On May 6 -- coinciding with Public Service Recognition Week -- county elected officials, department heads and staff gathered in the board room of the Multnomah Building to celebrate the excellent work of a select group of county employees.
The 2015 Employee Recognition Awards honored individual staff, as well as county teams in the areas of: Diversity and Cultural Competency; Employee Innovation; Outstanding Team Achievement; Superior Public Service to Internal and External Customers; Sustainability; and the Committee’s Choice.
“It takes thousands of employees to deliver the diverse array of services that Multnomah County provides,” said Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury as she kicked off Wednesday’s celebration. “Every job is essential. Every employee – no matter where you work or what job you hold – makes a positive impact on our community every single day.”
Chair’s Excellence Award
The 2015 Chair’s Excellence Award was presented to the River Patrol Unit of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. As suggested by the name, the River Patrol Unit watches over the county’s rivers, lakes, shorelines and islands, providing public safety services to those who use the waters for residential, recreational and commercial purposes.
“The work they have done this year in particular has really resonated with me,” said Chair Kafoury before presenting the team with their award on Wednesday.
When it comes to the topic of transient boaters in the county’s waterways Kafoury said it’s easy to pass judgment. But the River Patrol Unit does more than meets the eye, often times helping transient boaters access shelters and other resources.
Chair Kafoury relayed a story to the crowd in which Deputy Sheriff Todd Shanks and other members of the River Patrol Unit recently helped get a pregnant, transient boater couple into secure, permanent housing.
“We're thankful for having an opportunity to make a difference in others' lives,” said Lieutenant Travis Gullberg at the ceremony. “Often we don’t often get praised for that.”
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office River Patrol Unit:
- Stephen Dangler
- Travis Gullberg
- Mark Herron
- Juan Hidalgo
- Bret Lort
- Kevin McAfee
- Scott McDowell
- Scott McLellan
- Rod Nuzum
- Ronald Osborn
- Todd Shanks
- Jason Tyrus
- Fred Washburn
- Wayne Lofton
Superior Public Service to Internal Customers Award
The Superior Public Service to Internal Customers Award was presented by Chair Kafoury to Katia Perez of the Department of County Human Services’ Developmental Disabilities Services Division.
Perez, a case manager, was recognized for her role in keeping a housing program afloat, when funding for the position that managed it fell through. Perez took on the work of managing the program, while maintaining her workload as a case manager.
As a result of Perez taking on those dual roles, other case managers still had access to the $350,000 housing budget that helped them connect county residents in need with rent and utility assistance, motel vouchering, and more.
Upon accepting her Superior Public Service to Internal Customers Award, Perez humbly stated: “It’s an honor to work for Multnomah County. This is my home.”
Diversity and Cultural Competency Award
Commissioner Loretta Smith presented the Diversity and Cultural Competency Award to a Multnomah County Library outreach specialist who simply goes by the name “Byrd.”
“Byrd uses innovative and unusual outreach programs to promote a love of literacy in Multnomah County in general, and more specifically, in Portland's African American community,” noted Smith.
Innovative programs including “Beauty and the Book” where Byrd worked to bring books into local hair salons for the benefit and enjoyment of hair clients and their children during the summer.
In honor of Black History Month in 2015, Byrd launched a social media campaign called “Black History Month: More Than Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks” to shine a light on lesser known historic figures in the Black community.
Superior Public Service to External Customers Award
The Superior Public Service to External Customers Award was awarded to Reid Craig of the Rockwood branch of the Multnomah County Library for his work in getting immigrant and refugee children the homework help they need -- right at their local library branch.
Since its February 2014 inception, Craig’s brainchild, the Homework Club has had more than 600 homework sessions, with more than 50 teen volunteers speaking 15 different languages giving younger students homework assistance.
“What happens to the heart when you see a teen who is relatively new to the country themselves helping a child who is brand new to the country... It’s magic,” said Craig after accepting his award.
“Thanks to Reid, this program is making a huge impact in this community by providing tools for success in school to children who are in the poorest neighborhood in Portland,” said Commissioner Diane McKeel.
Outstanding Team Achievement
Commissioner Smith presented the Outstanding Team Achievement Award, which was given to the Benefits Online Open Enrollment Team.
The Benefits Online Open Enrollment Team was honored for their work in digitizing and streamlining the process that allows county employees to sign up or change their benefit selections.
Prior to the switch, the process was completely manual and required the printing, assembling, and mailing of large packets. A process that took several weeks, and a large amount of paper and postage.
“I’m so excited!” said Benefits operations manager Tami Mahrt, upon accepting the award with the rest of the Benefits Online Open Enrollment Team. “We don’t have to stuff packets anymore! The whole county wins!”
Benefits Online Open Enrollment Team:
- Siddharth Bansal
- Judy Campau
- Tony Chandler
- Arun Chintalapati
- Chris Clancy
- Sana Gautam
- Jeannine Herrera
- Tiffany Hsiao
- Christopher Jam
- Mohammed Khalid
- Tami Mahrt
- Jeremy O'Leary
- Brig Otis
- James Posko
- Ivy Scazzafavo
- Kristin Wray
Sustainability Awards
One individual employee and one team were recognized for their work in employing sustainable practices at Multnomah County.
Briana Farmer with the Department of Community Justice’s Assessment and Referral Center was presented with her Sustainability Award by Commissioner Jules Bailey.
“Briana works for the Assessment and Referral Center, which provides services to help offenders, especially special needs offenders, successfully integrate into the community,” said Bailey. "Many clients are without income, food or other necessities."
Part of Farmer’s job is to put together care packages made up of toiletries and food for people under the supervision of the Department of Community Justice.
Farmer made it her personal mission to make these packages healthier and more sustainable. Plastic bags were replaced with reusable bags. Candy was replaced with raisins and other healthier options. Food that consistently wasn’t being eaten was eliminated from the packages to reduce waste.
The other winner of the Sustainability Award was the Sustainable Surplus Property Network. The network -- which is comprised of county employees from across the organization -- implemented a pilot project that makes reuse and recycling the first course of action when it comes to addressing surplus county property.
Thanks to the work of the Sustainable Surplus Property Network, the county is no longer paying to store unused office furniture, but instead donating it to other government agencies and nonprofits.
Commissioner Bailey praised the group for having collected more than 53,000 pounds of surplus property, 98 percent of which is now back in use elsewhere.
When speaking on behalf of the Sustainable Surplus Property Network, purchasing manager Brian R. Smith stressed the importance of employees being good stewards of county resources.
“It’s not just what we do, but how we do it,” he said.
Sustainable Surplus Property Network:
- Xingwu Chai
- Carlyn Choate
- Mike Crank
- Michael Crocker
- Dan Distler
- Danny Doran
- Tony Dornbusch
- Stuart Farmer
- Lee Fleming
- Julia Fraser
- Cathy Gates
- Mark Gustafson
- Cindy Hahn
- Mark Herron
- Jerry Jelusich
- Stan Johnson
- Heidi Leibbrandt
- Esther Lugalia
- Tim Lynch
- Michael McBride
- Jennifer Mundy
- Rajiv Nair
- Aimee Ortiz
- Andrez Posada
- Shawn Postera
- Lora Poythress
- Kevin Reid-Rice
- Karen Rhein
- Emilie Schulhoff
- Brian Smith
- Dan Swerbilov
- Jennifer Tomasko
- John Wasiutynski
- Charlene Willett
- Barry Zimmerman
- Amber Zwetsch
Employee Innovation Award
The Employee Innovation Award was presented by Commissioner Diane McKeel to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office’s Green Hornet Wilderness Law Enforcement Services and Trail Rescue Team.
The team is a specialized unit that responds to people who are missing or distressed in the Columbia River Gorge region. Members of the team must be in good physical condition and available to respond to search and rescue operations during specific times.
“The local fire department wasn’t trained in trail rescue, and the EMT’s must stay in closer proximity to their ambulance, so The Green Hornet Wilderness Law Enforcement Services and Trail Rescue Team was conceived,” explained McKeel.
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office’s Green Hornet Wilderness Law Enforcement Services and Trail Rescue Team:
- Monte Reiser
- Kent Krumpschmidt
- Timothy Wonacott
- Aaron Sieczkowski
- Jessy Brown
- Rafael Cortada
- Kevin Baird
- David Jackson
Committee’s Choice Award
The Committee’s Choice Award is given to a nominee that the 2015 Employee Recognition Award Scoring Committee believes embodies the essence of the Employee Recognition Awards.
The winners of this award are the Convergence Project Core Team members, who are responsible for implementing the county’s new Voice Over Internet Protocol phone system.
“Between December 2012, and June 2015, this team was tasked with designing, building, implementing, and transitioning 83 county buildings to the new phone system,” said Commissioner Bailey, introducing the group.
The Convergence Project Core Team even worked some Friday nights and weekends to make sure that the transition to the new system did not impact other county employees’ ability to make and receive phone calls. Because of the group’s dedication the transition to the new phone system finished four months ahead schedule.
Convergence Project Core Team:
- Richard Atlansky
- Laura McNeel
- Jackie Brown
- Darlene Montgomery
- Rodney Chin
- Arnett Mix
- Tamara Williams
- Melvin Blanchard
- Katy Morrow
- Hagen Amen
- Karl Backstrand
- Jane Williams
- Anne Berry
- Tracey Massey
- Daniel Cole
