Each year, The Citadel recognizes one team and one employee for their outstanding efforts and performance that goes above and beyond.

For the 2025-26 academic year, The Citadel recognized the Machine Shop as the 2026 Team of the Year and Angie Rochester, The Citadel’s Employment Manager, as the Employee of the Year.

Employees may be nominated for the award in writing by any member of the faculty or staff. The Citadel Staff Council reviews all nominations and selects the Employee and Team of the Year based on exceptional contributions to The Citadel, fellow employees and the community in the following areas:

• Service and quality of work in performing “beyond the call of duty”
• Impact of professionalism and dedication to excellence
• Initiative and reliability beyond required assignments and expectations
• Uniqueness of contributions

Here’s what set these employees apart:

Angie Rochester, 2026 Employee of the Year

Her nomination letter reads in part:

Angie has been a valued employee of The Citadel for over 18 years. Her dedication and love of this community is highlighted by a deep understanding of the needs of our departments and schools when it comes to employment. She is a daughter of The Citadel, with her father graduating with the Class of 1973. Angie herself received a graduate degree in Leadership Studies through The Citadel Graduate College in 2016. This background gives Angie a unique perspective of the role of recruiter for The Citadel. In her position, she views everything she does as an opportunity to advance the mission of the college and support the employees who make this a great institution. Angie is the definition of “serving others before herself.” She is patient, caring, and kind while always looking out for the best interest of our workforce. She truly embodies the values of honor, duty, and respect, and continually reflects those same values to our community.

In addition to cultivating a solid talent pipeline, Angie understands the importance of connecting with and supporting others. She is a champion of campus engagement – she coordinates the Faculty-Staff Tailgate, Breakfast with Santa, serves as a Mentor, and is the President-Elect of the South Carolina Human Resources Board. The passion she displays is extraordinary, which represents what we hope The Citadel’s core values instill within each of us. She is an asset; dependable and self-motivated in all that she does to ensure that the needs of the HR office and The Citadel are met. The Citadel is lucky to have her talents, energy, passion and overall professionalism. 

The Machine Shop, 2026 Team of the Year

Members of the team include:

• Matt Ramsey
• David Worrel
• Randy Boyd
• John Allegood

Their nomination letter reads in part:

The Machine shop completed multiple high visibility projects around campus this year including lift station pumps, domestic water control stations, steam condensate pumps and much more, which has improved the drinking water, the sewage system and the heating system campus wide. They work tirelessly everyday around campus with only three full time staff including the supervisor. They take care of all the steam lines, all the restroom facilities and lift stations around campus. The Marine Shop is called daily for numerous emergencies and dropping whatever project they are working on, to make sure the emergency is taken care of.

The impact the Machine Shop has on The Citadel daily life is something that we may take for granted every time we use a restroom facility or a water fountain around the campus. Their hard work can be seen every day by every person who works, studies or visits this campus.  This Team is comprised of three full time and one part time staff member. It is amazing how well they keep all our facilities running as efficiently and effectively as they have. At every home Citadel Football and Basketball game, they provide a staff member to ensure our facilities are working properly. They are on call every other week for evening and weekend emergencies.

In the last year, the Machine Shop Section has taken over the responsibility of the steam system on campus. That system used to mostly be worked on by outside contractors. This, in of itself, has been a huge savings for The Citadel. They are taking care of repair and replacement of all the steam condensation pumps and systems.  Every member of the Machine Shop Section works extremely hard to keep this campus flowing (literally).