Home aide named first veterans’ department Employee of the Year

By Chroncile Media
Brenda Langan

Brenda Langan

Brenda Langan, a 33-year employee of the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy was honored as the first Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Employee of the Year last week as part of the Veterans Day events at the Illinois State Fair, with Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica L. Jeffries presenting the award.

“Brenda Langan represents the best of our employees helping and servicing our Illinois veterans,” said Rauner. “She’s dedicated to helping our aging veterans thrive and live in our Quincy Home with dignity and positive activities. I’m told she’s got a great way with the veterans and is challenging them to keep active and engaged, which helps them immensely.”

Langan serves as an Activity Program Aide II at the Quincy Home and joined the IDVA on Jan. 5, 1982. She was nominated for her excellence in the services she provides with great enthusiasm, dedication, and professional care to the residents and her coworkers. She has a creative and positive demeanor, always keeping the residents’ needs above her own. Additionally, she is rated very highly by her coworkers and the residents for going above and beyond to better serve the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Quincy.

“Brenda is a great part of our state-wide team of professionals taking care of our veterans,“ said Erica Jeffries, Director, IDVA. “She was selected as the IDVA Employee of the Fourth Quarter for 2015, and was then further selected for this honor. We are very glad to have her working with our veterans and as part of the IDVA family.

To be selected as the IDVA Employee of the Year, recipients must first be selected as an IDVA Employee of the Quarter. EOQ recipients are selected for excellence in customer service, innovation, leadership, dedication, attitude, teamwork, knowledge, productivity and ethics.

The nominees have contributed to the agency’s mission of empowering veterans and their families to thrive by assisting them in navigating the system of federal state and local resources and benefits; by providing long-term health care for eligible veterans in our Veterans’ Homes; and by partnering with other agencies and non-profits to help veterans address education, mental health, housing, employment, and other challenges.

The IDVA Employee of the Quarter recipients for FY2015 are:

  • Lauralee Treece – Veteran Service Officer, Morgan County (First Quarter)
  • Cheryl Smith – Account Technician I, IVH-LaSalle, LaSalle County (Second Quarter)
  • Lindsey King – Nursing Supervisor, IVH-Quincy, Adams County (Third Quarter)
  • Brenda Langan – Activity Program Aide ll, IVH-Quincy, Adams County (Fourth Quarter)

 

 

— Home aide named first veterans’ department Employee of the Year —