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Employee SPIRIT Awards Copyrighted May 20, 2019 City of Dubuque Presentation(s) # 1. ITEM TITLE: Employee SPIRIT Awards SUMMARY: Service: The Consider it Done Award: Sarah Bennett— Housing & Community Development Department and Rob Blake - Water Department People: The Highest of High Fives Award = Taj Suleyman - Human Rights; Anderson Sainci - Public Works; Nate Lech - Police Department; Maddy Haverland - Housing & Community Development; Nancy Knipper- Water& Resource Recovery Center; Jeremy Jensen - Police Department; and Karen Smith - Police Department Integrity: The Constant ContributorAward = Russ Stecklein - Transportation Services Responsibility: The MacGyverAward = Jennifer Larson - Finance & Budget Department Innovation: The Big Bang Award = Kelli Buchenau - Public I nformation Office Teamwork: The Cloud 9 CollaboratorAward = Marie Ware - Leisure Services; Circle of Excellence = Jenny Messerich - CityAttorney's Office; and Stephanie Valentine - City Manager's Office SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: ATTACHMENTS: Description Type May 2019 Employee SPIRITAward Winners Supporting Documentation Congratulatory Letters to Employees Supporting Documentation May 2019 City of Dubuque SPIRIT Award Winners Service: The Consider It Done Award People: The Highest of High Fives Award Sarah Bennett — Housing & Community Karen Smith - Police Department Development Department Integrity: The Constant Contributor Service: The Consider It Done Award Award Rob Blake -Water Department Russ Stecklein - Transportation Services People: The Highest of High Fives Award Responsibility: The Macgyver Award Taj Suleyman - Human Rights Jennifer Larson - Finance & Budget Department People: The Highest of High Fives Award Innovation: The Big Bang Award Anderson Sainci - Public Works Kelli Buchenau - Public Information Office People: The Highest of High Fives Award Teamwork: The Cloud 9 Collaborator Nate Lech - Police Department Award Marie Ware - Leisure Services People: The Highest of High Fives Award Maddy Haverland - Housing & Community Development Circle of Excellence People: The Highest of High Fives Award �enny Messerich - City Attorney's Office Nancy Knipper -Water & Resource Recovery Center Circle of Excellence Stephanie Valentine - City Manager's Office People: The Highest of High Fives Award Jeremy Jensen - Police Department Dubuque City Manager's Office �'H��T� �� City Hall 50 West 13th Street �� All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa52001-4805 1 I I ' Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 �C1��(,'t'�71E,'CC' Clt7 L`�7� :f�`�tSSlSSP��1t TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•Zoiz•zois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 To the family of Sarah Bennett, During her time working for the City of Dubuque, Sarah was known by all who worked with her for her compassion for others and high-quality customer service. She worked in the Housing & Community Development Department, which can often be a stressful environment, but brought a smile to the face of her co-workers and the residents they serve. This year, an employee committee created the SPIRIT Awards program, a way for our employees to recognize each other for the ways they go above and beyond their required job descriptions to provide high-quality customer service to all residents. Sarah kept the City's SPIRIT statement posted next to her phone as a constant reminder of why we do what we do and how we should be doing it. The Service: Consider It Done Award was created and will be presented in Sarah's honor. One of her co-workers had this to say about Sarah in preparing the award: Sarah joined the Housing Department first as bright eyed and optimistic Americorp Vista. She was asked to work on several tasks in the department with a focus being on team building and improving morale. She had no idea what she was in for! That year she spent time getting to know each of us and we all grew to love Sarah. She brought a light and kindness to the office that could not be ignored. She spearheaded several activities that brought our team together and forced us into sometimes uncomfortable situations but we always participated because we all cared about and believed in her. After her term was up, she took a break from Housing for a bit, but like a bad habit she could not give us up. She was offered a position as the Rehab Secretary where she excelled at all of her routine tasks and was a go to for other team members when they needed an assist on special projects or when they needed a kind listener to hear them vent. Sarah was not only loved by staff, she was appreciated by our guests and customers. She was the most outgoing and charismatic person when attending events for the Housing Department and she could answer almost any questions that came up because of the time she spent with each of us learning about us and our Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork role in the department when she was a Vista. lf Sarah was asked a question that she could not answer she would get up and go to find the right person to answer the question, but instead of just having them answer the question for the customer she would have them train her on the answer so she could answer that question in the future. She wanted to have all the answers and respected our clients so much that she did not want to send them to voicemai!or pass them off. She wanted to help everyone and she did! Tragically, we lost Sarah to an accident but through our stories and memories of Sarah we will carry her spirit of service with us. I could think of no one more deserving than Sarah Bennett for this award. Our organizations benefited greatly from the time Sarah spent with us. She took pride in her work and did her best to make sure that everyone who walked through our doors was received, heard, and served with warmth and respect. She is greatly missed and fondly remembered by us all. I am honored to be able to present the first annual Service: Consider It Done Award to you in Sarah's name. Sincerely, �� Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Dubuque City Manager's Office �'��T� �� City Hall 50 West 13th Street "�''�� All-America City Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 1 I ' � Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��c;��ap�� , ��t��y�� TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•zoiz•zoia ctymgrQcityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Kelli, Congratulations on winning the Innovation: The Big Bang Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: In a trivia game about process in City departments, I'm guessing Kelli would win hands-down. Though hired for her design expertise, Kelli has taken on management of the City's website and WebQA with an interest in learning how things happen, a passion for providing high-quality services to our customers internal and external, and a desire to so/ve tough problems with the tools we have. On any given day, her phone will ring, and and employee will ask, "1 want to do <this thing>. Can WebQA do that?" Even WebQA customer service staff have noted that Kelli has found ways to make the tool work for processes they had never thought of. From code enforcement to conference registration to interna!work flows, Kelli has created numerous new service requests for departmental needs. She listens when we ask a question to get at the root of what we rea!!y want to do, and designs a workflow to meet our needs while keeping it simple for residents. She is never afraid to play with tools, or offer a suggestion in a meeting for how a new report could get us the data we need to solve a complex pro,blem. And at the end of the day, she's always thinking about the experience a resident, business, or visitor to Dubuque will have when they visit our digital platforms and trying to create the best servrce we can. She does aU of this with a positive attitude and the patience of a saint, and is most deserving of The Big Bang Award! That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, ,�,,� , �� Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork Dubuque City Manager's Office THE�ITY C?F �,.-�-� City Hall �■^^�� """�"�""'"' 50 West 13th Street � j"�"� � All-Ame�iea CiIY Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 �jl-��'� � I ��/ Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��;��ay�Z�� yf ��x ��r�� TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•zoiz•zoia ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Russ, Congratulations on winning the Integrity: The Constant Contribufior Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: Russ treats everyone fairly and makes you feel like you matter and your opinion matters. He is equitable and understanding but sti11 tough when it is needed. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, , � �. � Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork Dubuque City Manager's Office �'�� City Hall 50 West 13th Street �� r All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa52001-4805 1 I I ' Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��p��'�� ,y� ��, ��,�� ° TTY(563)690-6678 zao�•zoiz•2ois ctymgrQcityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Taj, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest of High Fives Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our team of intercultural facilifators over the years, l am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the fall of 2098. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and continue to take their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means to put people first. Personal and Professional Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professiona!development around improving staffs a,bility to interact with and serve a culturally diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunities for staff, they also continue their own personal and professiona!development, including in their private lives, in order to continually sharpen their skills. Dedicated: All of these team members have full time jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack forma! degrees in intercultural relations. They have,built their intercultural skills through lived experience, personal study, occasiona!courses through the Summer Institute on lntercultural Communicafion, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how those biases can be put into practice in ways that negatively impacf opportunities for people in our organization or community. They are the best of the best when it comes to serving all segments of our community and pushing the City organization to live up fo our highest ideals of service and opportunity for all. Compassion: Intercultural facilitation is emotionally demanding work. To,be effective, an interculfura! facilitator must spend time examining his or her own social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few. While facilitating(and 1 speak here frorn personal experience) one's identities are often triggered by ignorant or insensitive comments. They also operate within a culture that struggles to fully value all that they bring to the table. Whi/e no one is perfect, these facilitators consistently strrve to "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that will support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our equity work fhroughout the organization, l cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our faci/itators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, �, �. Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork I)ubuque City Manager's Office THE�ITY C�F �,,,s � City Hall 50 West 13th Street "�"� � All-AmeriCBCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 1 I Io/ Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��;��'�� n �� p TTY(563)690-6678 Zoo�•zoiz•zois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.or g May 8, 2019 Dear Anderson, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest of High Fives Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our team of intercultural facilitators over the years, 1 am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the fal!of 2098. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and continue to take their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means fo put people first. Personal and Professiona!Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professiona!development around improving staff's ability to interact with and serve a culturally diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunitres for staff; they also continue their own persona!and professional development, including in their private lives, in order to continually sharpen their ski!!s. Dedicated: All of these team mem,bers have ful!time jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack formal degrees in intercultural relations. They have built their intercultural skills through lived experience, personal study, occasional courses through the Summer Instifute on Intercultura!Communication, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how those biases can be put into practice in ways that negatively impact opportunities for people in our organization or community. They are fhe best of the best when it comes to serving all segmenfs of our community and pushing the City organization to live up to our highest ideals of service and opportunity for all. Compassion: lntercultural facilitation is emotionally demanding work. To be effective, an intercultura! facilitator must spend time examining his or her own social identitres, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few, While facilitating(and I speak here from personal experience) one's identities are often triggered by ignorant or insensitive comments. They a/so operate within a culture that struggles to fully value all that they bring to the table. While no one is perfect, these facilitators consistently strive to "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that wil!support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our eguity work throughout the organization, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our facilitators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, �1 � Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager � MVM/clb Service People Integrity ResponsiUility Innovation Teamwork Dubuque City Manager's Office TH�CITY J� � ,�,,,,..�-- City Hall �� "^�■ 50 West 13th Street i.'.�' `�"'� �� All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 ' I � ' Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 .�C��+��'t""�??IE.'CC C7YI �'�2�' �lS�i1SS1�?�1$ ' TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•Zoiz•zois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Nate, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest af High Fives Awardi The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our team of intercultural facilitators over the years, I am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the fall of 2018. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and continue to fake their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means to put people first. Personal and Professional Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professional development around improving staff's ability fo interact with and serve a culturally diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunities for staff, they also continue their own persona!and professional development, including in their private lives, in order to continually sharpen their skills. Dedicated: All of these team members have full time jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack formal degrees in intercultural relations. They have built their intercultural skills through lived experience, personal study, occasional courses through the Summer lnstitute on lntercultura!Communicafion, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how those biases can be put into practice in ways that negative/y impact opportunities for people in our organization or community. They are the best of the best when it comes to serving al!segments of our community and pushing the City organization to live up to our highest ideals of service and opportunity for aU. Compassion: lntercultural facilitation is emotionally demanding work. To be etfective, an intercultura! facilitator must spend time examrning his or her own social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few. While facilifating(and 1 speak here from personal experience) one's identities are often triggered by ignorant or rnsensitive comments. They also operate within a culture that struggles to fully value al/that they bring to the table. While no one is perfect, these facilifators consistently strive fo "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that will support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our equity work throughout fhe organization, !cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our facilitators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, �., Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Seivice People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork �llbuqUe City Manager's Office T'HE CIT�`��?F�„ ��—' dl City Hall � 50 West 13th Street `�"'� � All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 ' � IQ' Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 �GI�+�C'Y�71E,'CL' C}1? �'�I(.' �1SSlSS1�?�7� TTY(563)690-6678 ioo�•zoi2•zois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Maddy, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest of High Fives Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our feam of intercultural facilitators over the years, I am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the fall of 2018. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and continue to take their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means to put peop/e first. Personal and Professiona!Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professional development around improving staff's abilrty to interact wifh and serve a culturally diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunities for staff, they also continue their own personal and professional development, including in their private lives, in order fo continuaNy sharpen their skil/s. Dedreated: AI!of these team members have ful/time jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack formal degrees in intercultural relations. They have built their intercultura!skills through lived experience, personal study, occasional courses through the Summer Institute on lntercultural Communication, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how those biases can be put into practice in ways that negatively impact opportunities for people in our organfzation or community. They are the best of the best when it comes to serving a!I segments of our community and pushing the City organization to live up to our highest ideals of service and opportunity for all. Compassion: Intercultural facilitation is emotionally demanding work. To be effective, an intercultural facilitator must spend time examining his or her own social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few. While facilitating(and I speak here from personal experience) one's identities are often triggered by ignorant or insensitive comments. They also operate within a culture that struggles to fully value all that they bring to the table. While no one is perfect, these facilitators consistently strive to "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that will support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our equity work throughout the organization, 1 cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our facilitators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, ��,� � Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity ResponsiUility Innovation Teamwork ��b�q�� City Manager's Office THE�ITY U� ..,,,..,.w—.�' � City Hall 50 West 13th Street �� All-America City Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 1 � Io/ Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��y�� 1� �� TTY(563)690-6678 zaa�•zoi�•zois ctymgrQcityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Nancy, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest of High Fives Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our team of intercultural facilitators over the years, I am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the fiall of 2098. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and confinue to take their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means fo put people first. Personal and Professional Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professional development around improving statf's ability to interact with and serve a cultural/y diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunitres for staff, they also continue their own personal and professional dev�lopment, including in their private lives, in order to continually sharpen their skills. Dedicated: A!I of these team members have full fime jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack formal degrees in intercultural relations. They have built their intercultural skills through lived experience, personal study, occasional courses through the Summer Institute on Intercultural Communication, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how those biases can be put into practice in ways that negatively impact opportunities for people in our organization or communify. They are the best of the best when it comes to serving all segments of our community and pushing the City organization to live up to our highest ideals of service and opportunity for all. Compassion: Intercultura!facilitafion is emotionally demanding work. To be effective, an intercultural facilitator must spend time examining his or her own social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few. While facilitating(and!speak here from personal experience) one's identities are often triggered by ignorant or insensitive comments. They also operate within a culture that struggles to fully value a!1 that they bring to the table. While no one is perfect, these facilitators consistently strive to "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that will support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our eguity work throughout the organization, 1 cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our facilitators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, � � � Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork DL1bll�Ue City Manager's Office TH�� „�.--�' City Hall �� ""��"" '"�"" 50 West 13th Street ��"'� � All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 ' I I / Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 �t�S�E,'Y�?�(,'C� C)Yt �'�1C' ,�t�51�S1��71 � TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•2oi2•2oss ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Jeremy, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest of High Fives Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our team of intercultural facilifators over the years, I am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the faU of 2018. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and continue to fake their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means to put people first. Personal and Professional Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professional development around improving staff's ability to interact with and serve a culturally diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunities for staff, they also continue their own personal and professiona!development, including in their private lives, in order to continually sharpen their skills. Dedicated: All of these team members have full time jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack formal degrees in intercultural relations. They have built their intercultural skills through lived experience, personal study, occasional courses through the Summer Institute on Intercultura!Communication, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how those biases can be put into practice in ways that negatively impact opportunities for people in our organization or community. They are the best of the best when it comes to serving all segments of our community and pushing the City organization to live up to our highest ideals of service and opporfunity for all. Compassion: Intercultura!facilitation is emotional/y demanding work. To be effective, an intercultural facilitator musf spend time examining his or her own social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few. While facilitating(and I speak here from personal experience) one's identities are often triggered by ignorant or insensitive comments. They also operate within a culture that struggles to fully value all that they bring to the table. While no one is perfect, these facilitators consistent/y strive to "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that wil!support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our equity work throughout the organization, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our facilitators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share fiheir experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, !� �Y.�"� Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork DUbUC�(Ue City Manager's Office TF-��I�"�` C?� _,..--�-' � City Ha11 ^�► 50 West 13th Street �� _L.r All-AmericaCiiY Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 ' I Io/ Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 �Gt:+�E,�Y�7ZG,C�' C�n �`�1C' ;�1a��1�S1�J�7� TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•zoiz•zoia ctymgr�cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Karen, Congratulations on winning the People: The Highest of High Fives Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: While many people have served on our team of intercultural facilitators over the years, I am nominating the team members who led our most recent sessions in the fall of 2018. Jeremy and Karen deserve an honorable mention for past service and the ways in which they have and continue to take their learning into their department. These team members exemplify what it means to put people first. Personal and Professional Development: The facilitators exist specifically to encourage personal and professional development around improving staff's ability to interact with and serve a cultural/y diverse population. Not only do they provide these opportunities for staff, they a/so continue their own personal and professional development, including in fheir private lives, in order to continually sharpen their skills. Dedicated: All of these team members have full fime jobs and, with the exception of Taj, lack formal degrees in intercultural relations. They have built their intercultural skills through lived experience, personal study, occasional courses through the Summer lnstitute on Intercultural Communication, and pure grit. Guiding one another, they continue to learn and examine their own biases and how fhose biases can be put into practice in ways that negative/y impact opportunities for people in our organization or community. They are the best of the best when it comes to serving al!segments of our community and pushing the City organization to live up to our highest ideals of service and opportunity for all. Compassion: Intercultura!facilitation is emotionally demanding work. To be effective, an intercultural facilitator must spend time examining his or her own social identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socioeconomic status, to name a few. While facilitating(and I speak here from personal experience) one's idenfities are often triggered by ignorant or insensitive comments. They also operate within a culture that struggles to fully value all that they bring to the table. While no one is perfecf, these facilitators consistently strive to "meet people where they are"and provide a compassionate balance of challenge and support that will support learning and behavior change. Of the many people who assist us in our equity work throughout the organization, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than our facilitators. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, , Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwark Dubuque City Manager's Office T��Y �� w--�~" � City Hall �� ""'`�■ 50 West 13th Street �.�+' �� All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 � I I�� Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��,��? �,� �-r��a ��;�� TTY(563)690-6678 aoo�•2oiz•2ois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Jennifer, Congratulations on winning the Responsibility: The Macgyver Award! The newly- launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominafior had this to say about you: Putting together a budget is a true act of Macgyver!Jenny is the engine behind the City. With only one other employee to assist her with the budget, Jenny works to create a budget that meets as many needs and wants as possible. She must take limited resources and responsibly and fairly allocate those resources for nearly unlimited projects and expenses. Meanwhile, she is taking into consideration all of the department's project initiatives, the City Manager's direction, and the City Council's guidelines. While many of us would not be able to function sanely trying to satisfy the needs of just one of these groups, she has mastered the art of effective communication and collaboration to ensure residents are receiving services for the best value. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, � Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork DUbu ile City Manager's Office �'��CITY C�F �,....--.'"' � City Hall 50 West 13th Street ��'� �� All-America City Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 t 1 Office(563)589-4110 I Io Fax(563)589-4149 ��t��r �� ' ��,�� TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•zoiz•zois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org May 8, 2019 Dear Rob, Congratulations on winning the Service: The Consider It Done Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: I am nominating Robert 81ake as he displays all of fhe qualities and so much more, for the Service: The Consider It Done Award -Responsive You can always count on Rob to come in at all hours fo help wherever needed whether he is the rotating standby person or not. One of many great examples would be on January 27th the first person on call was notified by the eagle point water plant fhat there was a break fhat was draining a tower. For those who don't know what happens if you drain a tower, be happy you don't have to deal with it. It is a big dea/fhat effects hundreds if not thousands of citizens. The first person on call is supposed to respond and verify the situation and then call in fhe appropriate staff to take on the project. Knowing that Rob was closer, the first person broke protocol and called Rob at 1:30 in the morning to see if Rob could respond faster as he lived closer. Without any questioning Rob said 'I will get it'. Knowing the magnitude of the situation Rob had the break contained and the tower regaining water its water level by 9:50. That is 20 minutes to wake up unexpectedly in the middle of fhe night, get ready for the day, drive to the shop to get a work fruck, drive to the site, find the correct valves, and shut the valves down. Not to mention that this happened on an icy morning that several cars were in the ditch. This is one of many examples of Ro,b going above and beyond to see that the citizens of Dubuque had safe clean water. -High quality customer service fo residents Rob displays amazing customer service no matter the circumstances. One instance that I witnessed personally is we had a bad spot for water main breaks that have had many breaks in the last year. Every time there is a main break in this location it f/oods some of the properties. (This has since been corrected when we installed some new sections of pipe) In thfs insfance we pulled up to contain the break and the soaking wef property owner was attempfing to slow down the water by holding up his homemade dam made of cinder blocks and recycling bins to protect his property. Wel!this cifizen fook out all of his frustration with Rob, Rob stood there attentively listened to him. After the citizen got it al/out Rob calmly explained to him what happened, whaf we will do in the short term and what we plan to.do to rectify this problem long term. I was amazed of his calmness and ability to put the resident at ease in this very stressfu!situation. -High quality customer service to other departments Although Rob keeps busy outside of his normal 40 hours tending to most of the after hour water department service cal/s, and building his house he always offers his wide range of skills to other departments when needed. The specia!lowa winter we had this year resulted in a lot of snow which left public works asking for help from other departments from time to time. Rob was first to step up and helped without needing any instruction. Fast forward a week in the lowa winter and it's raining. Public works again needed help after hours opening storm drains so the water had a p/ace to go. Rob stepped up and assisted in this task. Also in between main breaks during the frigid polar vortex Rob helped out the meter department changing frozen meters. He is always the first to vofunteer, and is very effective in whatever task he is given. Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork On a side note: Too often these 'achievement awards'are given to office staff that though are very deserving, almost always leave the staff on the front line feeling overlooked. !am very excited to see the new awards and hope that the staff on the front line are not overlooked. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb DUbUqUe City Manager's Office TH�CTT�' C�F �, ,,,,�°"..•—' City Hall �"�"""� '� 50 West 13th Street �� All-AmericaCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 1 I I I Office(563)589-4ll0 Fax(563)589-4149 ��;��,y�� y� �� ry�� TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•zalz•zois ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque,org May 8, 2019 Dear Marie, Congratulations on winning the Teamwork: The Cloud 9 Collaborator Award! The newly- launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: Marie Ware deserves to be recognized for working as a team player to accomplish goals and build partnerships within the City organization as wel!as with other members of the community. She achieves this teamwork approach both as a successful Manager of one of the largest and most diverse departments within the City organizatlon and an accomplished collaborator with many community partners, from a national service program to a non-profit organization to contracts with facility management companies. The Leisure Services Department is comprised of the following distinctive divisions, programs, and partnerships that require extensive teamwork and collaboration. The Park Division hand/es Parks Maintenance of grounds, buildings, vehicles and eguipment; Forestry;and Non-Park Public Landscape Maintenance in the Port of Dubugue, Downtown, industrial parks, gateways and green corridors. 2098 outcomes included: Creek Wood Park completron, Eagle Point park listed in the National register of Historic Places and expanded by a 92-acre donation;expansion fo 9 dedicated picklebal!courts; Tree City USA designation, Skate Park groundbreaking, and approval of the Miracle League accessible public park design. The Recreation Division is responsible for Recreation Programming, Bunker Hill Golf Course, and Port of Dubuque Marina. 2098 outcomes include: The Rec-n-Roll Trailer was utilized over 50 times, and the scholarship program benefited 950/ow-income families with$96,446 in credits for programs and services. AmeriCorps, a national service program to meet a communitya€T""s critical need, is focused around Dubuque's Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. 97% of K-3rd grade students tutored by our AmeriCorps members improved their reading score from Fa0 2097 a€`Spring 2098. The Multicultural Family Center(MFC), governed by a non-profit Board of Directors, serves as an inviting and inclusive place for community members, stimulates connections and provides programs to foster civic engagement, social and economic success supporting a high quality of life. The MFC served 175 teens, held 13 cultural events, and reached 9,700+participants in 2098. The Facility Division provides for the effective and efficient maintenance of buildings and equipment and administration of management contracts for Five Flags Civic Center, a City-owned building managed by SMG Management, and the Grand River Center, a City-owned building managed by Platinum Hospitality. !n 2018, the Five Flags.Civic Center Assessment and Study was presented to the Crty Council. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Dubuque City Manager's Office "�'NE CITY flF „_,,,...--'' City Hall 50 West 13th Street �� "�� All-AmeYicaCity Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 J t I I ' Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��1��, �� , �� TTY(563)690-6678 zoo�•zoiz•zois ctymgr�cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org Dear Stephanie, Congratulations on winning the Circle of Excellence Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and perFormance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: I would like to nominate Stephanie Valentine for the "Consider it Done Award"and the "Highest of High Fives Award." I have had the greatest pleasure to be able to work with Stephanie for the last seven years and have been able to witness first-hand her passion for customer service. Stephanie believes that everyone is her customer—cifizens of Dubuque, co-workers, community partners and the general public. The City Manager's Office receives many telephone calls from individuals with a wide range of needs, and she is able to provide answers to their quesfions or connect them to the department or person that can answer their questions or solve their rssues in the most expeditious manner. Stephanie strives to make sure that a customer is not transferred to multiple people before getting the right person to help. Stephanie never gives the simple answer, but digs deeper to find out aU their issues and contact multiple departments in the background to get the complete response—even to questions they didn't even think to ask. Stephanie's typical response when someone asks her to do something is "Very good,"and she tackles each and every projecf with her can-do attitude. Stephanie does not believe in doing things one way`because they have always been done that way." She has a passion for finding innovative ways to solve problems by learning new technology and then sharing those discoveries with others so that they can perform their job duties more efficiently. Stephanie follows the philosophy that if you teach others, you empower them. Stephanie's enthusiasm is contagious, and 1 consider it an honor to be able to work with her. That one of your colleagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity ResponsiUility Innovation Teamwark Dubuque City Manager's Office THE CI"I'Y+�� "" .-- �, ��,, ,,,,��„r Ci Hall 50 West 13th Street �� All-AmePica CitY Dubuque,Iowa 52001-4805 t I Io' Office(563)589-4110 Fax(563)589-4149 ��;�� 7�a �� TTY(563)690-6678 Zoo�•zoiz•zoia ctymgr�cityofdubuque.org www.cityofdubuque.org Dear Jenny, Congratulations on winning the Circle of Excellence Award! The newly-launched SPIRIT Awards are a way to recognize the outstanding commitment and performance of our employees, and you deserve recognition for the great work you do. Your nominator had this to say about you: Jenny is amazing and everyone know's it:) She's always pleasant and willing to help even when it's outside of her job duties. When she was out for maternity leave, we found out just how much she does to keep us al!on track. She has helped to develop tools in Web QA that help code enforcement sfaff manage dozens of citations and court cases per month. She assists us with basic legal guidance so we stay on the right side of the law. When there is no one else that can help, Jenny does! Please consider recognizing how much value Jenny Messerich brings to the City and award her for being "The Cloud 9 Collaborator"that she is! That one of your colieagues took the time to share their experience with us proves that you go above and beyond to make the City of Dubuque a great place to work, and an organization that provides high-quality service to all residents. I am thankful for your contribution to this organization, and to the community. As a thank you to you for your service, and recognition of your award, one additional eight-hour day will be added to your vacation timebank. Sincerely, � Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager MVM/clb Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork