The 2017 Season of Gratitude Celebration held at the Franklin building on Dec. 14 was a festive event enjoyed by several hundred staff members.

Thanks to the generosity of UCOP management staff in hosting the celebration with their personal funds, everyone enjoyed delicious turkey hand-carved by President Napolitano and other UCOP leaders, as well as hors d’oeuvres and tantalizing sweets. Staff mixed and mingled on three different floors of the building, catching up with colleagues while enjoying the treats provided.

President Napolitano took the microphone briefly to salute all UCOP staff for their hard work. “This is an amazing institution,” she said. “And it takes a lot of people working together to make it so.” Her appreciation was underlined by the slideshow projected behind her which listed the names of UCOP employees being honored for their years of service. “I hope you are as energized by our mission as I am,” she concluded before wishing everyone a great 2018.

The end-of-year celebration continues with over 650 “gratitude-grams” that will be delivered this week by our UCOP elves. Thanks to all of you who took the time to acknowledge your colleagues! We’ll have a report on the generosity of your donations to this year’s charities once the tallies are made in January.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos in the slideshow above and give thanks to our dedicated staff who made this year’s Season of Gratitude events possible:

Steering Committee members: Alicia Wilson, Barbara Heilmann, Brad Niess, Cathy O’Sullivan, Emma Sebastian, Joanna Trammell, Matthew Leet, Nancy Pluzdrak, Paul Lechner, Sutton Bennett and Thera Kalmijn.

Special thanks to: Randy Kemish, Juan Conrado, Regana Staccato-Johnson, Kim Dorsey and Richard Del Mundo for set-up of the room, audio and Zoom for the president’s remarks.

Big thanks to: All the volunteers who helped before, during and after the celebration activities to prepare the rooms and refreshments.

A special shout-out to our OP leadership for carving turkeys throughout the event: President Napolitano, Rachael Nava, Nathan Brostrom, Alex Bustamente, Charlie Robinson, Claire Holmes, Kim Budil, Jack Stobo, Jagdeep Baccher and Michael Brown. And thank you to their co-pilots who plated the food: Brett Henrikson, Cathy O’Sullivan, David Alcocer, David Phillips, John Torres, Kelly Drumm, Kimberly Peterson, Matt Hicks, Moira Perez, Oren Gabriel, Peggy Arrivas, Robin Holmes-Norton and Tricia Lyall.

And one last THANK YOU to all UCOP staff for your hard work and dedication this past year!

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