Cheryl Stanitis, food service manager at the State Correctional Insitution at Mahanoy, was honored for her outstanding performance at the Department of Corrections' annual employee recognition ceremony on May 4.

"Cheryl routinely goes above and beyond in the performance of her duties as food service manager," Superintendent John Kerestes said. "She is fair and consistent in her management of staff and inmates and is the 'go-to' person in the department."Stanitis promotes teamwork, Kerestes said, helping her staff to learn the organizational skills necessary to be fair, consistent and achieve the ultimate goal of meeting the daily dietary needs of about 2,300 inmates."Food service is among the most difficult jobs in the institution, as it is often thankless with no reprieve," Deputy Superintendent Brenda Tritt said. "Cheryl's management style is to share in the work to relieve the burden on her staff. She strives to be positive in her approach and problem solving in her nature, to accommodate other departments as much as possible, and recognizes the personal needs of her staff in scheduling."Outside the prison, Stanitis serves as an assistant coach of the Shenandoah Valley girls softball team and as an active member of the Quarterback Club.Stanitis began her career with the Department of Corrections in 1993 at SCI Frackville as a food service instructor. She was promoted to food service supervisor at SCI Mahanoy in 1998, and in 2007 she was promoted to food service manager 1.