On April 10, the Prairie Research Institute honored employees for their outstanding achievements and excellent work. ISAS Sarah Scattergood was awared the Outstanding New Support Staff Award.
Sarah Scattergood began her career with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) as an archaeological specialist in 2014. Since then, her responsibilities have steadily increased, and she was promoted to archaeological projects coordinator at the start of 2017.
Nominator Tom Loebel, senior cultural resource coordinator, wrote that in her latest role Scattergood has significantly improved the production of Archaeological Survey Short Reports, which provide the results and recommendations of IDOT projects. "Report content and feedback to authors regarding revisions has improved dramatically due to her prior field experience and practical knowledge," he wrote. This has resulted in a perfect completion record and simultaneously allows Loebel to focus on concentrate on larger logistical and project management issues.
Scattergood's role also required her to implement a new statewide projects database, which she quickly "debugged" and mastered, leading to improved project documentation and tracking. She has also become an integral part of the ISAS geophysical survey team and is adept at operating and carrying the magnetometer, sizing up field logistics, and downloading and processing data. She has been responsible for the training and oversight of additional crew members involved in the geophysical survey program.
"Sarah has brought not only an excellent work ethic, but also a willingness to learn, adapt, find answers/solutions, as well as a professional attitude."