This past weekend, Alice and I had the pleasure of attending the International Nanny Association conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The much anticipated honoring of the INA Service Award Pin recipients took place 
Saturday morning, and we are pleased to present to you the 10 and 15 year recipients.
10 Year …
Bob King
Bob King is an attorney and founder of Legally Nanny®, the leading law firm providing legal and tax advice to household employers and domestic employment and homecare agencies.
When Bob and his wife Jennifer decided to hire a nanny for their daughter, they were determined to hire someone legally. However even as a labor & employment attorney, Bob spent countless hours researching the complicated federal and state statutes and regulations governing household employees. Frustratingly, no one could provide all the California and federal legal and tax information in one easy to understand place and for one flat fee. Thus, the concept of Legally Nanny was born. Bob founded the firm on the premise that people should be able to hire nannies, caregivers and other household employees legally and without unnecessary effort and expense.
Bob is a former INA Board Member and has shared his expertise as a contributing writer for INA newsletters and as a speaker at INA conferences. Bob graduated from Georgetown University Magna Cum Laude, studied at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, on a Rotary Fellowship, and received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School with Honors. Legally Nanny assists domestic employment agencies nationwide with business, dispute resolution, and labor & employment matters. Bob also serves as the General Counsel for the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies (APNA) and as an expert witness in household employment litigation.
This year marks Legally Nanny’s 10th year in business. Bob and Jennifer have come a long way since hiring their nanny and creating the spark for Legally Nanny, and they look forward to continuing to work in the household employment industry they love.
Cindy Augustine
Cindy Augustine has been working with children since she was a teenager. Cindy, who was born and raised in San Jose, CA. began volunteering in a daycare center when she was sixteen years old. She then worked for the YWCA West Valley Daycare’s in San Jose, CA for seven years before becoming a nanny. She loved working with children, but wanted to become a nanny to be able to care for just a couple children at a time, which allows a more one on one relationship. She was working for an amazing family in California that moved to New York for business reasons. They asked her to move to New York with them and she decided to go. Three years later when the position ended she decided to stay in New York.
Cindy’s creative talents enable her to create a fun environment for her charges. Cindy was involved in musical theater in her teen years, performed four musicals a year with Children’s Theater of San Jose. She also has enjoyed helping out backstage when her charges take dance. She also has taught past charges to tap dance.
She has been described by one of her employers as being kind, supportive, creative and always helpful.
Cindy accompanied one of her past employer’s families on a week-long vacation with another family. The other mother, a well-known writer, was so impressed with Cindy that she published an article about her. Cindy feels blessed to have had the opportunity to have worked with such amazing families and children. They all remind her everyday why she chose to be a nanny. She looks forward to the hugs she is greeted with every time she goes to work. Cindy is very proud to be a professional nanny and looks forward to the adventures that being a nanny will bring.
15 year
Joanne Barrow
Joanne was born to a small and loving family in 1970 and raised in a rural and close knit community in East Sussex, England (about 60 miles south of London). A natural and eager caretaker from a very young age, Joanne was keen to get started on her path of childcare and signed up for her first‘ mothers helper’ role at just 10 years of age for her next door neighbors 3year old son, Steven. She knew then and there that taking care of little ones was where her heart was happiest and a decade later took that dream to the USA to fulfill an exciting career as a Nanny, currently spanning almost 23 years. While working as an Au Pair for a wonderful NJ family with 3 young children, Joanne took courses in Child Day Care Management and First Aid and CPR before further extending that training to become an Emergency Medical Technician where she volunteered with EMS in SomersetCounty for the remainder of her time in NJ.
A voracious reader and learner of all child related topics Joanne became self and professionally taught adding diplomas in Children’s Etiquette and Butling and Household Management to her resume. These qualifications paired with her love and passion for private service and childcare made her a well-rounded candidate for family care and opened many wonderful opportunities as a result.
Joanne considers herself a Professional Career Nanny, dedicated to supporting families and their children in development of a strong and positive self image, all the while enhancing their ability to solve problems, explore and experience a wide variety of interests, activities and social interaction and to help them gain and polish healthy social skills.
Joanne feels the most gratifying part due to the longevity of her career has been the lasting bonds that she has formed with each family and the chance she’s been given to see the children grow up into the exceptional young teenagers and adults they are all becoming. She feels her life as a Nanny has been nothing short of a gift and a privilege and remains in close touch with all her families to this day.
Maryann Kamitian
Maryann Kamitian relocated from New Hampshire to Phoenix, Arizona in November of 2011 in search of new challenges. She has a strong network of friends and family who believe in and support her.
Maryann has been working with children since she was a teenager. Her first job as a teacher’s assistant in a pre-school moved into working as a substitute teacher in the same pre-school. She moved on to a daycare and filled many roles from assistant to head teacher.
In 1998 while she was enrolled in an Early Childhood Degree Program, she decided she wanted to become a Professional Career Nanny. She has been a Professional Nanny for 15 years! Maryann has worked long term for three wonderful families .She has cared for children of all ages including newborns. The fun and exciting part about her job is that each day is always different. This is why she loves this profession.
Over the past few years Maryann has enjoyed caring for more newborns in her positions. She says the calmness and trust a baby can have for you is unique and comforting. Maryann decided to start researching specialized newborn care. She felt that was really the next step in her career. She soon realized there was a name for she was looking into: Newborn Care Specialist. Maryann took a Newborn Specialist training class before moving to Phoenix.
Shortly after relocating Maryann found her first client as a Newborn Care Specialist and is now working for a family with a newborn boy! They family felt that the combination of her 20 years of child care experience and her personality would made her a perfect fit for their family. They also felt that her longevity at previous jobs showed her commitment and dedication to the profession.
Maryann is a strong teacher and nurturer along with being a self-starter and an excellent communicator. She feels these are all extremely important in the child care field. Maryann has a huge heart and loves to give to others. She enjoys teaching children new things, and helping to promote learning at their own pace. Maryann hopes to continue as a Newborn Care Specialist educating and providing quality care to many families. She continues to set professional goals that she hopes to achieve. She knows that she still has much to learn on this new journey.
Jocelynn Yelverton
Growing up Jocelynn loved the movies Mary Poppins and the The Sound of Music. She also loved the book Eloise at the Plaza. I guess you could say that every day since she was a little girl, she was destined to become a nanny. Even though none of these fictional stories and characters reflect how nannies and families are today, she appreciated what nannies did for the children and families as a whole.
Jocelynn grew up in North Carolina in a family of four. She is the eldest of two children. When she was ten years old, she babysat for the first time for her next door neighbor when she went for her weekly grocery store run. Soon, she became the neighborhood babysitter.
When she attended North Carolina State University, she began to pursue her dream of becoming a nanny. She found a position that lasted even beyond her college years. Once this position ended she learned there were resources for nannies. A local placement agency referred her to the Triangle Area Nanny Group. (TANG) If it were not for this support group, she would not be the nanny that she is today.
TANG kept us updated on local classes, events, and other helpful resources. The founder of TANG really wanted to educate nannies about the ever changing industry. TANG introduced Jocelynn to nanny conference and she has attended the INA conference for many years. She is also a former member of NAN and a current member of NAN.
Over the last 15 years as a professional she has cared for newborns through teenagers. Jocelynn is very comfortable caring for children of any age. She also has experience taking care of multiples and children with learning disabilities. When interviewing for potential families she looks for a family where she feel as if she is an extended family member. Taking a job as a professional nanny places you in an intimate job setting. The bonds you form last for a lifetime. Jocelynn has worked as a part-time nanny, full-time nanny, a nanny/household manager, full charge nanny, as well as a traveling nanny, and live-in nanny.
Ultimately, childcare is not just a job to Jocelynn, it is definitely her passion. She cannot imagine another profession that would make her as happy!
Next week, we’ll meet the 20, 25 and 30 year recipients!
INA is headed to Los Angeles, CA next year, (dates to be announced), but it’s never too early to start working on your pin application. Find out how you can be honored with your own INA Service Award Pin and we hope to see you next year!
Kellie Geres
Regarding Nannies Development Team