Sept. 26, 2019 — In an eighth-floor conference room that overlooks Gainesville’s cityscape, UF College of Medicine faculty and staff gathered Thursday morning at the UF Health Heart & Vascular and Neuromedicine hospitals to honor employees who have served at the college for 20-30 years.

The 2019 UF College of Medicine Employee Anniversary Awards Ceremony recognized 36 employees from the departments of anesthesiology to surgery, the UF Health Cancer Center, the Office of Medical Education and more. The event began with a performance from the Sedoctaves, an a cappella group made up of UF students.

UF College of Medicine interim dean Joseph A. Tyndall, M.D., congratulated the employees on their careers, informing them that, in total, they have accumulated a combined 880 years of service.

“Your years here are very meaningful. They demonstrate that what keeps you here are the relationships you’ve built with your peers and in your departments,” Tyndall said. “Our university is on a journey to make this institution even better than it is today. It’s people like you that make our university better. We cannot replace your depth of knowledge and your passion for what you do.”

Erin Hembree has worked as a health information specialist for the department of obstetrics and gynecology for 30 years. She says she feels motivated each day by the variety her position affords, as well as by the relationships she has built.

“After 30 years, my co-workers have become my family,” Hembree says. “It’s also rewarding to be able to serve the women of North Central Florida.”

For the past two decades, Karen Simpson has worked in the UF Global Health Education Program, where she directs a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded grant project dealing with tuberculosis. She agrees that the best aspects of her career can be attributed to those she works alongside.

“The great relationships that I’ve built over time mean I have people I can rely on to get things done,” Simpson said. “My favorite parts of my job are the people I work with and the passion I have for the work I do.”