On June 17, Catholic Charities hosted its Annual Dinner gathering the boards and administrative staffs from all sixteen agencies of the Diocese. Each agency nominates one staff person and one volunteer to be honored and recognized.

Ric Pacheco, Program Supervisor, was honored as the employee of the year. He has been employed at AIDS Services since 2003 and began his career as a Case Manager in Schenectady County. He was promoted to Senior Case Manager in Fulton/Montgomery Counties in 2006, taking on the responsibility of coordinating the tasks of the Case Management Technician in his office. In 2007, Ric was again promoted, to Program Supervisor, and he now oversees the Oneonta, Amsterdam and Schenectady service sites of the COBRA Case Management Program. Ric’s organizational skills and strong approach to case management services has been an asset to the staff he supervises. Ric is able to combine his direct care experience with his vision for quality of care of those we serve, ensuring that we respect the dignity of each person to determine their own future. We look forward to Ric’s future contributions to the team!

Becky Whitehead joined the agency as an Advance Standing MSW Intern from the University at Albany in June 2007 and was honored as this year’s volunteer. She worked for four days a week in the summer and two days a week during the regular school year. While completing her Masters degree, she was strong in her ability to weave classroom learning into her interventions with individuals with HIV/AIDS. She demonstrated great leadership with the Albany team, serving as a consultant to problem solve barriers and challenges with other staff while providing vital services during staff transition and turnover. Becky could be relied upon to be flexible, take initiative and work collaboratively with clients, family members and other providers. We wish her all the luck in her new career!