The Employee of the Year Award recognizes employees who have demonstrated the highest level of excellent service performance to the organization and citizens.

The Supervisor of the Year Award recognizes exemplary supervisory level of service to Hillsborough County.

As an Accountant II, Ms. Henson’s role has been very challenging. In addition to completing her Accountant II duties, she performed many of the duties of the vacant Budget Analyst position. She played a major role in the preparation of the Department’s two year budget and she supervised all seven fiscal section staff. Ms. Henson is a dedicated employee with a “can do” attitude and she has the respect of fellow staff members. Ms. Henson is routinely approached by staff members from all areas of the Department with questions and she always responds by quickly addressing their needs. Ms. Henson is currently pursuing a business management degree and continues to be a vital part of the success of the Department. She truly exemplifies the qualities associated with the Supervisor of the Year.

The Employee of the Year Award recognizes outstanding employees as role models to others for their excellent job performance and to reinforce the continuation of a high-performance value system.

As an Adult Day Care Aide, Betty Daniels demonstrates endless energy and creativity to the Senior Adult Day Care Program. She initiated several individualized afternoon therapeutic activities this past year such as creative art classes, walking program with the visually impaired clients and a daily group discussion activity highlighting current events in the USA. Betty has used her creative abilities to make many crafts for the Program's seniors and for special community projects such as food baskets for the financially challenged, and hand sewn blankets for residents in local nursing homes. She keeps in touch with former clients and treats them to lunch or a new hairstyle to enhance their self-esteem, and assists them with simple shopping needs. Betty has a compassionate sense of understanding for the elderly population and memory impaired persons and is a natural born caregiver with high values and ideals.

The Citizen/Customer Satisfaction Award recognizes extraordinary efforts in meeting citizen needs.

As a Homemaker/Respite Aide with Aging Services, Mary Watson provides service to frail elderly citizens enabling them to remain in their homes as an alternative to nursing home care. She makes her clients’ needs her number one priority, ensuring them a safer and cleaner living environment, a trip to the doctor or errands when necessary. Mrs. Watson is sensitive to the needs of others and is highly motivated, working well with other county agencies, case managers, and her supervisor to assure all available services have been provided to her clients. She responds to clients’ needs, but promises nothing that cannot be delivered. Mrs. Watson is always pleasant, dedicated, innovative, calm under pressure, and goes the extra mile to assist clients in maintaining their independence.

The Citizenship Award recognizes employee volunteer work and encourages individual employee involvement in community service organizations.

As the Aging Services’ Senior Citizen Nutrition & Activity Program (SCNAP) Center Coordinator at Kings Manor, Maria Faircloth is actively involved in the community. She is captain of her Neighborhood Watch program, and volunteers to ride with the Sheriff’s personnel on neighborhood patrol. Maria continuously looks for ways to improve services both to seniors at the dining site and to the homebound elderly. She helps the seniors in her community by making referrals for services that she is aware of through her involvement in other Hillsborough County resources. She is energetic, concerned, responsive, and at all times committed to the improvement of the community. Through her involvement in community programs, Ms. Maria Faircloth exemplifies what a good citizen is, and she reflects the high standards of the Senior Citizen Nutrition & Activity Program and Hillsborough County.

The Safety Effectiveness Award recognizes efforts by teams for effective safety programming and problem solving.

As the Senior Food Service Aide at the Ruskin Senior Center, Keith Benjamin wears many hats. Keith is careful to keep walkways clear of clutter and floors clean and dry, thereby preventing falls, a major problem contributing to institutionalization of the elderly. Keith is self-motivated, knows what needs to be done, and maintains close contact with each manager. He deals with any safety concerns immediately. Not one fall has been reported at any of the centers served by Keith. This year, because of his knowledge of the Heimlich Maneuver, Keith saved an elderly participant from choking.

The Team Effectiveness Award recognizes the value of teamwork to achieve excellence in service to our county’s residents.

By using strategic planning, customer and market focus, and a human resource focus from the Sterling Criteria, this team has improved service delivery by working together in a very effective manner. Team cooperation is evidenced by the way the members respect one another’s abilities and contributions. Julie, Barbara and Carolyn work diligently to see that the citizens of Hillsborough County are cared for with respect.

Winners: Lutz Day Care Team,
Carolyn Swilley, Barbara Richardson and Julie Vaccaro