If someone was counting the number of times I used the word “awesome” during the annual Employee Incentive and Recognition (EI&R) evening, they would have needed all their fingers and toes! It was just that kind of night.
And while awesome is a great word to describe the celebration, so would be inspiring, touching, and funny!
The theme of the event was “Building a Legacy of Service” and it was spot on! (Lillian Scott from the Executive Team submitted that idea. Congratulations Lillian!)
The entire evening was about the individual legacies our colleagues are building AND our combined legacy of service to the people of Pierce County! The elements of the celebration included: long-term service to our community; significant investments in leadership development; recognizing our newest Gold Leaders; and highlighting our 2024 Standing Ovation Award winners.
But there were also other aspects that revealed our legacy and who we are. First, I was excited to see retired Deputy Prosecutor Diane Clarkson in the audience. That she would join us for the evening is telling. Also, now retired but long-time EI&R Planning Committee member Kelvin Brown was not only back but still volunteering on the committee! And I particularly appreciated seeing so many spouses, partners and family members in the audience. It meant a lot to me that they were part of celebrating the tremendous work their loved ones are doing for our community.
Of course, it was only fitting that we used the event to give back to our community. The highly creative departmental “gift basket” raffle raised nearly $3,000 to the Tacoma Area Coalition for Individuals with Disabilities (TACID). Serving members of our community since 1980, TACID has a legacy of helping people overcome challenges and living their best lives! And the Planning & Public Works (PPW) M&O team won the coveted gift basket theme competition with their “Backyard Bonanza – Get Out and Play” submission.
Once again, PCTV’s expertise and creativity was on full display – not only supporting the evening with camera coverage reflected on the “big screen,” but their videos of the celebrants were exceptional – as you can see featured below.
So, here’s a glimpse of the awesome evening!
2024 Standing Ovation Award (SOA) Winners:
Vibrant Communities: The evening’s first SOA awards recognize employees whose actions made Pierce County a better place to live.
The team award was presented to “If You Can Eat It, We Can Compost It.” We are leading the state in reducing food waste in our landfills and associated methane gas production, and diverting that waste to be composted and sold as fertilizer!
Congratulations to Russell Cole, Karen Hultgren, Kari Ann Elling, and Michelle Kircher!
The Individual award for Vibrant Communities was given to Ken Rice, for “Excellence in Overcoming Rural Childcare Barriers.” Fire Marshal Ken Rice went above and beyond in helping community members work through the challenging regulations to safely establish a new childcare facility in rural Pierce County.
Effective Government
The Effective Government category highlights colleagues whose leadership made us better at serving our community.
The team award was presented to the Permit Workflow Improvement Project (WIP) who streamlined and simplified our processing of nearly 18,000 permits each year. Over 125 employees were part of the effort!
Congratulations to Sheryl Rhinehart, Debi Ross, Kevin Stender, Sean Gaffney, Tricia Bennon, Chris Carter, Rachel Foy, Christina Rohila, Brandon Smith, Cort O’Connor, Ray Clark, Bruce Wagner, and Jen Tetatzin.
Leaders lead – regardless of their formal work title. Case in point is Lisa Thornton! Despite being recently hired as the PPW Business & Financial Operations (BF&O) assistant manager, Lisa stepped up big time when her manager retired, helping her team to thrive.
Lisa also just earned her Silver Leadership Certification, too!
Entrepreneurial Climate
This award recognizes employees who typified the entrepreneurial spirit. They are innovators and leaders!
The Team Award for Entrepreneurial Climate went to the Trek at Tehaleh Mountain Bike Park team. Despite numerous legal, regulatory, and organizational hurdles, they partnered to create an exceptional 200-acre mountain bike park in North Pierce County for enthusiasts and beginners alike.
Congratulations to Kimberly Freeman, John Laughery, and Jason Whalen!
The individual award for Entrepreneurial Climate was given to Aaron Triano for “Pump Station Rebuilds.” Aaron has saved the County millions of dollars by performing full rebuilds of sewer pump stations that improved their operation, decreased maintenance, and improved safety! He also makes those around him better.
Great job, Aaron!
Executive’s Award
This year I chose to recognize a special effort that didn’t fit neatly into one of our three categories. The 2024 Executive’s Award recipients helped our community navigate an incredibly challenging time – the high-profile trial of the three Tacoma Police Department officers charged with the murder of Manny Ellis. Other communities have been devastated by such trials and we could not let that happen in Pierce County.
This group, led by Chris Gaddis and Amy Gillespie, made the trial process transparent and accessible, created partnerships and broadly engaged stakeholders, and prepared to protect our community from what could have happened.
The team that managed this important effort included scores of employees. However, the core team recognized with this special honor included Chris Gaddis, Chris Brown, Kayla Ayers Misty Robison, Jody Ferguson, Amy Gillespie, John Holdsworth, Ellen Lenk, Scott Novasky, Libby Catalinich, Mike Halliday, Kyle Schmidtke, Darren Moss, Carly Cappetto, Tony Messineo, Scott Mielcarek, Bruce Wagner, Brenen Profitt, Constance White, Gary Robinson, Karl Imlig, Steve Wamback, and Tom Heslin.
Milestone anniversaries
Can you imagine working at the same organization for 25, 30 or even 45 years? The cumulative impact for our community is incredible and we were happy to honor all our colleagues with milestone anniversaries. You can read the entire list here and I encourage you to enjoy the insights provided by long-time employees Deputy Todd Johnson, Superior Court Judge Phil Sorenson, Maintenance Tech Vic Young, and Corrections Major Steve Jones. Between them they have 145 years of service to the residents of Pierce County – awesome!
Gold Leaders
Congratulations to the following colleagues who recently earned their Gold Certification. They have committed more than 80 hours to strengthening their skills and inspiring others! Way to go, Andina Johnson, Andrea Clay, Brandy Fish, Chris Lundquist, Christine Tudor, Deborah Anderson, Heather De la Bretoniere, Kim Eisenbacher, Larry Claunch, Maggie Ogle, Ross Heasty, Scott Roth, Sean Decker, Sean Grady, Ursula Johnson, and Whitney Stevens.
My sincere thanks to the incomparable Maura Maye, our “hostess with the mostest” and my partner for the night. She is a fantastic asset to the County every day, but I especially appreciate her wit and unflappable personality during the EI&R. She made it fun as well as inspiring!
Thanks, also, to the many members of the EI&R Planning Committee who handle every detail to ensure our honorees and guests had a special evening.
If you couldn’t join us but would like to check out the awesome celebration, a video replay is available here. (How many times did I say “awesome”?)
Thanks for reading – and watching!
Bruce