Nannette Alford of Bogalusa was recently named among the 12 winners of the 2017 Charles E. Dunbar Jr. Career Service Award, according to officials with the Louisiana Civil Service League.

The award is presented to employees in a classified merit system who have distinguished themselves by service over and above the call of duty. It is presented by the Louisiana Civil Service League, and the winners were recently announced by Daniel E. Sullivan, executive vice president of the league.

Alford is the Human Resources Supervisor at B. B. “Sixty” Rayburn Correctional Center, Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The award was named for the founder of the league and co-author of the original civil service law in Louisiana. Alford was nominated by RCC Warden Bobby Tanner.

The annual luncheon was held on Thursday, Jan. 25, at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton New Orleans. More than 800 state and local classified civil service employees have been honored with this prestigious award for their distinguished service since the award’s inception in 1958.

Alford has spent her entire civil service career at RCC in Angie, beginning in 1983 as an accounting clerk. She reportedly excelled in her duties and was quick to take advantage of training opportunities available to her.

Alford transferred from the facility’s business office to the personnel office in 1989. She was eventually promoted to the position of Human Resource Manager in 1991.

She was detailed to Corrections Assistant Warden 2 for three months in 2015 during the temporary absence of the incumbent of that position. As assistant warden, Alford supervised the operations of the business office, maintenance department, IT department, and personnel office. She retired in July of 2017, with more than 33 years of service to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

During her career, Alford received numerous facility and departmental honors. In 2010, she received Honorable Mention for the Dunbar Career Service Award.

Alford was known for being a stickler to adherence to departmental regulations and institutional polices. She was extensively involved in drafting the facility’s current policies regarding personnel matters. Her office has reportedly received excellent reports over the years from various auditors, which are a testament to her leadership.

Alford has made it her priority to locate and hire the best possible candidates for our positions and to ensure that each employee has had the opportunity to succeed professionally in a very demanding career. The results of her efforts are evident in the professional workforce our facility has maintained over the years.

Alford made sure that the rights of our employees’ were protected and they had an opportunity for fair and impartial consideration of their qualifications for promotions and/or new assignments. She was a vocal proponent for the men and women she had interviewed and hired to begin their careers as Louisiana civil servants.

Alford was involved in just about every charitable event held during her career. She coordinated the facility’s semi-annual blood drives and was an active member of the facility’s Relay for Life team in support of the American Cancer Society.

She is a member of the First Baptist Church of Bogalusa. She and her late husband, C. A. Alford, have one grandson, Peyton, the son of her daughter Stacey and son-in-law, John Halley.