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December 2025 Recipient & Nominees
Always Help Award Recipient
Terri Anderson
EDO/Financial Services
Please join us in celebrating Terri Anderson, the winner of the December 2025 Always Help Award! Thank you, Terri, for your patience, expertise, and for being someone we can count on to always help! We are grateful that you champion our DOR Values.
Nomination Submission:
Terri is a subject matter expert on UKG/Payroll, doing most of the operational work in this area for DOR, however, her unsurpassed level of customer service to every level of employee at DOR is incredible. Terri demonstrates DOR's core values of TEAMWORK and SERVICE every single day in how she supports keeping UKG running smoothly, but her impeccable willingness to help anyone, always making herself available to be helpful. She always is approachable, responsive, and consistently helpful in guiding employees to understand and apply UKG functionality when questions are asked. Terri recently took time out of her schedule to join our team huddle to review some UKG functions we had all been struggling to fully understand and took questions and supported us with demonstrations that were easily grasped and ultimately retained. Terri is a true collaborator and partner and ALWAYS HELPS. Thank you, Terri! - Andrea Kaumann
🎉 Announcing November's High Five Winners!
Please join us in recognizing Heather St Giles and Alexis Carter for their outstanding commitment to our DOR Values. Heather is being celebrated as the "ultimate teammate" on the Core21 GenTax Upgrade project, balancing critical QA work with a welcoming mentorship style that makes even the toughest days fun. Alexis is recognized for her remarkable composure under pressure, setting a high bar for quality work while patiently guiding new analysts with a calm, cool, and collected approach. Their efforts serve as a great reminder of the positive impact we can make each day.
Award Note: All Always Help Award nominees are automatically in the running for the High Five Award. Winners of the High Five receive 4 hours of administrative leave (compared to 8 hours for Always Help). Well done, Heather and Alexis!
High Five Award Recipients
Heather St Giles
TAX
Heather is the ultimate teammate - she is our sought-out expert on the Core21 GenTax Upgrade project. Working with Heather makes even the toughest project days fun! Her commitment to quality assurance is next level: she personally handles the creation and review of user stories, test scenarios and problem resolution, which ensures we deliver the best product possible. She is a great mentor who ensures everyone on the team is ready by generously sharing her knowledge and time, which immediately made me feel welcomed, trusted, and ready to contribute right away. Plus, she is the go-to resource for our DOR tax community and treats everyone with kindness and respect. Heather is an exceptional example of service, teamwork and endless patience and is a true representation of DOR values. Many thanks, Heather!! - Denise Sorokach
Alexis Carter
TAX
Alexis is a remarkably calm, cool, and collected teammate. She maintains her composure even when handling a high volume of work under high pressure circumstances. She approaches problem solving with notable ease. As a new analyst, I deeply appreciate her patience and example. I've learned a great deal from her as she sets the bar high due the supreme quality of work she produces. I am grateful to be a part of her team. Thank you, Alexis! - Natalie Martinez
Always Help Award Nominees
CDOR - OIT
Sailaja Illa
Jack Karapetyan
EDO/Financial Services
Terri Anderson
TAX
Alexis Carter
Heather St Giles
We sincerely thank Andrea Kaumann, Natalie M. Martinez, Denise Sorokach, and all the anonymous nominators for their exceptional contributions in nominating their peers for the Always Help Award. Thank you for taking the time to share your appreciation and spotlighting the outstanding work being done across the department!
Remember to nominate a coworker for January!
Important Always Help Award Information:
Always Help Award recipients and High Five Winners may only win once per calendar year.
If you have received an Always Help Award or are a High Five Winner and have questions about your admin leave, please speak with your supervisor.
Nominees may be nominated again for a future Always Help Award.
Nomination and award certificates are sent via email directly to employees by the Culture Committee Always Help Award Sub-Committee.
If you have a concern about how your name is listed, have questions about a nomination, or want to know more about the Always Help Award process, please email DOR_EAC@state.co.us.
Selection Process:
The Always Help Award and the High Five Winner are awarded monthly. Recipients of the Always Help Award receive eight (8) hours of admin leave and High Five Winners receive four (4) hours of admin leave.
Always Help Award recipients and High Five Winners are determined solely by the contents in the nomination submission narrative. When nominating a coworker, please be sure to be detailed and specific in your submission. Nominees should embody the DOR Values of Service, Teamwork, Accountability, Integrity, and Respect. Please include information about how they embody the DOR Values in your nomination submission narrative.
The Always Help Award Committee meets monthly to review every nomination. The committee will attempt to come to a unanimous decision regarding who will receive the award each month. In the event that the committee cannot come to a unanimous decision, they will establish an approximate top 10% of nominees. This elite group of nominees will then be entered into a random drawing to determine the winner of the Always Help Award for that month.
After the meeting, Always Help Award recipients, nominees and High Five Winners will be notified by email by the committee.
An employee may only win once in a calendar year.
Members of the Culture Committee can be nominated for the award but are not eligible to win an Always Help Award.
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