Kerry Mehle, graphics communications technician, is in the running to be Classified Employee of the Year for California in May.

Up to six recipients will be chosen by the Board of Governors to receive this award, $500 and a commemorative plaque.

Mehle’s nomination was possible because he was named the Ventura County Community College District Classified Employee of the Year on Feb. 16.

“To be recognized is pretty cool, especially districtwide recognition,” said Mehle. “That is to me even more unbelievable.”

The VCCCD Board of Trustees selected Mehle out of the four nominees at the board meeting on February, making this the second year in a row a Moorpark College employee has won after Vance Manakas, the current athletic director, won last year. One nominee was selected from each community college and one from the District Administrative Center.

Although Mehle does not work in the front where people see his face, everyone sees his results. Mehle has worked at Moorpark for 24 years, but still maintains a humble attitude.

“As long as I enjoy what I am doing and can physically do the job I have no reason to retire,” said Mehle.

Mehle’s job involves running the print shop. He gets requests from all over the district to print material ranging from flyers to agendas.

Mehle said the college has taught him everything he knows. He was the very first graduate in the graphic arts program at Moorpark and six months after he graduated got the job he has now. He stopped working at the college in 1980 to open his own print shop in Santa Paula, but returned in 1991 and has been here ever since.

“Nothing now is like what it used to be,” said Mehle. “We had the darkroom, we were developing all our own film … eventually it transitioned into … digital.”

The fact that Mehle is not an instructor at Moorpark College does not stop him from having an impact on students’ lives. A couple years ago, Mehle took it upon himself to help Thomas Sheiter, a student worker from Mehle’s print shop, to obtain a job at Columbia University in New York.

“It is just the friendships you make and the impact on students’ lives that is really rewarding,” said Mehle.

Mehle contacted the print shop at Columbia and see if they had a job available for Sheiter, which contributed to his current employment there.

Mehle has proven to be a valuable resource for the Moopark College community. Luis Sanchez, the president of Moorpark College, believes Mehle is well deserving of the award.

“[Mehle] works in the background, but day after day delivers outstanding work with a smile on his face,” said Sanchez.