Celebrating Greatness: Inside Our Circle of Champions

Across the state in hundreds of locations and homes, our staff works hard to care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The days are sometimes hard and long, but they continue to show love and respect for each and every individual. And while we love hearing from parents, guardians, and family members, sometimes the only people who see all the hard work being done are other staff members. That’s why we created the Circle of Champions employee recognition program.

“Recognition isn’t just about rewarding hard work, it’s about reminding people that their contributions at I am Boundless have meaning,” explained Jayme Jurkovac, the retention manager at Boundless; she oversees the Circle of Champions program. “The Circle of Champions fosters a culture of appreciation, where every nomination is a testament to the impact our staff has on each other and the people we serve. A program like this reinforces that the effort, compassion, and dedication employees pour into their work don’t go unnoticed.”

Any staff member can be nominated for any reason at any time. Nominations are broken into five categories, which align with our values of Empowerment, Excellence, Love, Respect, and Well-Being. Each quarter, one winner from each category is randomly chosen to win a small prize. Each year, all staff vote for the Champion of the Year, and then the winner is thanked and celebrated in a small ceremony in the Spring.

The 2024 Champion of the Year was Tabitha Caplinger-Lightning, who was nominated four times throughout the year. She is a care coordinator supervisor in our OhioRISE program, which works to create a system of wraparound, community-based care for individuals in Delaware, Licking, Knox, and Morrow counties. 

Caplinger-Lightning was nominated in three categories over the course of 2024: Excellence, Empowerment, and Well-Being. As one of her nominators wrote, “She never gives up on her staff or individuals and pushes them to be great! She is patient, caring, knowledgeable, and direct. She is an invaluable asset to us all.” 

Since its inception in 2021, the program has grown every year. Boundless staff immediately embraced the program, kicking it off with around 100 nominations in its first year. That attitude has continued and the program has grown; it’s now on track to have more than 400 nominations this year. That’s hundreds of examples of hard work across all our values, hundreds of times our staff has made the individuals we serve and other staff members feel good. 

“That kind of growth means that people truly believe in the spirit of recognition, and they’re eager to uplift their colleagues,” Jurkovac said. “Since 2021, the momentum has built due to a combination of awareness, trust in the process, and the genuine enthusiasm of employees who want to celebrate each other’s work.”

The last Wednesday of every month, we share all the nominations from that month in an internal newsletter. Big and small acts of kindness come together in one place for the staff to appreciate. Jurkovac shared, “It cultivates morale and strengthens team bonds, for our staff to see all the nominations in one place. It’s truly awe-inspiring.”

And of course, we couldn’t run this program without the philanthropic donors who believe in our staff and want to see them recognized for their hard work. Specifically, the Circle of Champions is generously underwritten by the Nebenzahl family in memory of Peter Nebenzahl.

Boundless is committed to being on the cutting edge of nonprofit organizations. If you’re interested in learning more about how and why we do things, check out our recently rebranded podcast, The Nonprofit Leaders Guide.