MARQUETTE — Upper Peninsula Health Plan has named Steve Wiig the 2020 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. Wiig was one of those “Caught ‘Cha” winners, as well as Employee of the First Quarter.

When asked what it meant to receive this honor, Wiig said: ” I am very grateful to have been voted for UPHP’s Employee of the Year. It was a challenging year, but I’m glad I was able to contribute to UPHP’s continuing service to our community throughout the pandemic.”

Much of Wiig’s success can be attributed to his work ethic.

“Steve always goes above and beyond in his duties, often working off-hours to ensure our network infrastructure is working properly,” said UPHP IT Network and Infrastructure Manager Brad Perala. “This was especially evident during March when we moved 90% of UPHP staff to a telecommuter work setting. Steve put in many long hours getting equipment set up and assisting staff and without his dedication and hard work, we would not have been able to get there. He is truly deserving of the Employee of the Year award.”

Wiig has been with the UPHP Network Infrastructure team for nearly 10 years and was recently promoted to Security Administrator. He has a bachelor of science degree in business computer information systems.

In his free time, Wiig enjoys spending time with his family and working on cars.