UNO Names Joni Fichtl Employee of the Month

Joni Fichtl, operations coordinator for the Thompson Alumni Center, has been named UNO's Employee of the Month for August 2021.

Fichtl was surprised by the UNO Celebration Committee on Friday, Aug. 20, to celebrate the honor.

In her nomination, Fichtl was called out for her management of the wide variety of events and clients served by the UNO Thompson Alumni Center, which averages 600 bookings (only half of them UNO related) and 50,000 guests per year.

"It is safe to say Joni has had some interaction with the majority of our thousands of guests, welcoming the UNO community and others visiting campus from all over Omaha and beyond," her nominator relayed.

Among her responsibilities, Fichtl works with catering services for each event and seeks feedback when implementing new procedures; she handles day-to-day financial records for the Thompson Alumni Center; she has overseen health and security updates to ensure events are following proper COVID-19 guidelines; and serves as the first point of contact for many campus visitors - including former students - who want to learn more about campus.

"She goes out of her way to help visitors find their destination by giving them a campus map and calling someone on campus to find out where they need to be," her nomination reads. "Joni has a great sense of pride in UNO and is able to share with visitors and guests the exciting new opportunities that are available at UNO."

Fichtl also goes above and beyond, serving on committees within the UNO Alumni Association and across UNO as well as taking part in a number of professional development courses to gain new knowledge and seek ways of improving processes.

"Joni is curious as to why something is not always just right and actively seeks to make things better."

For being awarded Employee of the Month, Fichtl will receive a certificate, hot/cold tumbler, monetary award, two tickets to a UNO sporting event and use of a designated parking space

Do you want to submit a nominee for Employee of the Month? Use our newly-launching People Are Everything software to access the Employee of the Month nomination form.

Questions about Employee of the Month? Contact Kristina Hoffmann at kristinahoffmann@unomaha.edu.