Sterling Awards For Outstanding Performance

The City of Leesburg has recognized 8 employees for outstanding job performance going above and beyond the call of duty. These employees have received the city’s S*T*E*R*L*I*N*G Award, which was designed to recognize employees for exemplary individual effort on the job.

Department Heads receiving the award are Fire Chief Dennis Sargent, City Engineer - Public Works Director Lora Bailey and Utility Director Lloyd Shank. Five additional staff members received a cash endowment along with their S*T*E*R*L*I*N*G Award. They are John Meier, Steve Davis, Gary Hunnewell, Jack Rogers and Randy Taylor.

Dennis Sargent served with distinction as the Director of the City’s Emergency Operations Center during Hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jeanne. Lora Bailey coordinated the City’s efforts at preparedness and clean-up for Hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jeanne. During the hurricanes she was also the Acting Deputy City Manager.

Lloyd Shank coordinated utility work during hurricane recovery. During recent hurricanes many of us suffered power outages. Seventy-five percent of Leesburg’s electric customers lost power during Hurricane Frances and an additional eighty percent lost power with Hurricane Jeanne. Leesburg Electric customers were consistently restored more quickly than many of our neighbors due to the dedication and professionalism of our staff. Many city departments pitched in to help our electric department and made us proud. We cannot honor every employee with an award, but we can recognize the hard work of the team and also recognize that good teamwork starts with good leadership.

Four award recipients were instrumental in our Highway 441 utility relocation and road widening projects. They dealt with the daily challenges coordinating with the numerous residents, business owners and contractors involved.

Steve Davis, with the Electric Department, led in creating drawings, obtaining property owner approval of easements, writing easements, processing easements and daily troubleshooting in the field. Gary Hunnewell, with Environmental Services, often filled in on a daily basis in the field when needed as well as in taking the lead role in project meetings.

Jack Rogers, Gas Supervisor, led the effort in coordinating with Florida Gas. He assisted in motivating and insuring that the team met its deadlines. Jack was a positive force on the project. Randy Taylor, also with the Gas Department, has been “in the trenches” working evenings and weekends, coordinating crews and troubleshooting on a daily basis. Randy coordinated the City welders toward the end of the project, an effort that became necessary when it appeared that the contractors’ welders would not meet deadline. He was also instrumental in ensuring that testing was done.

Last, but certainly not least is John Meier, the city’s Geographical Information Systems Manager (GIS). John’s task was to take the city’s large collection of hand drawn and colored zoning map books and build a computerized database of the often outdated information. The City now has a Zoning Map Book that is reproducible, in color, up-to-date and can continue to be updated as necessary. John’s efforts saved the City significant money.

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