The Treasury Star Award Shines Light on a Simply Stellar Employee
The Treasury Star Award recognition program is a formal process that allows employees to nominate anyone in the department based on how the nominee aligns with the 3 foundational building blocks of Treasury’s Strategic Plan: Employee Engagement, Culture of Service, and Continuous Improvement.
“This is a particularly meaningful award, as it is based on Treasury’s Strategic Plan and on peer recognition,” said State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks. “No one knows the kind of work you do, or how much you give to the team, better than the people who work with you on a daily basis.”
LeAnn Feldpausch, recipient of the 2021 4th quarter Star Award, was shocked to be nominated for an honor celebrating employee excellence. Despite 11 years with Treasury in a demanding role that required her to master the SIGMA Financial and SIGMA Business Intelligence systems, LeAnn’s work ethic remains focused on assisting her colleagues and serving Michigan’s taxpayers.
“People don’t realize how many lives state workers impact!” said LeAnn. “I worked on the teacher grant program, and the Employee Assistance Grant Program for restaurant workers. I’ve touched many payments that process through SIGMA in some way, but you kind of forget the difference you are making to customers.”
Working on various Treasury projects has given Feldpausch the insight and the professional network to connect solutions to workgroups needing streamlined business processes. Her willingness to help and her skills with SIGMA have made LeAnn a ‘go-to’ person for increasing productivity — and for making everyone else’s job a little bit easier.
Treasury upgraded from MAIN to SIGMA in 2017, but revamping an entire 30-year-old legacy system came with many challenges. LeAnn had to change her role significantly and learn SIGMA to become a SIGMA expert/trainer, and she is proud that Treasury is now considered one of the most experienced and proficient agencies of SIGMA users.
“We’ve put so much effort into actually understanding the work and doing what is best for our customers,” Feldpausch commented. “That’s really what Treasury revolves around, making sure that our taxpayers are getting what they need.”
LeAnn attributes her success to her appreciative, knowledgeable boss, Treasury Administrator Suzie Nichols. “I have worked for Suzie for 11 years and her leadership, her coaching, and her trust in her employees are unmatched. She makes me feel appreciated for my contributions and inspires me to put my best effort forward.
“I owe part of my accomplishment to my hardworking parents, who raised me to give 110%,” added Feldpausch. “Work is not just clocking in to get your paycheck. Any kind of difference we can make is always something to strive towards.”
LeAnn has had to rely on her organizational talent and work ethic over the last 18 months of the pandemic. With her four children initially going to school online, and both she and her husband working from home, LeAnn has had the opportunity to streamline her own family’s work processes! Acting concurrently as parent, teacher and full-time employee, she’s learned to take each day a time.
“I wouldn’t have made it through this past year and a half without the support of my husband, Craig,” LeAnn said. “After being with Treasury for 11 years, I am happy to provide business support to my colleagues. We’ve all been through some difficult periods, but I believe things are getting better. We just have to keep working together, each day at a time, to make Treasury great again.” ~
