff who have served the campus for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40 years.
The following people were recognized for their years of service.
10 Years
- Koushik Adhikari – Food Science and Technology
- Brett Byous – Entomology
- Ben Fields – Field Research Service
- José Gutierrez – Facilities Management Division
- Daniel Nordstrom – Field Research Services
- Misty Smith – Academic and Student Affairs
- Tony Whidby – Facilities Management Division
15 Years
- Rolando Orellana – Center for Urban Agriculture
20 years
- Clay Bennett – Crop and Soil Sciences
- Amy Mann – Center for Food Safety
25 Years
- James Buck – Plant Pathology
- Jason Hogan – Field Research Services
- Alfredo Martinez-Espinosa – Plant Pathology
- Ynes Ortega – Center for Food Safety
- Dan Suiter – Entomology
30 Years
- Dale Hess – Facilities Management Division
40 Years
- David Buntin – Entomology
- Martha Calvert – Finance and Administration