UPHP Names Steve Heikkinen Employee of the Year
Marquette, MI – Upper Peninsula Health Plan (UPHP) proudly names Steve Heikkinen 2016 Employee of the Year. Each year, UPHP names an Employee of the Year from a pool of Employee of the Quarter and “Caught ‘Cha” candidates. Each Employee of the Quarter is nominated by their manager. The nominees are then reviewed and a winner is selected by the Senior Management team. UPHP employees also participate in a peer recognition program called “Caught ‘Cha”. This is an employee driven, incentive program in which all employees can write a “Caught ‘Cha” note and give it to someone they caught doing something great. Along with each Employee of the Quarter, the two highest “Caught ‘Cha” recipients each year are entered as candidates in a company-wide vote for Employee of the Year.
“I feel honored to have been voted Employee of the Year by my peers. I truly enjoy my job and am grateful to have the opportunity to utilize my skill-set and education as Facilities Coordinator. Diving into construction drawings and coordinating with vendors to maintain and improve the efficiency of our building is very rewarding,” said Steve.
Steve Heikkinen was born and raised in Negaunee, Michigan. He has a B.S. in Psychology from Northern Michigan University and a B.S. in Land Surveying from Michigan Technological University. Before joining UPHP, Steve previously worked at Engineering Consultants in Ishpeming for 17 years and at WLUC TV6 as a Production Manager for 17 years.
In November 2014, Steve began his career at UPHP as a Transportation Coordinator. In 2016, UPHP moved into a new 28,000 square foot building and Steve filled a new position, Facilities Coordinator. Steve was an essential part of the planning, construction, and successful move of UPHP’s staff to their new home at Liberty Way.
Steve’s supervisor, Melissa Holmquist, attributes his success in large part to his work ethic. “Steve is self-motivated, has a positive attitude, and successfully juggles multiple projects simultaneously. He is a true asset to UPHP,” said Holmquist, Chief Operations Officer.
“Steve stands out thanks to his tireless devotion to his job. His responsiveness to the needs of UPHP staff is commendable. He communicates issues that do arise efficiently and offers solutions to make sure everyone is on the same page,” said Dennis Smith, UPHP President and CEO.
About UPHP
Upper Peninsula Health Plan currently serves over 47,000 members across five product lines (Michigan Medicaid, Children with Special Health Care Services, Healthy Michigan Plan, MI Health Link, and Medicare Advantage) and its network exceeds 900 providers. Learn more at www.uphp.com.