Betty Senn of Emporia’s Workforce Development Center was presented with a “Big Thinker” award from the Kansas Department of Commerce on Thursday.
The quarterly award is given to an outstanding employee of the department. Senn has headed the workforce center for the last four years and has been under the state commerce department for the last two.
Senn, who had been nominated by an anonymous co-worker, was caught off guard when the call came.
“I thought ‘For doing my job, I’m getting an award?’” Senn said.
Rae Anne Davis, the commerce department’s deputy secretary for workforce development, said the award was for Senn’s overall performance rather than any one specific achievement.
“I think we all know that Betty’s a good fit for this job,” Davis said. “She’s engaged with the community, she participates on local boards, she’s involved in economic development ... she represents us well.”
The award’s name comes from the state’s public relations campaign, “Kansas: As Big as You Think.”
Senn is the second member of the local Workforce Development Center to win the award. An earlier one was given to Ron Newlin.