AWARD OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED

Six Washington Township employees have been selected to receive the Washington Township 2007 Employee Award of Excellence.

Recipients include a recreation employee who undertook a computer challenge; a deputy whose detailed reports result in a high conviction rate; a fire lieutenant with a caring attitude; and a supervisor who makes sure equipment specs are correct and who doesn’t settle for mistakes.

The Award of Excellence was created in 1987 to recognize township employees who have exhibited exceptional performance in their jobs, according to Township Administrator Gary Huff. Their efforts also reflect the type of important activities that township employees undertake every day.

Award of Excellence winners are: Tom Cote, General Full Time; Jim Neidhard, Fire Full Time; Alex Beltran, General Part Time; Dave Herbst, Public Works; Todd Fazzari, Police; and Jeff Joseph, Fire Part Time.

Full-time recipients of the Employee Award of Excellence receive framed proclamations, $125 and an extra three days of vacation. Part-time employees, who are not eligible for vacation days, receive framed proclamations and $200. All employees have their names inscribed on plaques at four township government buildings. Winners were nominated by fellow employees. The following summaries are based on excerpts from their nominations:

Jeff Joseph
Lieutenant (Fire - Part Time)
Lt. Jeff Joseph has been an outstanding employee during 17 years on the Fire Department. As maintenance officer for Station 43, he consistently performs a thorough job making sure problems are corrected. Lt. Joseph also has played a major part in research and analysis on all new equipment purchased at Station 43 over the last several years and has organized and chaired the manning/call load study. His attendance on alarms, house duties, work details, and training is excellent, but his caring attitude and concern for others is what makes him a great value to the department and community.

Todd Fazzari, Deputy
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (Police)
Deputy Todd Fazzari continues to be the most active sheriff’s deputy on first watch and for the entire district. While patrolling township parking lots on foot, Deputy Fazzari is always aware of his surroundings and searches out illegal activity. In 2006, he caught a suspect on foot who had a large quantity of cocaine in his possession. Todd produces very detailed reports and, as a result, has a very high conviction rate.

Dave Herbst
Senior Supervisor (Public Works)
Dave Herbst has a big job maintaining all equipment for Washington Township and he takes his responsibility seriously. Dave goes the extra mile to try to resolve a problem and keeps in mind that he is working for township residents. While checking new fire equipment, he makes sure specs are correct and doesn’t compromise or settle for mistakes that the contractor has made. If a department needs equipment repaired quickly he will put all his mechanics on the project in order to resolve the problem and get the equipment back in operating order.

Alex Beltran
Program Aide (General - Part Time)
Alex Beltran is an exceptional employee at the box office at Town Hall Theatre. He has a pleasant personality and excels at any job given to him, whether it is in the box office, the scene shop or shoveling snow. He has never been given a task that he has not excelled at and the staff at Town Hall is always amazed at his ability to work independently and at a quick pace.

Jim Neidhard
Deputy Fire Chief (Fire - Full Time)
Deputy Fire Chief Jim Neidhard has spearheaded a five-year process to achieve accreditation for the Washington Township Fire Department. The Fire Department is in the final stages of this ambitious project, which includes five distinct components. Deputy Chief Neidhard approaches assignments with a calm, easy-going manner that allows him to work closely with others to accomplish tasks. Jim has had an exceptional performance evaluation for many years and demonstrates professionalism when dealing with fellow employees and citizens.

Tom Cote
Recreation Leader, (General - Full Time)
Tom Cote has gone outside the sports realm of his job to educate himself about RecTrac, the new online registration system introduced this year at the Recreation Center. Using his knowledge of the RecTrac software program, he has helped educate coworkers in its use so that they can implement its features when serving patrons. He also has used his computer skills to create web information and has assisted coworkers with RecTrak input. Transitioning more than 200 programs to RecTrac is a daunting task and his knowledge of the system has been invaluable to the Recreation Center.

return