As part of their Employee Recognition Program, the City of The Dalles gave awards to three different city employees at their regular city council meeting on April 11.
These awards are given out annually in three categories: Excellent customer service, innovative thinking, and being a team player. According to Mayor Richard Mays at the meeting, both employees and city council members can nominate any employee in one of the three areas. The nominations are then reviewed and the winners selected by the mayor, city manager, and human resources director.
“While all nominations were very strong, the winners were unanimously selected by the review group,” Mays said.
Public Works’ Regulatory Compliance Manager Jill Hoyenga received the Team Player award. Hoyenga was nominated by Assistant Public Works Director Eric Hansen for her work with the city, including taking on additional work including a risk and resilience assessment and emergency response plan. Because those projects were intended to be contracted, Hoyenga saved the city an estimated $50,000, according to Hansen’s nomination.
Officer Sam Perez received the Excellent Customer Service award. Perez was nominated by The Dalles Chief of Police Tom Worthy for his positive and proactive approach to taking on assignments. According to the nomination, Perez often interacts with and works to find solutions for members of the homeless community in The Dalles. He also worked in the identification assistance program, helping those without identification receive it, giving them more opportunities for housing and employment.
City Clerk Izetta Grossman received the Innovative Thinker award, and was nominated by Hoyenga for her leadership in developing the new city website. According to the nomination, Grossman’s “style of collaborative leadership has boosted the (website) team to the magic place of the whole being the sum of the parts.” Grossman was also commended for including the website team in the contractor selection process and having a clear vision for the new website, which was able to be executed.
Both Hoyenga and Perez had received their awards in the mail before the April 11 council meeting, but Grossman was awarded in-person at the meeting.
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