Alexa Euler, director of human resources at Counseling Service of Addison County in Middlebury, and Katie Stames, human resources business partner at Data Innovations in Colchester, were recently honored by the Vermont State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management for their exceptional performance and outstanding achievement in the HR profession.
At the society's annual state HR conference Sept. 14 and 15 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Burlington, Euler was named the Dolly Shaw Vermont Human Resources Professional of the Year and Stames was honored as the Emerging Vermont Human Resources Professional of the Year. The awards were sponsored, respectively, by One Digital and Chroma Technology Corp.
This year's conference shattered all previous records for attendance. In addition to the awards, other highlights of the event included:
- A presentation by physician and author Neha Sangwan on the critical need for empathy and self-care in HR practices. Attendees were treated to an advanced, signed copy of Sangwan's latest book, "Power by Me: From Burned Out to Full Charged at Work and in Life" (McGraw Hill Cos., 2023).
- A discussion by Hollywood actor Luis Guzmán of Vermont on the confluence of entertainment, humanity and social transformation.
- Dinner entertainment by comedian Ted Alexandro, who is currently touring with Jim Gaffigan.
- An interactive "Jeopardy!"-like game on employment law, hosted by attorneys Elizabeth Rattigan (Downs Rachlin Martin), Kerin Stackpole (Paul Frank + Collins) and Amy McLaughlin (Dinse).