United Counseling Service Human Resources Director Pam Nemlich, of Manchester Center, has been named Professional of the Year by the Vermont State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
This annual award recognizes leadership in the business community; outstanding service to the human resources community; and service to the civic community.
“Pam represents the best in the human resources profession in Vermont. She has not only proven herself a strategic thinker and key contributor for her current employer, Pam has also demonstrated these same skills in her many volunteer roles within the community and the HR profession,” Vermont SHRM State Council Director Ginny Champney said.
“Pam’s drive for excellence and positive role modeling make her an outstanding HR professional. She is highly creative and effective and has contributed enormously to her workplace, her community, and the HR profession,” Champney added.
With approximately 275 staff, United Counseling Service (UCS) is one of the largest employers in Bennington County.
“This was a big surprise. A very, very nice surprise,” Nemlich said. “I’m honored to be selected by the state council. The recognition is humbling. We have always worked as a group to advance the profession and serve the professional, so this individual honor is entirely unexpected.”
Nemlich has worked as the director of human resources at UCS since 2003. Prior to that she was the vice president of human resources at The Vermont Country Store, where she began working in 1988. In all, Nemlich has more than 20 years of experience in human resources and also worked for Avon Products Inc. in Newark, DE, and International Playtex in Dover, DE.
“Pam was instrumental in the creation of a strategic plan for UCS that emphasized human resource development,” UCS Executive Director Ralph Provenza said.
“Pam also served for several years as Chair of the statewide HR Directors Committee of the Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services,” Provenza noted, “where she provided leadership in the area of creating efficiencies in response to the Vermont legislature’s Challenges for Change initiative.”
Nemlich has been a member of the Vermont SHRM State Council since 2001, when the first state conference was held on 9/11. She has served as treasurer, state conference co-chair, and secretary.
For several years Nemlich was president of the Vermont/New Hampshire affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and is still an active participant. She has also served as a member of the Manchester/Dorset Options Committee researching future educational opportunities. And she is actively involved in the First Congregational Church in Manchester as treasurer and ringing in the church’s Bell Choir.
The Vermont SHRM State Council serves the human resource professional and the business community as a resource in education, strategic direction, legislative lobbying and promotion and enhancement of human resources as a profession.
United Counseling Service serves children, adults, families, and seniors through nationally recognized counseling, early care and education, and clinical support. Visit www.ucsvt.org to find out more.