Friday, March 4, is Employee Appreciation Day. Believe it or not, this unofficial holiday has been around for 27 years—though it has only recently grown in popularity. In 1995, Bob Nelson, a founding board member of Recognition Professionals International, called for a holiday acknowledging all employees, not just administrative professionals. And, thus, Employee Appreciation Day was born.

The primary purpose of this day is to recognize employees for their hard work, dedication, and effort throughout the year. Hopefully, we can all agree that employers ought to regularly take time to show appreciation for their teams (i.e., certainly more than once a year!). However, it is meaningful to have dedicated time for deeper reflection and gestures of gratitude.

Drake will be celebrating Employee Appreciation the entire month of March, not just on March 4. We encourage you to read tomorrow’s HR Monthly email, which will provide a list of events and activities happening throughout the month of March. Please monitor your email for special messages from leaders. We also are excited to feature articles about employee appreciation in OnCampus every week during March.

It has been another year of challenge and tenacity, uncertainty and growth. Drake faculty, staff, and student workers have done amazing work, despite the roller-coaster ride COVID-19 forced upon us. Take time to feel pride in your ability to persevere. It is easy to forget that we are slogging our way through a historic event and—at least for some of us—it’s been exhausting and scary. Some of us have suffered sickness, loss, isolation, and many different forms of hardship. Yet, this community has sustained a focus on our students and kept its forward momentum going.

Although I am still new to Drake, I have picked up on a theme when speaking with managers and academic leaders—they are so terribly proud of their teams and departments. If you look back at all you’ve accomplished in the last year (or two), you should also be proud.

Thank you for caring about our students. Thank you for wanting this community to grow, improve, and evolve. Thank you for your agility, resilience, and dedication. Thank you staying on this roller coaster ride—even when the path forward has been murky. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources; Nate Reagen, President’s Office