Each year, NACo recognizes the exemplary efforts made by its employees through its annual employee recognition luncheon. This year’s luncheon was held March 14 at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. Numerous awards were distributed — including the five, 10 and 15 year service awards, and the appreciation award to those who have mastered specific tasks. The Award of Excellence, which serves as NACo’s highest honor, recognizes employees or teams who have demonstrated outstanding work, and is based solely on staff recommendation.
This year’s Award of Excellence honorees were former Associate Legislative Director, Stephanie Osborn (Osborn was recently promoted to director of community services, County Services Department.) and the Public Affairs Department’s graphic artist team of Victor Scott and Jack Hernandez.
Osborn received the Award of Excellence for her volunteerism and assistance in the development and implementation of NACo’s Homeland Security Task Force. She organized the task force, developed its agenda and strategic plan, implemented a series of meetings and coordinated staff to ensure the success of the task force. Osborn also produced a task force report and worked with the media to communicate NACo’s goals for the task force, and oversaw the implementation of task force meetings.
NACo graphic artists, Scott and Hernandez, received recognition for excellence in work product and service. They were especially recognized for their innovative design ideas and strong work ethic.
Other award recipients included NACo Media Relations Coordinator Tiffany Ricci, who was honored with a special recognition award for her leadership in substantially increasing the amount of media coverage received by NACo over the span of the past year. The accounting/information technology team of Sok Son, Shannon Houston-Smack, LaFaye Graham, Chris Lyons, Paula McMillan, Tiffany Black and Burnestine Ward received a special recognition award for their efforts in facilitating the internal conversion to a new financial and payroll system. The task, which proved to be tedious and time cosuming, proved to be successful due to their efforts.
Department directors recognized “jobs well done” during the past performance with Awards of Appreciation. Winners included: LaFaye Graham and Phyllis Williams (Finance and Administration); Sally McElroy and Ralph Tabor (Legislative Affairs); Josh Fudge (Public Affairs); Hirut Ayele (Enterprise Services); Christina Crayton and Sandra Clark (County Services); and Chanty Khem (Information Technology).
