Diane Krier earns WOW award from MTSNA

Diane Krier earned recognition this year for her work as the Lincoln Schools cafeteria manager and food director with the Wonderful Outstanding Worker award from the Montana School Nutrition Association.

Patrice O'Loughlin, the awards chairperson for the MTSNA, made the trip up to Lincoln Friday Oct. 9 to present Krier with the award for "exceptional service and devotion to Montana students," and that, according to the MTSNA website, "recognizes any school food service employee in Montana with a lot of heart."

O'Loughlin said the Julie Leister WOW Award is one of just three state awards given to school nutrition specialists each year.

The award included a certificate, a personalized apron identifying Krier as an MTSNA award winner and a one-of-a-kind handmade knife.

"This knife is very special to me." Krier said. Leister passed away in 2015 after a battle with cancer. "When I showed up for conference the year she passed, I had no idea she passed. I was devastated. I knew her, but I didn't know her well. I'd been in the school food (service) as long as she had. When she passed, they came up with this knife, this award."

Leister's father, Gerome Weinand, is the master knife smith who creates a knife each year for the award winner.

"Diane is the only one who gets that," O'Loughlin said.

"It's very close to my heart," Krier said.

Lincoln Schools Clerk Carol Williams nominated Krier for the honor, writing that "she is always willing to go the extra mile." Williams credited her with "going above and beyond" by implementing healthy preschool breakfast and lunches, implementing a fresh fruit and vegetable program and even working to create a brownie batter hummus.

O'Loughlin, who works as the Nutrition's Director for Hardin Public Schools, said they

normally present the awards at the annual MTSNA conference in the summer, but since they didn't hold the conference this year, it took her a while to make it up here.

"Congratulations on years of dedicated service to the school ," O'Loughlin told Krier, who has worked at Lincoln Schools for 28 years.