Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce our November recipients of the OPS Honors Awards.

Because of unique circumstances, this month we will be honoring four officers! Two officers from District 2 were selected due to their extraordinary lifesaving efforts and teamwork. Please read the writeups below for more on their efforts.

Please join me in congratulating the District 1 winner Ofc. Gladden Durham, District 2 winners Ofc. Terresse Coleman and UCRO Nadia Tyler, District 3 winner Ofc. Fiezool Mohammed, and our Administrator of the Month Sharline Bland.

As a reminder, the OPS Honors Awards have three categories: District Officers of the Month, Administrator of the Month, and Supervisor of the Quarter. Thank you to everyone who has embraced this new award process –– if it weren’t for your submissions, we would not have had a pool of wonderful candidates to choose from. If you haven’t submitted kudos to these awards yet, it’s easy to do so by emailing your nominations to opsawards@si.edu.

Thank you, and congratulations to our November 2022 OPS Honors awardees!

Mark Wallace

Director

November 2022

District 1 Officer of the Month:

MPO Durham, who has been with OPS 3.5 years, said, “It feels good to be acknowledged. I was nominated for being vigilant, making staff and visitors feel safe and enjoying their time being here, and being polite to others. I enjoy interacting with the staff and visitors at Natural History, and I strive to perform my duties to the best of my abilities every day.”

Gladden Durham

MPO Gladden Durham, NMNH, was nominated by Lorraine Tyler who wrote:

I want to acknowledge 2nd relief Ofc. Durham for his exemplary job performance. Ofc. Durham exhibits a consistently high level of performance and service excellence. I have personally witnessed his interaction with staff, and it is always professional and pleasant. Ofc. Durham is often held over to work 3rd relief personnel shortage without complaint and is a joy to have on our shift. In particular, I want to thank MPO Durham for making me feel safe. When I report for duty on 3rd relief and walk past the booth, Ofc. Durham acknowledges me when at the parking booth by waving or speaking. This lets me know he is paying attention to his surroundings and looking out for my safety and others. In addition to this, Ofc. Durham comes out of the booth each and every time I pull up to the parking lot to park. There is NEVER a time that he doesn’t come out of the booth. It’s the consistency that I admire most. 😊 Ofc. Durham goes above and beyond and is a top-notch professional. I’m thrilled to have him at NMNH!

District 2 Officers of the Month:

Terresse Coleman

MPO Terresse Coleman, NMAI-DC, was nominated by Officer LaTiece Stewart, NMAI-DC, for assisting in a medical emergency:

LaTiece Stewart sent in appreciation for Terresse Coleman for responding to a medical emergency on Nov. 14 called in by Allied Supervisor J. Watts. CRO N. Tyler called the emergency over the radio to all available officers and supervisors. I, MPO Stewart, immediately went to the location. At approximately 1:57 p.m., I called the Control Room from the cell phone of Allied Supervisor J. Watts and spoke with CRO Tyler to inform her that an employee was having a seizure next to stairwell B on the first floor.

CRO Tyler asked if he is still actively having the seizure. I told her yes. CRO Tyler then gave me instructions while on speaker phone. She instructed me to place something such as a coat under his head so that he does not injure himself, instructions on not to restrain him or place anything in his mouth because this will only add to injury, and when he is done seizing to roll him on his left side in the recovery position. She also advised me that when he is done, he might fall asleep or be very tired, disoriented, or startled; when this occurs, to speak to him and calm him down, assuring him that he is safe and medical help is on the way. I told her that I understood the instructions, that she was on speaker, and MPO T. Coleman is placing her jacket under his head.

In addition to MPO Coleman placing her jacket under his head as instructed, she followed the other instructions as well. If it weren’t for CRO Tyler’s calm tone and clear instructions on what to do, we would have probably been delayed on how to give proper attention to the staff member; and in retrospect, I would’ve panicked if she didn’t have the even tone that she did. Also, If MPO T. Coleman weren’t present to hear the instructions from CRO Tyler, the staff member wouldn’t have received the attention and care that he did, for I froze; but MPO Coleman jumped right in and took action precisely the way CRO Tyler gave. Job well done! This performance is the definition of “One OPS.”

"I take helping others very seriously and study and take emergency operator courses when I can. Because you could be the only voice of hope or help or (just being real) the last voice on the phone to someone in need. It is an extremely big responsibility and, when you make a difference, an unmeasurable reward. I will say that you might not know how just your presence could help someone. How asking if someone is okay might make it better. And if no one has said it, thank YOU for showing up. Thank YOU for making a difference every day. And thank you for the nomination."

Nadia Tyler

UCRO Nadia Tyler, NMAI-DC, was nominated by Sgt. Darius Bostick for assisting in a medical emergency. Sgt. Bostick wrote:

I want to thank UCRO Tyler and recognize the phenomenal job that she does on a regular basis. However, on this specific day she may have helped save a life. On Nov. 14, she not only helped coach MPO Coleman through conducting seizure aide for a fellow SI employee, she notified local fire EMS, and she also conducted the full detailed report. As a trained UCRO myself, her knowledge of the building, operations, and response to every possible scenario has been commendable. UCRO Tyler’s innate actions to take the initiative to do what's necessary supersedes the standards of most UCROs. She has truly been an asset to OSCAR unit, and we appreciate her efforts.

District 3 Officer of the Month:

Ofc. Mohammed has been working with OPS since June 19, 2000, and has 34 years of federal government experience. He explained why he was nominated for Officer of the Month, “I was nominated for performing first aid on Angela Friedlander in the Cultural Interpretive Education Department by helping her dislodge food. She was choking very badly and couldn’t breathe. She stated, 'I am very sure he saved me from a much worse outcome for my life.' It feels great [to win Officer of the Month] and to have so many OPS officers telling me, ‘Great performance on the job!’ My Supervisor, Sgt. Martin, stated that I did an excellent job, too.”

Fiezool Mohammed

Fiezool Mohammed was nominated by Dwayne Martin, NMAI-NY, for helping an SI staff member who choked while eating lunch. Officer Martin wrote:

Angela Friedlander in the Cultural Interpretive Education Department sent in her gratitude for Officer Mohammed who responded when she had a choking emergency in the staff lounge on Nov. 11. She said, “I’m SO, SO glad that he observed my motions and figured out what he could do to help me! He should be commended for his immediate, calm, and swift action to help me dislodge what I was choking on. Thanks to Ofc. Mohammed, I was able to thankfully go on with the rest of my day at work uneventfully. Thank you, Ofc. Mohammed, I deeply appreciate your service to my needs, and every day you come check on me at the end of the workday. Again, my sincere appreciation for your help. You ARE a hero to me!”

Administrator of the Month:

Ms. Bland, who has been working for OPS for 22 year and enjoys interacting with customers and the camaraderie she has with staff, also said, "Thank you for recognizing how hard I work to ensure all officers are equipped with the necessities to perform their duties. It made me feel like a valuable member of the OPS family."

Sharline Bland

Sharline Bland, was nominated by Lt. Anthony Green, NZP, who wrote:

Ms. Bland assisted with getting our new police officers’ uniforms and equipment in an expedited fashion allowing them to certify with less lethal weapons and qualify with their assigned firearm.

When she received this award, Ms. Bland said, "Honestly, I did not expect or have any idea of being selected for Administrator of the Month. It is always challenging to ensure officers have their duty gear to begin, especially Zoo Police Officers who require uniforms to start work as soon as they get hired. In theory, the vendor has 45 to 90 days contractually to deliver the goods; however, as soon as I know an officer has accepted the position, I converse with the vendor to release any inventory stock immediately to accommodate the Zoo Police Officers. Lt. Anthony Green contacted me, and within one week, I was able to satisfy his request. As military veterans, we are trained to build team/unit cohesion and do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission, and this is my belief each day of my career with OPS."

Submit Kudos Nominations for Your Colleagues!

Visit the OPS Honors Awards SharePoint page for more information on the award categories.

ALL OPS staff are encouraged to submit kudos nominations for ANY OPS staff member.

It is easy to submit kudos, just email OPSAwards@si.edu!