Employee of the Month for November is Tara Goetz

The Franklin County Commissioners on behalf of the Special Thanks and Recognition (STAR) Committee proudly present the Employee of the Month award to Ms. Tara Goetz.

Ms. Goetz has been employed with Franklin County since June of 2015. She currently serves as a Veteran Affairs Coordinator. The selection for the November 2019 Employee of the Month was determined by the STAR Committee. There were a total of twelve nominations.

The STAR nomination form asks what recent event or occurrence made you select Tara and the answers stated:

“Tara has been working with one of our local veterans for over two years. This veteran is a 98 year old WWII veteran who wanted to receive the Bronze Star, to which he was entitled. Tara researched the veteran’s background and went through all of his information to ensure that what was reported was accurate and correct. Tara began the process of advocating on the veteran’s behalf and went through the countless hours of paperwork and documentation requests and completed all the required submissions and more. Tara conducted over 10 phone interviews/inquires on behalf of the veteran to prove that he was eligible and rated the Bronze Star. Tara communicated with individuals throughout the United States as well as France. She ran into many difficulties, as she had never gone through this process before, but she refused to give up and ultimately made this dream a reality for this 98 year old WWII veteran. The veteran would call Tara to express his fears about not receiving his medal before he died and Tara ensured that she would do whatever she possibly could to make it happen, and she did. 

What Tara did was above and beyond her normal responsibilities and duties. We routinely request medals and awards that veterans already received and have on file at the National Archives, but we haven’t been in a position to advocate getting an award presented over 74 years after a veteran served.”

Ms. Goetz’s outstanding characteristics are attributes that have not gone unnoticed by her peers. The nomination form describes her as being a dedicated, selfless, and determined.

We are grateful to Ms. Tara Goetz as she exudes a high standard of customer service, excellence, and respect to the employees and residents of Franklin County.

Shown above (left to right): Commissioner Bob Thomas, Director of Veterans Affairs Justin Slep, Veterans Affairs Coordinator Tara Goetz, Commissioner Chairman Dave Keller, Commissioner Bob Ziobrowski

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