QUARTERLY RECOGNITION

Outstanding Employees of the First Quarter for Fiscal Year 2020 were honored Sept. 30 at a ceremony at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility with family members and professional colleagues in attendance.

They will also be recognized by Gov. Laura Kelly and Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda at an Employee of the Quarter Ceremony and Reception at the State Capitol in Topeka, once a date and time has been set by the Governor.

The employees are:

Karmon G. Kindall, Outstanding Uniformed Employee of the Quarter, began his career with the Kansas Department of Corrections April 30, 2007 at ECF as a corrections officer. From February 15, 2009 to June 4, 2010, he served as a general utilities detail officer, supervising the lawn and garden details. Karmon resigned from ECF on June 5, 2010. He was rehired as a Corrections Officer II on Sept. 5, 2010. On March 11, 2018, he accepted his current position of Corrections Supervisor I and is an important leader on the day shift. Karmon also serves ECF as Squad Leader of the Logistics Squad 1 (Tactical Support) on the Special Operations Response Team (SORT).

According to his recognition, “Karmon utilizes exceptional communication skills with both staff and offenders. He operates all posts assigned in an exemplary manner. He gets along well with all whom he works with and encounters; he knows no stranger. You will never hear him complaining when he is scheduled to work a different post from which he is normally assigned.”

Karmon was raised on a farm northeast of Minneapolis and is a former Ottawa County deputy sheriff. He was also honored by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in 2001, for seizing one of the largest burglary rings in the State of Kansas. Property was recovered for numerous counties and three different states.

Karmon and his wife, Lynn Marie, have four children: Somer, Corbin, Breanna, and Karson, and are blessed with eight grandchildren, two dogs, and four cats.

Barbara J. Kvasnicka, Outstanding Non-Uniformed Employee of the Quarter, began her career at ECF on Sept. 16, 2002, as a senior administrative assistant in the accounting office. She promoted to her current position of administrative specialist in the Human Resources Department on March 26, 2007, where she serves as ECF benefits and payroll specialist. Barb has served ECF as a member of the Employee Holiday Celebration Committee and was instrumental in planning an event each year that allowed employees and their significant otherx to enjoy an evening of fun and fellowship. She was honored as ECF’s Outstanding Non-Uniformed Employee of the Second Quarter for Fiscal Year 2013.

“Even when life throws challenges Barb’s way, whether they are personal or professional, she strives to project a positive, upbeat attitude to each and every employee, offender, and visitor that she encounters. Barb is one of the most respectful and compassionate employees that we are privileged to work with,” according to her recognition.

Beverly A. Hlad, Outstanding Contract Employee of the Quarter, began her career with Corizon Health at ECF on Oct. 29, 2018, as a registered nurse on the day shift (5 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

Beverly is described by her peers as being an amazing nurse for Corizon Health. She works extremely hard to get all necessary tasks completed for the day as well as taking the best care possible of the offenders. Recently, she was recognized for her life-saving actions of performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on June 2, 2019, for an offender who was in cardiac arrest.

Beverly was born and raised in South Louisiana, Lafayette and Denham Springs. She moved to East Texas in 1985, and subsequently moved to Kansas in 1994. Beverly has been married to her husband, Jim, for 31 years, and resides in Sylvan Grove.

They have three children: Zach (Mary) Hlad of Hunter; Kyle (Lindsey) Hlad of Ellsworth; and Kadie (John) Branda of Sylvan Grove; and five grandchildren: Kenley Rojas, Carson Hlad, Camden Hlad, Andrew Branda, and Holland Hlad.

Beverly earned her Licensed Practical Nursing licensing in 1997 from North Central Kansas Technical College and her Registered Nurse licensing in 1999 from Cloud County Community College. She worked as a nurse in variety of settings over the years, including nursing home, health department, acute care hospital, home health, and geriatric behavioral health hospital.