December 2019
Scottsdale honors its employees
Improving a park and creating a butterfly exhibit. Developing a system to provide faster medical service to Phoenix Open attendees. Helping the homeless learn about and locate resources.
Those are just some of the actions over the past year by Scottsdale employees honored for outstanding performance and commitment to the Scottsdale community.
In all, 78 employees and one volunteer were honored Dec. 18 at Scottsdale’s annual Employee Awards Program at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The winners were among more than 420 employees nominated in several categories.
Here’s a summary of those honored and their contributions:
Herbert R. Drinkwater Award
Terry Erickson, Parks and Recreation Manager, retired
, retired. Mayor W. J. “Jim” Lane selects the recipient. Herb Drinkwater combined an infectious smile and easy manner with foresight and a dedication to carrying out big ideas for the benefit of the community. The Drinkwater Award recognizes an employee who also makes a big impact in service to the community.
Terry dedicated her life to the Scottsdale organization for more than four decades – 42.42 years to be exact! She started as a part-time recreation leader at Vista del Camino working with the local Pascua Yaqui community. That work resulted in Terry volunteering outside of work hours cleaning and monitoring many community areas – including the Paiute Community Center and park, which she continues to monitor to this day. She has hired, mentored and helped promote numerous young adults throughout the city’s rec centers to expand their job opportunities in public safety, human services, libraries and public works. Along the way, Terry encouraged and trained many to understand the value of customer service and the call to serve and volunteer within the community.
Bill Donaldson Award
Jody Pierce, Parks and Recreation Manager
City Manager Jim Thompson selects the recipient. This award is named for the city manager who served from 1965-1971. In less than a decade, Donaldson was credited with transforming the culture of city government and fostering a spirit of innovation that still holds true today.
Jody manages the parks maintenance teams, as well as more than 500 acres of medians and rights-of-way. His job involves scheduling maintenance at 42 parks and ensuring that 70 athletic fields are in good playing condition. Jody also works with capital projects and street improvements to make sure disturbed areas are quickly and properly put back together. With Jody at the helm, it’s no wonder Scottsdale looks so good! Assistant City Manager Bill Murphy says when he needs someone reliable for an assignment, he just dials “P” for Pierce because he knows that Jody will answer the call and the job will be done right.
The Scottsdale Water Direct Potable Reuse Team
The People’s Choice Award
The Scottsdale Water Direct Potable Reuse Team
In drought-prone states like Arizona, water scarcity is a real issue, which makes it critical to develop more sustainable water sources, like recycled water. And that’s what Scottsdale Water’s been doing for more than 20 years at the Advanced Water Treatment Plant – recharging ultrapure water into the drinking water aquifer. While this water isn’t for drinking, it’s actually treated to a water quality standard that exceeds bottled water. That changed earlier this year though, when Scottsdale Water received the state’s first permit allowing them to provide potable water for human consumption. As for public perception, breweries have already tapped the beer made with the recycled water and have reported great customers reviews and universal acceptance.
Tim Worth, maintenance worker II.
Thanks to You Award
Tim Worth, Maintenance Worker II
The Scottsdale City Council selects the recipient. The “Thanks to You” award recognizes employees for providing such excellent service that residents contacted the city to say thank you. Several years ago, this resident was inspired to start walking in Vista del Camino park before work to get into better shape. That’s where he came across our winner almost every time he walked – always receiving a smile and wave. Over the next few months, the resident reported a few things in the park that needed to be fixed, like a burned-out light and a buckled sidewalk – and they were fixed quickly. According to this resident, “This employee is always cheerful, approachable and working hard. It is obvious that he takes great pride in his work and has a strong sense of ownership. His consistent service and dedication deserve to be recognized.”
Show Caring and Compassion for Others Award
Terrence Alt, Library Assistant
Scottsdale library front line employees work with people impacted by homelessness daily and wanted to help. One employee, Terrence, went above and beyond by developing “Coffee and Conversation.” This program encourages people experiencing homelessness to grab a cup of coffee while learning about resources available to assist them. People have been able to get the help they need, and one participant was able to secure a job after learning about various opportunities.
Jody Pierce
Listen, Communicate, Take Action
Jody Pierce, Parks and Recreation Manager
After months of discussion to find an appropriate way of addressing resident concerns over panhandling along city streets, a staff team developed a campaign featuring an updated website, a resource list and signs placed throughout the community encouraging folks to help social service agencies rather than hand money out the window. But the team had no way to set up the signs and regularly monitor them. In stepped Jody Pierce. He’s the kind of employee who says, “hand it over, I’ll take care of it.” And he did. Jody and his team manage the placement – and sometimes re-placement — of signs. Residents have commended the city saying the signs are working to deter panhandling at popular intersections.
Community Development Block Grant Audit Team
Be Accountable and Act with Integrity Award
Community Development Block Grant Audit Team
This team developed innovative solutions and implemented best practices to ensure funds are administered in compliance with Housing and Urban Development’s stringent requirements. Thanks to its efforts, a recent audit resulted in no findings, concerns or suggestions. The report determined that the Community Assistance Office has proper comprehensive program policies and procedures in place.
Team: Gabrielle Alexander, Chad Beougher, Justin Boyd, Diane Ethington, Jack Miller and Michele Payakovich
Rotary Park Enhancement and Butterfly Garden Project Team
Collaborate as a Team Award
Rotary Park Enhancement and Butterfly Garden Project Team
This city team quickly worked with more than 100 volunteers from Republic West Services on an Operation Fix-It project to plant 70 trees, create a butterfly/hummingbird garden, and paint facilities and ramadas at Rotary Park. The project resulted in a lasting legacy for future generations to appreciate.
Team: Sita Barge, Rudolph Botello, Jeremy Hildebrandt, Michelle Holmes, Bob Mansfield, Brett Nohren, Mark Ortega, Felipe Perez, Jody Pierce, Taylor Reynolds, Gavin Skaggs, John Spinck, Ron Steffen, Lance Tudor and Adam Yaron
Human Resources Leadership Team
Focus on Quality Customer Service Award
Human Resources Leadership Team
Prior to 2015, the Human Resources Department leadership team had significant turnover, and it lacked the trust and confidence of staff. The team started mending broken relationships by individually meeting with and surveying employees to understand their needs and how HR could improve. Many suggestions were implemented, including updating city policies and publishing written processes for transparency; establishing meaningful metrics and measures for accountability; networking with external stakeholders and business resources for innovation and best practices; and ingraining the ideal of superior customer service to improve service delivery.
Team: Lauran Beebe, Donna Brown, Vernon Goode, Noel Wessel
Plan and Innovate for the Future Award
Team: David Getz, Mele Koneya, Chris Lechner, Andrew McDonald, Rob Rucker and Kerry Swick
The Waste Management Phoenix Open can see crowds up to 250,000 people in a single day – that’s like packing the entire population of Scottsdale into one golf course on one day. The sheer numbers became an ever-increasing challenge to dispatch medical teams to emergencies occurring at the tournament. This team created a GIS-based digital map that provides real-time location information to more than 25 city paramedic teams staffing the event. This allows dispatchers to quickly select the closest appropriate team to better respond to emergency calls.
Learn and Grow Continuously Award
Scottsdale Water Security, Safety and Training Team
Scottsdale Water’s extensive training, safety and certification program was fra Awardgmented, and not all priorities were being properly addressed. Scottsdale Water leadership worked with Human Resources to reclassify two existing positions to create security, safety and training coordinator positions. These two positions are responsible for helping protect Scottsdale Water employees, contractors, customers and infrastructure. Jeff and Kerry have created a program with remarkable results, including: securing every facility throughout the system with electronic locks; dramatically reducing the frequency and severity of both injuries and vehicular accidents; addressing multiple potential safety hazards identified by employees; ensuring every certified employee has maintained his/her certifications and met the contract training hour requirements; and conducting an assessment of upgrades to the fire protection systems within the Water Campus.
Team: Jeff Fritsch and Kerry Leib
Respect the Individual Award
Maurice Tatlow
Maurice approaches work and service with 100 percent integrity – to all, all the time. He conducts critical job duties overseeing the groundwater well systems. Maurice recently was overseeing a project involving a private development with lots of players. Some of the people were extremely difficult to work with, outright unprofessional and rude. How did Maurice deal with them? The same as he deals with everyone – with the utmost professional attitude and integrity. His respect of others leads to successful work teams, successful projects and satisfied citizens and customers.
William P. Schrader Volunteer Impact Award
Bob Fowler, Scottsdale Library
Longtime volunteer Bob has meticulously sifted through photographs at the Scottsdale Historical Society to identify the very best historic photographs to be added to the Scottsdale Public Library’s digital photo collection. He has contributed 144 volunteer hours to the library, and he has scanned and cataloged more than 1,500 photographs. The collection of photos Bob has added to the Scottsdale Heritage Connection are the most prized pictures in the collection of more than 10,000 photographs.
Holly Walter | Public Affairs Supervisor
City of Scottsdale | Office of Communication
480-312-2655 | hwalter@ScottsdaleAZ.gov
Recent Comments