On behalf of many members of the JMU community, we would like to nominate Donna Bitar, the Payroll and Budget Manager at James Madison University Recreation, for the 2023 All Together One award. Donna is one of four original UREC employees who has been with the department since 1996 that is still working here. Donna has taken on several different roles throughout her time at UREC, but through the years she has always brought a high level of efficiency, accuracy, and care to everything she does. When we reached out to members of our team about helping with her nomination, the outpouring of support, and excitement, to see her recognized for everything she does, often behind the scenes, for our team and students, was incredible. The messages of support and endorsement are included below:

“Donna is truly a superstar at her job. She has the sole responsibility of processing all paperwork for UREC student employees. We currently have over 630 student employees with one or more jobs at UREC. Donna is considered a super-user with SWEC and Payroll; she is able to process the student I9’s as well as handle all e-pars. This can be a very overwhelming process during our peak hiring seasons, but Donna is able to keep everything organized and pushed through in a timely manner. Without her dedication and wealth of knowledge, UREC would not be able to function! In addition to her payroll responsibilities, Donna reconciles all of our small purchase credit cards in Bank of America. With her attention to detail, our department has become known as one that “gets it right” within Cash and Investments. She has dedicated her life at UREC to helping students become a part of our team!”  - Lisa O’Fallon, Current Supervisor

“Donna is a pillar of support to every student employee at UREC and this is why she is called “Mama Donna”! Over the years of working at JMU, Donna has developed lifelong relationships with many students that she has supervised and they consider her as one of those people that helped make their JMU experience the best. These relationships stretch all over the world and Donna continues to be in students lives. They reach out to her to share their life adventures; getting a new job, getting married, buying a house and becoming a family.  Donna continues to be a part of their lives! I remember one student that Donna supervised told me that “Donna is my mom away from home. I have shared things with her that I haven’t even told my own mom”.  This is a true testament of Donna’s caring personality of JMU’s students. They trust her and appreciate her listening ear. When supervising Donna, there was never a day that went by that I didn’t see a UREC student employee sitting in Donna’s office talking with her about, school or life. Donna has a special gift of listening with calmness and making you feel, no matter what, everything is going to be okay. Not only does Donna stop whatever she is doing to listen to students, but she is always there to listen to her co-workers. You always know that you can go into her office, shut the door and come out feeling better. She is a sister, a mama and a grandmother to many of us. I’m always in awe at how Donna manages all the UREC’s student employee payroll and human resources information. She keeps track of student employee contracts every semester and works with their supervisors to make sure documents are complete correctly and in a timely manner. With her strong organizational skills and accuracy with processing paper work, Donna has been ask by JMU’s Student Payroll department to help train other new supervisors across campus.  She has even had other Universities come to see how she uses UREC’s timeclock system. Donna is always willing to share and collaborate with others.” – Lorie Miller, Former Supervisor

“Being a UREC employee for the last 20 years I can say unequivocally that Donna Bitar embodies the All Together One Award like few on this campus.  As a Graduate Assistant from 2001-2003, Donna made it clear that we (all 9 GA’s) were important to what we accomplished at UREC.  She was always willing to provide a listening ear and help me solve those “real world” problems, she was like family and made me feel like family. I can say that 20+ years later I still feel the same way.  Not many people I have encountered over that time have displayed the caring attitude for the individual the way Donna does.  That could be helping me complete paperwork (that I should know how to do) or having a conversation with one of the many students who frequent her office.  That is probably one of the biggest reasons I feel like Donna should be recognized, the students and the impact she has had on so many.  For a staff member who doesn’t have a student staff reporting to her, she has by far, the most students who visit her on a daily basis.  “Miss Donna” or Momma Donna” are the two names I have heard our students use when they talk about her.  It is very clear that Donna is all about her community, caring for others and through those actions she has inspired me and I would say many more. Donna would never say it, she doesn’t like to be recognized, but she truly embodies the All Together One spirit that former President Rose alluded to in 1999.” – Chris R. Jones, UREC Coworker

“I began working with Donna 18 years ago. At that point, she had already been processing departmental payroll for 7 years. Donna remembers time entry long before Time Clock Plus! UREC is our largest hourly department and we rarely have time entry errors, which speaks volumes to her accuracy. The same can be said for the processing of other payroll paperwork, such as ePARs as well. Donna is the most caring, dedicated, and committed to teamwork employee that I have ever had the pleasure to work with. She truly exemplifies a unique contribution to the JMU community with her work ethic and her unwavering commitment to her staff. She has always been an inspiration to all my payroll colleagues and myself.” – Chris M. Jones, JMU Payroll Services

“Donna Bitar is a special lady. From my first day at UREC, she made me feel like I was already in the community. Coming to work in a big department can be scary, but she made me feel like we had known each other for years. She is one of the reasons I am excited to be at work, she helps me perform better because I want her to be proud. I cannot explain to you how many times I have gone to her with questions and she is always willing to help. I cannot count on all my fingers the number of times I have gone to her for life advice or questions about my future. She is someone who can help you see that just because you are stressed in the moment, does not mean you cannot turn it around and have a good day. She sees the good in everyone and wants them to see it themselves. She is a mirror reflection of a ray of sunshine and good energy.” – Amelia Saffelle, Current UREC Student Employee

“When I think of Donna Bitar, I think of someone who encompasses care for others. Donna is the only person in UREC to know each and every student by detailing and processing each person’s hiring paperwork. Donna works to help both students and staff when we have questions about payroll, hiring or rehiring. It doesn’t matter how many times Donna is asked a question, she is willing and ready to share the correct answer to help us understand what needs to be done. Donna has a welcoming spirit and a willingness to work with program areas as student employees quit, leave the university, or need to be hired outside of the regular hiring cycle. Through the many years of Donna’s tenure at UREC she is one of the pillars that alumni come back to visit. It is so great to have Donna on the UREC pro-staff team!” – Sasha Griffith, UREC Coworker

“Donna Bitar has positively impacted me professionally and personally since 2006.  She has always been patient regarding my hiring paperwork, even when I get it wrong after all these years.  She takes her job seriously to ensure all of our student gets paid, and that is no small feat.  Donna is always supportive and considers the needs of others above her own.  I appreciate her willingness to listen and the wisdom she imparts on a regular basis.” – Holly Bailey, UREC Coworker

“Donna has been an integral part of UREC and I couldn’t imagine this department without her. She is patient, kind, understanding, and helpful beyond belief. When mistakes are made, she treats everyone with grace, and throws a little bit of friendly sarcasm in there every once of awhile to lighten the mood too. She is an extremely hard worker and never seeks out recognition or thanks for all the work that she does for this department, day in and day out. I have greatly valued getting to know Donna more and more over my years at UREC and I can’t thank her enough for all of the times that she has let me stop by her office to chat or catch up about what’s going on in her life as she makes her hot beverages (tea or coffee) throughout the day. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award!” – Shannon Tumelty, UREC Coworker

“Since I began working at UREC as an undergrad, to now almost two years into my graduate assistantship, Donna Bitar has had the unique way of making me feel welcomed since my first interaction with her, and through each one that has followed.  She works tirelessly behind the scenes for UREC, and in turn her contributions to the department directly impact the JMU community.  Donna Bitar embodies the All Together One spirit, and would be a great recipient of this award.” – Tim Groth, UREC Coworker

“Donna Bitar has been a valuable member of the UREC team since we opened in 1996.  Donna has been intimately involved in our growth ever since.  Donna is the Payroll and Budget Manager.  While her title may have changed over the years, her leadership of the student employment efforts have not changed, but grown exponentially.  With over 625 students on contract, Donna is essential to the operations of UREC.  She makes the hiring process easier for all UREC Staff, she ensures the student staff get paid, and has served as the worker’s compensation liaison to make sure all student employees are cared for should an injury occur.  The UREC student employee community is cared for by this dedicated staff member!  I, for one, am happy to have benefited from all her help with student hiring and payroll over the years!” – Bob Golson, UREC Coworker

“Donna Bitar has been constant at UREC ever since I was a graduate assistant almost 20 years ago and continues to be a constant today.  She is someone who works behind the scenes to ensure that approximately 600 student employees are hired and paid – this is no easy feat.  She truly keeps UREC moving as without our students, we have no employees to serve the JMU community.  Securing hiring paperwork several times a year, along with guiding students in what is often their first experience being hired requires patience, grace, and a true appreciation for young adults.  Donna has all of these attributes.  It’s apparent that Donna makes an impact on students, as I often see them popping into her office to chat – she has a nurturing energy, wonderfully dry sense of humor, and a caring heart.  Donna Bitar embodies what it means to serve others – with heart, care, and without ego.  UREC is extremely fortunate to have her as part of the team.” – Veronica Jones, UREC Coworker

“Even with my short time here, Donna Bitar has welcomed me with open arms. Her knowledge, insight and dedication help make UREC the world class facility it is today. I’ve worked with Donna outside of UREC with her involvement with the “Off Broadway Players”, A non-profit 501(C)(3) community theatre. I personally don’t think would be nearly as successful if Donna was not a huge part of what they do. It’s a rare occasion to not see a smile on Donna’s face!” – Jake Coffman, UREC Coworker

“Donna B has been a rock at UREC who helps to perpetuate our culture year after year. When a UREC alumni comes to visit, she always greets them by saying “Welcome Home”. Donna’s presence helps UREC feel like home to students, professionals and participants alike. She has a caring soul that has encouraged so many student employees to feel comfortable in this space and always excited to come back for a visit. UREC wouldn’t be the same without her historical knowledge, compassionate conversations and consistent presence. We love our Donna B!” – Erica Foltz, UREC Coworker