The following employees were selected from an outstanding list of exceptional finalists in each category:

Service & Program Improvement:

Colleen Medling, a librarian with the Library Services Department, developed a database for an online statistics reporting system called StatsWhiz. The database improved departmental accountability and led directly to improved customer service for Library Services.

Citizen/Customer Service:

Sue Parker, Health & Social Services Department, spearheads the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program's intake process. When services for citizens are not possible through the Section 8 office, she continues to help by providing referrals, making calls, and linking people in need to other programs.

Citizenship:

James Richard Sullivan, with the Parks, Recreation & Conservation Department, has given his free time to organize, participate and direct volunteer efforts and guided tours of the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve and the County's Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) sites. Since he began the tours, Eckerd College, the University of South Florida and Hillsborough Community College have all requested educational tours and begun research on-site.

Safety Effectiveness:

A team of employees from the Transportation Maintenance Division of the Public Works Department won the Safety Effectiveness Award. They are Dave Krug, Gene Cook, Ken Cameron, John Smith, Jeremy Greathouse, James Cullins and Clarence Gunter. The main function of the team is to inspect and enforce road and lane closure permits. Since the team formed in 2001, the number of reported accidents has decreased from 86 in 2002 to 32 in 2005.

Diversified Workforce Achievement:

Hillsborough Fire Rescue received the award for their commitment to equal opportunity and affirmative action. In 2005, minorities made up 36% of the 58 recruits hired at Hillsborough Fire Rescue. Females make up more than 11% of that group, far exceeding the national average of 2% in the emergency services field. Fire Rescue has a diversity committee that attends various job fairs and gives recruitment speeches at numerous firefighter classes and minority groups around the state.

Supervisor of the Year:

As program manager for the Health & Social Services Department, Dorinda Creighton-Seth oversees a grant program with a total annual budget of $12 million that includes 52 service provider contracts over an eight county area. Her ideas contributed to a Management Information System that is more efficient and user-friendly for the providers.

Manager of the Year:

Darrell O'Neal in the Transportation Maintenance Division of the Public Works Department is a 29-year county employee. He serves on the Safety Team and is very tough on safety issues with employees, not allowing unsafe performance or equipment.

Excellence in Government:

Senior Social Worker Carroll Carpenter in Health & Social Services assists clients with health and financial needs. When an elderly couple, confused and frightened with the changes in the Medicare/Medicaid Prescription programs came to Carroll for help, she found answers and solutions for them. She often collects food, clothing and household items and delivers them to the homes of those in need on her own time.

Congratulations to all of this year's winners.

For more information, call Steve Valdez, Communications Department, at 272-5275.