Housing Helper Kathy Jimenez Named MEO September Employee of the Month

Maui Economic Opportunity has named Kathy Jimenez as the organization’s Employee of the Month for September.

Jimenez, identified by MEO affectionately as the “Rental Assistance Guru,” has been offering funding, empathy and hope to families beset with financial difficulties due to the pandemic.

“Faced with an ever-changing landscape presented by COVID, leaving in its wake casualties of hundreds of unemployed, under-employed, furloughed clients, all of whom are anxious about the uncertainties of their family’s future, this colleague finds herself in the midst of the service-delivery chain, which aims to provide some semblance of financial help and a ray of hope to these beleaguered clients,” said her nominator Jan Cerizo.

Kathy has been able to navigate this landscape by maintaining her professional composure and remaining “unruffled and flexible,” according to Cerizo. She also runs community outreach for her program and works to lessen the stress for her clients and co-workers.

She “is the consummate team player, demonstrates personal excellence, practices empathy, exhibits creativity, displays flexibility and exemplifies integrity,” Cerizo said.

This is Jimenez’s second Employee of the Month award, having earned the honor for January 2019. A Housing Specialist III, she joined MEO in June 2017.

For being named Employee of the Month for September, Jimenez gets an extra vacation day and a $150 check. Cerizo earned $50 for the nomination. The announcement was made at MEO’s general staff meeting on Oct. 27.