Every year, the Walnut Valley Unified District holds an event honoring and recognizing its employees. Earlier this month, Joanne Taylor, one of Diamond Bar High School’s GLC secretaries, won the title of WVUSD’s Employee of the Year at the ceremony.

Before becoming a candidate for the Employee of the Year award, nominees had to first receive the Cornerstone award. Each month, one classified non-teaching staff member receives the award; Taylor was nominated by Lisa Krueger, a DBHS secretary for Gabriel Aguilar, and was awarded the honor last January. The 12 Cornerstone winners immediately become nominees for the Employee of the Year award.

“With each person they had announced, they announced what they had done and I kept thinking ‘oh my god, these people are amazing,’” Taylor said. “I relaxed because I thought ‘I won’t get this. There’s no way.’  I never thought that they would call my name.”

Previously, Taylor had also received the “Gossett of the Year” award, a title similar to the Classified Employee of the Year, but limited to DBHS staffers. Furthermore, in 2012, Taylor was also nominated by GLC Kevin Patterson for the Cornerstone award. However, she did not receive the Employee of the Year award that year.

Since Taylor won the WVUSD Employee of the Year award, she is now a candidate for the title of Los Angeles County Employee of the Year. Currently, she and Krueger are working together on the application; results will be announced in May.

“I am very overwhelmed by this award because I don’t do what I do to be praised, I do what I do because I love what I do, it’s who I am,” Taylor said.