Congratulations to Kari Figueroa, recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Staff Award, and kudos to Audrie Fennema, Senior Staff Technician with HiRISE, who was awarded honorable mention for the Outstanding Staff Award.

Kari Figueroa is an Associate Accountant in the LPL Business Office, providing support for all aspects of the purchasing process from processing forms, following and interpreting policies and assisting LPL employees with purchasing process. Kari has recently taken on subcontract processing, which includes communicating with subcontractors, setting up new subcontract purchase orders and processing invoice payments. She has handled this new process and the changes in policies and procedures with professionalism. Kari has handled the transition to the new UAccess Financial system by learning all of the new processes, creating required forms and procedures, and training other LPL staff. Kari goes above and beyond to provide excellent service and is a very valuable asset to the Business Office and to LPL.

Audrie Fennema has been a Senior Staff Technician with HiRISE since 2005. She is primarily responsible for the health and safety monitoring of HiRISE. She assists in managing processing pipelines and has made significant contributions to, or developed outright, several processing pipelines that are producing the great science products being released by the project. She also manages the "Emergency Contact of the Week" schedule, meaning that she is on twenty-four hour call and has in her possession a special "Red Phone" that enables JPL to be in contact with her at all times. If an emergency comes up, she will come in at all hours of the day or night, weekdays or weekends, and provide problem investigation and reporting and observational problem resolution. Audrie is backup for HiRISE Targeting Specialists (uplink) and is responsible for HiWIKI updates and backups; she also provides Special Imaging support.

Audrie often volunteers to give presentations and give tours for HiRISE education and public outreach. She volunteered to be backup Building Monitor for the Sonett Building and attends the training sessions for the University of Arizona Emergency Building Coordinators. Her co-workers consider her to be a versatile staff member who performs exceptionally well in every aspect of her job.

Kari and Audrie were recognized for their achievements at the LPL Awards and Recognition Reception held on April 13, 2012.

Great job Kari and Audrie!