December Values in Action Spirit Award – Mike Helmstetter

An employee since 1975, Mike was selected as the Western Maryland Health System's Values in Action Spirit Award recipient for the month of December. Mike is employed in the Facilities Department as an electrician on the Memorial Campus.

He began his tenure at WMHS in the Dietary Department and then he worked in Housekeeping, working for two years at each position. He spent 10 years employed in the Pharmacy at Memorial before moving to Facilities and working in the boiler room for four years. In 1993, Mike became an electrician after taking vocational classes and learning a lot on the job from his co-workers.

Mike is an outstanding employee who always does a superior job. He displays a caring, positive attitude toward his work and interactions with others. In addition to electrical duties, he also performs a variety of maintenance tasks throughout the health system. Co-workers describe him as dependable, kind, courteous, resourceful, and very conscientious.

Many co-workers have noted that Mike is very good at completing projects correctly the first time. He is especially helpful to the staff in the Memorial kitchen, where he does whatever it takes to repair and install new equipment. Mike is always willing to adjust his schedule to work around the busy times for a department and he often makes timely suggestions that help solve problems. He is always willing to work extra to help out and lend a hand. In fact, Mike goes out of his way to help patients and co-workers get in and out of the hospital.

"I take a lot of pride in my work," says Mike. "I am very fortunate to get to work with many different people and departments, and I really enjoy interacting with everyone." Mike says he really likes the sense of accomplishment he gets from fixing things and making them work properly. He also says that everyday is different and he enjoys the variety of the type of work he gets to do.

Mike and his wife, Debbie, have been married for 33 years and they are the parents of two grown children – Jennifer, 30, and Michael, 25. They are also the proud grandparents of one grand-daughter, three year-old Audrey, and a step-grandson, Collin, who is nine.

Away from work, Mike enjoys golfing, biking, and playing softball. He also likes spending time in his workshop making furniture and other projects. For many years, Mike has been involved in the Cumberland Raiders roller hockey team as a player and a coach. In fact, he and his son Michael were members of the 1997 National Championship team.

Mike is also the assistant chief of the Bedford Road Volunteer Fire Department and serves as a member of the Allegany County Hazmat and Trench Rescue teams. He and his family attend church at Sts. Peter and Paul's in Cumberland.

Congratulations, Mike!