Shauna Gummersall built her career around showing up for others.
As a national security administrative assistant at the Idaho National Laboratory, Gummersall has supported her INL team for nearly a decade. She works with INL’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Response and Readiness team. The team leverages the laboratory’s nuclear expertise and integrated capabilities to provide practical training and research that helps the military, first responders and law enforcement safely handle potential radiological incidents.
Members of this team also volunteer their expertise at some of the nation’s largest National Special Security Events, which require radiological detection and response capabilities. These events include presidential inaugurations, the Super Bowl and the upcoming World Cup.
But Gummersall’s commitment to service extends beyond her work at INL.
She was recently recognized with the 2026 Simplot Games Distinguished Service Award for her long-standing volunteer service supporting the Simplot Games, one of North America’s premier high school indoor track and field events.
She’s not the first INL employee to earn that honor. In 2025, Specific Manufacturing Capability (SMC) project specialist Tim Richardson earned the award. A commitment to teamwork and service is shared by many INL employees, both on the job and in the communities where they live.
Making a difference
For Gummersall, the Simplot Games award reflects something larger than a single event.
“It really strengthens community connections,” she said. “It’s one of those events that reminds you how much good can happen when a community rallies around something positive.”
Held annually in Pocatello, Idaho, the Simplot Games bring more than 2,000 high school athletes from across the country and around the world to eastern Idaho. The event depends on hundreds of volunteers to run smoothly. Gummersall has been part of that effort since she was a teenager.
At the games, she works at the information desk helping check in volunteers, answer questions and assist athletes, coaches and families throughout the event. She values the relationships built over time and the opportunity to support the athletes each year.
“It’s about the people,” Gummersall said. “Seeing families volunteer year after year. You’ll see a dad checking in his three kids to volunteer or couples who keep coming back together. Not to mention seeing the kids that compete be excited to be there, seeing their talent and seeing them succeed.”
People first
That people-first mindset also guides her work at INL.
“I work with really talented people who genuinely care about doing a great job for our mission partners,” Gummersall said. “I hope they understand how much I respect them.”
The parallels between her work at INL and her volunteer efforts are clear to Gummersall. She emphasized how INL values teamwork and treating people with respect, a mindset she takes with her when she volunteers.
“Whether I’m at work or at the Simplot Games, I try to be helpful, patient and supportive,” she said.
Others across the laboratory share that dedication to service.
INL employees supporting the community
Gummersall is one of many employees who extend their commitment to service beyond the workplace. Among them is Tim Richardson, who has been with the laboratory since 2014. Richardson understands service at INL and in the community.
“I love what we do at SMC,” Richardson said. “There’s so much pride in the work we do to protect our soldiers.”
Like Gummersall, Richardson is also a long-time volunteer at the Simplot Games. He began helping out while still in high school, and after taking a break during his college years, he started again in 2010. Richardson volunteers as a play-by-play announcer.
“It’s always so much fun to watch athletes who are willing to participate and push themselves regardless of where their skill level is,” he said. “As an announcer it’s so much fun to help get the crowd more involved and energize the athletes.”
After receiving the Simplot Games Distinguished Service Award in 2025, Richardson was nominated for the INL Lab Director Community Award for his volunteer service throughout the community — both as a track and field announcer and as the coordinator of an INL fundraiser called Christmas for Soldiers that he leads out of SMC.
“I’ve built relationships with local business owners who know why I show up each year and who I represent and it’s always a positive reception because they know the impact that INL has in our community,” he said. “Wearing the INL logo out in the community and receiving positive interactions really instills pride within me for where I work and who I get to work with.”
The commitment demonstrated by Gummersall, Richardson and many other INL employees who volunteer at the Simplot Games and other local organizations reflects the laboratory’s broader culture of teamwork, service and community engagement.
Learn more about INL’s national security mission here.
