The City recently honored employees during Employee Appreciation Week 2021. The week-long celebration was dedicated to employees who promote exceptional customer service, exemplify Southlake Values and demonstrate quality work. Amid COVID-19 restrictions and last week’s winter storm, the City still made time to honor their most valued asset, their employees. Learn more about the recipients and award categories below: Director’s Awards Alex Stroud Alex Stroud serves as a crew leader from the Public Works department. Stroud was nominated by supervisors within the organization and was recognized for his hard work and dedication by his team members. “Alex was selected because of the way he approaches projects. He is constantly focused on meeting the expectations for the customer,” Public Works Director Rob Cohen said. Anthony Dudley Anthony Dudley serves as the support services tech for the City’s Finance and Information and Technology Departments. Dudley is known for setting a great example of the City’s values. He displays his commitment by delivering excellent customer service and being an amazing team player. “I would say it’s Anthony’s genuine desire of serving the customer and serving them well with excellence, and ensuring that he is addressing their needs,” said Chief Financial Officer Sharen Jackson. Bryan Thomas Lt. Bryan Thomas serves as a fire lieutenant for the Southlake Fire Department. He has served with the department for over 19 years and is recognized for his leadership skills. “Bryan is a great example of how officers should respond with his crew,” Chief Mike Starr said.“Bryan leads by example, he is out training his guys on a daily basis, he leads from the front.” Dylan Welch Dylan Welch serves as the HR generalist for the Human Resources Department. Welch is recognized for his positive can-do attitude. He was instrumental in implementing the Kronos software and utilizing the Laserfiche product. “All in all, Dylan is just one of those employees who can do it all, wants to do it all and has a great attitude while he’s doing it,” Human Resources Director Stacy Black said. Cpl. Joshua Ellis Cpl. Joshua Ellis serves as a corporal officer on the Southlake Police Department and is highly regarded for his great reputation representing the department. “Cpl. Ellis serves several different roles with the department, one of which is on the hiring board. Within that particular role, Josh functions to make sure that the officers we are hiring are the best that we can get to fulfill our role in our mission going into the future,” Police Chief James Brandon said. Julia Lyon Julia Lyon serves as a code enforcement officer for Planning and Development Services. She is recognized for taking on a new role as code enforcement officer, how she approached the challenges and her outstanding communications skills. “She understood the challenges in terms of what the department was trying to do in terms of communicating,” Senior Director of Planning and Development Services Ken Baker said. “Working with our customers, understanding the law and regulations when she is investigating a case.” Ryan McGrail Ryan McGrail serves as the recreation manager at The Marq Southlake. McGrail is known for his commitment to meeting expectations and making sure the job’s done correctly. “He has the ability and the mental stamina to be able to see to it that everything gets taken care of and that’s what makes him extraordinary to me,” Director of Community Services Chris Tribble said. The Southlake Values Awards recognizes employees who exemplify the City’s values of integrity, innovation, accountability, excellence and teamwork. Crystal Maddalena Crystal Maddalena is the banquet specialist at The Marq Southlake. She is the recipient of the Accountability Award. Maddalena has a reputation for going above and beyond. The department has received numerous compliments about the services that she provides the community. “There’s a confidence we have in Crystal, and we just know that Crystal’s on the job and we know that customer’s expectations are going to be met,” Director of Community Services Chris Tribble said. Kevin Ferrer Kevin Ferrer is the deputy city engineer in the Public Works Department and is the recipient of the Southlake Values Award for Integrity. Ferrer was awarded for his role over mobility projects. Over the last few months, Ferrer has taken on an additional 12 projects in all phases of development and construction. He is recognized for doing a tremendous level of work and his efforts in the organization and the business unit. “He said, ‘let me know what I can do to help,’ and he continued to move our projects forward. And we’re talking multi-million dollars’ worth of projects and infrastructure being installed,” Public Works Director Rob Cohen said. Michelle DeVoss Michelle DeVoss serves as the records manager for the City Secretary’s Office and is the recipient of the Southlake Values Award for Teamwork. She is praised for her positive attitude and constant smile. “We were so excited to nominate Michelle for the teamwork award,” City Secretary Amy Shelley said. “We knew from day one that we hired her that she was going to be a great fit.” Roderick Page Roderick Page, from the Southlake Police Department, is the recipient of the Southlake Values Award for Excellence. “Roderick’s presence in the police department is one of positivity and of a can-do attitude,” Police Chief James Brandon said. “He simply comes to work every day and goes above and beyond, whether it’s helping our citizens with the small things or even major crises that occur in their lives, or it’s the things that he does for his co-workers every day.” Property Notification Process Team The Property Notification Process Team was awarded the Southlake Values Award for Innovation. This team was formed to innovate a simpler, more effective and citizen-friendly process in creating and delivering property owner notifications for upcoming planning and zoning cases. This team consists of members from Planning and Development Services Madeline Oujesky, Jerod Potts, Seantay Carpenter and Lorrie Fletcher and members from the Office of Strategic Performance, Patrick Whitham and Dale Dean. “This effort really demonstrated how to meet the Southlake Way; and when I say that in terms of ‘the way’ they conducted their business in order to achieve the overall mission of the City. Obviously from the innovation standpoint, they clearly met that objective, but also from the teamwork perspective they work together as a team to address issues, whether it be the post office, the technology or just the communication out to the staff and training,” Senior Director of Planning and Development Services Ken Baker said. The Kristin Pitzinger Customer Service Award is named after late City employee Kristin Pitzinger and recognizes employees who exemplify outstanding customer service internally and externally. Dianne Low Dianne Low is the office assistant in the Parks Department and is the recipient of the Internal Kristin Pitzinger Customer Service Award. Low is recognized for being supportive to team members and customers. “Whether it’s working with our athletic associations, helping a resident, ensuring that a vendor’s invoice gets paid on time, or just working with our parks team to make sure the work gets done, Dianne is always exemplifying customer service The Southlake Way,” Community Services Director Chris Tribble said. Nic Miles Nic Miles is a firefighter and paramedic for the Southlake Fire Department and the recipient of the External Kristin Pitzinger Customer Service Award. Miles was nominated for his level of customer service and his volunteer efforts. “During the last year, we had the opportunity to help a gentleman who needed his yard cleaned. Nic was the first one to volunteer. Also, we had a young man that came by at the end of the year that was down on his luck and was unable to take care of his kids for Christmas…this was a guy that doesn’t even live in our city. Nic, along with some other people, joined in and got some presents.” The Spirit of Southlake Award honors employees who exemplify The Southlake Way every day by being outstanding employees and team players. This year, the Executive Leadership Team nominated all City employees for this award. “One of the things, I am most proud of is that I get to work alongside each of you,” City Manager Shana Yelverton said. “I think it’s utterly fitting that every member of our team will be recognized this year with the Spirit of Southlake Award.” The Tenure Awards honor employees who have dedicated several years of service to the organization ranging from five to 35 years. This year, we had 36 recipients who have contributed up to 30 years of service. Cheers to the Southlake employees who have made a stellar impression on their peers and supervisors! 
