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

For the 2024-25 academic year, The Citadel recognized The Citadel Summerall Chapel, as the 2025 Team of the Year, and Kris Kut, the head track and field coach 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:

Kris Kut, 2025 Employee of the Year

His nomination letter reads in part:

Kris is an outstanding employee who loves The Citadel.  He bleeds Citadel blue as an alumnus, chair of Staff Council, track and field coach and campus resident. He has worked with the Athletic department for almost 25 years and is always helping others with any questions or concerns. Kris is always there for employees or students who need help. He is energetic and motivates others around him to care for the work that they do, engaging with our students and the campus community.

For the last several years, Kris served as Staff Council chair volunteering at almost every employee gathering to grill hot dogs, drag around coolers full of ice and be a smiling supporter of every HR, Athletics or Staff Council effort.  He is the heart and soul behind almost every interaction from chili cookoffs, employee tailgates, appreciation days, lunches with coaches and campus clean-ups.  He is not above any job and will always go above and beyond to make sure his alma mater is taken care of, and its people are appreciated.  He is described by other coaches and employees as their “favorite person to work with” and ensures that our cadet athletes are supported every day. 

The Citadel Summerall Chapel, 2025 Team of the Year

Members of the team include:

• Rodney Barrentine
• Nicole DeNeane
• Aly Jose
• Geri Jones
• Aaron Meadows
• Stephen Rutland
• Jeff Shealy
• Michael Varnadore

Their nomination letter reads in part:

The Summerall Chapel team ensured the completion a $800,000 audio visual system project making the chapel more usable for worship and other events for campus while also managing the construction of the $370,000 dollar wheelchair access and ADA entrance for increased access to The Citadel’s worshipping community. Of note, The Citadel’s Chapel Staff began the stain-glass window restoration project, preserving the historic aesthetics of the Summerall Chapel.

The Chapel Staff designed, fundraised and ensured completion of the hospitality counter and area that serves 300 cadets per week. They also directed three choir and music groups while also hosting 50 worship and community events which positively impacted 10,000 worshipers.

Their annual Christmas Candlelight Service blesses over 3,000 members of The Citadel family and Charleston community annually. The staff’s chaplains have offered over 1,000 engagement hours to over 13,000 contacts, provided over 300 counseling sessions for cadets and over 75 counseling sessions for faculty and staff.

The team led the creation of an emergency fund that helps the campus community (students, faculty and staff) with emergency resources annually, and they manage over 20 campus ministries that provides thousands of man-hours per week developing and mentoring the corps of cadets.

The team fundraised over $1.5 million dollars for facilities restoration and operational costs that are not covered by state funds. Additionally, the Summerall Chapel Team sponsors 40 volunteers who provide 5,000 volunteer hours, and weekly services to nearly 1,300 students between Monday and Thursday evenings.

The Summerall Chapel Team’s professionalism, perseverance and untiring devotion to duty reflected great credit upon them and were in keeping with the highest traditions of The Citadel and the state of South Carolina.