Frye Regional Medical Center Honors Employees with Service Awards

Frye Regional Medical Center, a Duke LifePoint hospital, hosted its annual Employee Milestone Banquet on Friday, Feb. 6, recognizing employees who reached significant service anniversaries during 2025. Milestones ranged from five to 45 years of service and were recognized in five-year increments. This year, nearly 150 employees were honored for their commitment and contributions to Frye Regional’s mission. 

“These individuals represent the heart of Frye Regional’s mission,” said Philip Greene, MD, chief executive officer of Frye Regional Medical Center. “Their dedication not only strengthens our organization but also deeply impacts the communities we serve across Catawba County and surrounding areas where our employees live and raise their families. Their sustained contributions elevate the quality of care we provide and reinforce our commitment to compassionate, community-centered health care.”

The Employee Milestone Banquet is a longstanding Frye Regional tradition, bringing together team members from clinical, administrative and support roles to celebrate collective years of service that make high-quality, community-based care possible.

In addition to service milestones, Frye Regional recognized recipients of several distinguished awards including Best of the Best Awards, DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Awards, STAR (Shining Through Acts of Resilience) Awards and the Lifepoint Mercy Award. 

Best of the Best Awards honor individuals, providers or departments for leadership and extraordinary care demonstrated through compassion, excellence and patient advocacy. The DAISY Award is an international recognition program honoring nurses who provide exceptional clinical care and compassion. The STAR Award recognizes certified nursing assistants and unit secretaries who demonstrate outstanding resilience, dedication and patient-centered care. Established in 2001, the Lifepoint Mercy Award is the organization’s top employee honor, recognizing those who embody the spirit of service exemplified by Lifepoint’s founding leadership. Jackie Mcelyea, a resident of Lenoir, North Carolina, was named both the Frye Regional recipient and the Lifepoint Health companywide recipient. Mcelyea was selected from 55,000 employees nationwide across Lifepoint Health.

Members of Frye Regional’s senior leadership team presented each milestone honoree with an award and commemorative service pin. Employees celebrating more than 30 years of service additionally received a specialty plaque in recognition of their longstanding dedication. 

Honorees represented nearly every department across the organization, including Primary and Specialty Care, Nursing, Information Technology, Plant Operations and Environmental Services. 

Employees recognized include:

• Katie Barnes

• Amanda Benfield

• Jessica Bruner

• Sarah Buff FNP

• Martha Campbell

• Heather Cline

• Tyler Griffin

• Hailey Hartsook

• Melanie Hensley

• Summer Hines

• Alexis Houston

• Angela Huffman

• Kim Johnson

• Mackenzie Johnson

• Crystal Lawrence

• Denise LePage

• Christina Lewis

• Susanne Matuskey

• Brandi Mcelyea

• Caitlin Miller

• Jody Miller Jr.

• McKayla Minton

• Lea Mistri

• Kayla Mooneyham

• Gay Morton

• Martha Mullins

• Catherine Nevitt

• Laura Pittman

• Janet Rhyne

• Lindsay Shoemake

• Christopher Simmons

• Callie Singchanh

• Charles Smith

• Arianna Starnes

• Meredith Starnes

• Madison Wathen

• John Beavers

• Anna Buff

• Erin Darby Lowman

• Linda Davis

• Bailey Eckard

• Tiffany Hedrick

• Kadie Hicks

• Angela Kearns

• Kaitlyn Keller-Hinson

• Jennifer Pennell

• Wendy Sigmon

• Ryan Touron

• Christopher Wilson

• Kristin Wright

• Amber York

• Mary Barlow

• Shandria Carr-Dooley

• Rachel Cline

• Peter Gardner

• David Kenworthy

• Angela Parsons

• Jill Peacock

• Amber Seagle

• Jason Winters

• Lucia Adam

• Brandy Blackburn

• Lisa Bowman

• Anita Caponero

• Kelly Dant

• Jonathan Duncan

• Howard Elrod

• Jenny Hubbard

• Tracey Huffman

• Kelly Huggins

• Bernardita Miller

• Amy Morrison

• Cynthia Poppell

• Christina Rananto

• Melanie Sweet

• Virginia Absher

• Deborah Ball

• Wendy Belcher

• Olimpia Belos

• James Gray

• Jennifer Leonhardt

• Cynthia Lindsay

• Roslane McGill

• Kevin McMahon

• Christy Moretz

• Amy Myers

• Kimberly Presley

• Angela Procopii

• Brandy Sanders

• Vivian Speagle

• Kim Steele

• Karon Turner

• Amanda Wilson

• Anna Atkin

• James Banks 

• Cavelle Davolio

• Cassandra Edwards

• Teresa Eggers

• Thomas Hunsucker

• Robin Ijames

• Tony James 

• Pamela Lytton

• Eric Miller

• Wendy Pennell

• Sherry Swanson

• Kellie Whisnant

• Debbie Deese

• Sally Dickerson

• Christine Fitzpatrick

• Honey Hedrick

• Melinda Hipps

• Sandra Muller

• Gina Styres

• April Traxler

• Donna Anthony

• Pamela Clontz

• Sharon Goins

• Maureen “Moe” McMahon

• Beth Long

• Alice Bishopric, MD

• Kaylee Dowell Ehart

• Dawn Franklin

• Karsten Klingenberg

• Anita Larue

• Nitin Khosla, MD

• Emily Pritchett

• Allison “Alli” Rusinek

• Chad Searcy

• Vivian Speagle

• Brett Starr, MD

• Leah Stewart

• Tia Triplett

• Allen Wells

• Acute Rehabilitation Unit

• Respiratory Therapy Unit

• Sterile Processing Unit

• Tate Surgery Center

• Amanda Castillo

• Ashtyn Hopson

• Aaron Hunter

• Hannah Maher

• Mary Malone

• Samantha Sprouse

• Debbie Steelman

• Michael Toolan

• Bryan Escobar-Cruz  

• Clarissa Phillips

• Emily Phomsouvandara

• Warren Rushing

To learn more about Frye Regional Medical Center, its mission of making communities healthier® and its continued commitment to the region it has served since 1911, visit FryeMedCtr.com or call 828.315.5000.