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OC Parks Newsroom
(1).jpg) | | OC Parks Director Mark Denny (far right) and Public Information Officer Marisa O’Neil (2nd from right) present a Director’s Award for Innovation to contributors of the OC Parks Wildflowers Blog. From left to right: Park Ranger II Steve Jax, Senior Park Ranger Raul Herrera, Resource Specialist Sue Stoffel and Resource Specialist Laura Cohen. |
OC Parks Recognizes Employee Excellence
by Kristi Bergstrom, Staff Assistant on 6/22/2010
OC Parks honored some of its most dedicated employees at the quarterly Employee Recognition Ceremony June 9 at the Nix Nature Center in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.
OC Parks Director Mark Denny presented Director’s Awards for Innovation, Excellence and Customer Service. The ceremony also recognized veteran employees with service awards, which totaled 285 years of combined experience at the County of Orange.
Directors’ Awards for Innovation were presented to staff members who posted entries on the OC Parks Wildflowers Blog . With more than 8,000 hits in the first two months of being created, this first-ever blog for OC Parks proved to be a success. Not only were people visiting the blog, the blog also brought in visitors to the parks in search of the beautiful wildflowers they had seen photographed online.
The individuals honored were: Office Technician Donna Breitfeller of O’Neill Regional Park, Resource Specialist Laura Cohen of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Resource Specialist Sue Stoffel of Upper Newport Bay, Park Ranger II John Gump of Irvine Regional Park, Supervising Park Ranger Jacky Velasquez of Caspers Wilderness Park, Senior Park Ranger Sara Girard of Caspers Wilderness Park, Senior Park Ranger Raul Herrera of Peters Canyon Regional Park, Park Ranger II Shelly Meneely of Mason Regional Park, Park Ranger II Steve Jax of Santiago Oaks Regional Park and Senior Park Ranger Vicky Malton and Park Ranger II Raphael Flores of Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.
Park Ranger I Tracy Kirby of Heritage Hill Historical Park and Resource Specialist Sue Stoffel of Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve were recognized with a Director’s Award for Customer Service for their involvement and implementation in the Mars and Stars Astronomy Event at Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve.
OC Parks and Discovery Science Center teamed up with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to provide a night of astronomy and stargazing for the whole family. The April 16 event was an overwhelming success, drawing in hundreds of people. Because of the positive feedback from participants, other astronomy events have been planned to take place at various OC Parks facilities throughout the year.
Engineering Technician III Thom Baker and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Coordinator Robin LaMont received Director’s Awards for Excellence. Both played a crucial role in the development of the OC Parks “Biggest Loser” contest. Not only did they come forward with the idea, but they defined the rules, handled the confidential weekly weigh-ins and arranged for different fitness activities for parks employees to participate in.
The voluntary contest helped improve the health and fitness of the OC Parks staff who participated, losing a combined total of 160.1 lbs.
.jpg) | | After being sworn in, Park Ranger II Nick Martinico signs his Oath of Office as OC Parks Director Mark Denny looks on. |
Wrapping up the ceremony was a very special presentation welcoming new OC Parks Ranger Nick Martinico. As a recent graduate of OC Parks first-ever Park Ranger Academy, Martinico represents a new breed of park ranger, trained specifically to perform his job duties of protection, natural interpretation and customer service. OC Parks Director Mark Denny then led an informal swearing in of Martinico.
Service awards went to the following individuals for their continued dedication to OC Parks: Ramiro Carlos of Limestone Canyon & Whiting Ranch, 5 years; Scott Fegley of Mile Square Regional Park, 5 years; Paul Reyes of South Coastal, 10 years; North Parks District Supervisor Steve Bonhall, 10 years; Concepcion Perez of Heritage Hill Historical Park, 20 years; Eric Frederickson of Clark Regional Park, 20 years; Ernesto Vargas of Mason Regional Park, 20 years; Scott Pritchard of the OC Zoo, 25 years; Michael Miniaci of Laguna Niguel Regional Park, 25 years; Central Parks District Supervisor Linda Mayer, 25 years; Olivia Velazquez of Mile Square Regional Park, 30 years; Rudy Romero of South Coastal, 30 years; David Ledesma of Craig Regional Park, 30 years and Lisa Martinez of Carbon Canyon Regional Park, 30 years.
OC Parks recognizes employee excellence with quarterly ceremonies. Director’s Award recipients demonstrate OC Parks’ core values of: stewardship, integrity, quality, cooperation, community service, pride of ownership, teamwork and education.
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The evening will ... read more » |
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