St. Meinrad Archabbey Honors Workers, Retirees
St. Meinrad Archabbey recently honored 77 active workers and 60 retirees who have 25 years or more of service during the annual Service Recognition Banquet.
Benedictine Father Adrian Burke, a monk of St. Meinrad, said, “Every enterprise of the archabbey – from gift shop to Guest House, from Abbey Press to Seminary and School of Theology, from Abbey Caskets to Abbey Kitchen – all of it relies to a great extent on that part of the broader Benedictine community made up of dependable, dedicated co-workers.
“Everything we do is a collaborative effort between monks and co-workers, and we do it all to fulfill the mission of Christ: to welcome, to teach, to witness and to serve. Our co-workers play a vital role in all of that!”
Nine co-workers received special recognition during the banquet.
• Glen Werne of Jasper was honored for reaching 50 years of service. He was hired in 1958 to help in the Archabbey garden and enlisted in the United States Army in 1963. After his discharge in 1966, Werne was hired as a stitcher operator in the bindery department of Abbey Press. Over the years, Werne has held the positions of pressroom supervisor, production manager and bindery supervisor. He retired from fulltime work on April 9, 2012, but continues to help as a cutter operator as needed.
• Gary Guy of Huntingburg, Tim Niehaus of St. Meinrad and Jackie Waninger of Fulda were honored for 40 years of service.
Guy is the safety, security and housekeeping manager. He was hired in 1974 as the supervisor of the sculpture department of Abbey Press. In 1977, Guy transferred to the printing division of the Press. He held the position of head pressman before becoming the safety director and worker’s comp administrator in 1994. He took on the responsibility for security in 1996, and housekeeping in 1997.
Niehaus has been a stitcher operator in the bindery department of Abbey Press since 1980. After working in the archabbey kitchen during high school, Niehaus was hired full time in bindery in 1977. He learned how to run about every machine in bindery and for many years did most of the repairs on the stapler machine.
Waninger is currently an addressing machine operator in the bindery department of Abbey Press. While in high school, she worked part time in shipping and was hired full time as a mailing machine operator in 1975.
• Honored for 25 years of service were Eileen Gogel of St. Meinrad, Rich Niehaus of St. Meinrad, Phil Etienne of Santa Claus, Elizabeth Guy of Holland, Tammy Kemp of St. Croix, and Audra Russell of Elberfeld.
Gogel is a duplicating and mail service clerk, Niehaus is a plumber and HVAC mechanic, Etienne is the director of One Caring Place for Abbey Press, Elizabeth Guy is a duplicator operator for the Press, Kemp works in the shipping department as receiving, warehouse, returns processor, cycle counter and L-sealer; and Russell is the computer and office assistant at the Archabbey Gift Shop.
