Public Employees Excellence Awards - Carver County

Press Release
Contact: Nick Koktavy
For Immediate Release
Project & Communications Mgr.
May 13, 2013 952-361-1797
County Board presents Public Employee Excellence Recognition awards
Carver County employees received special recognition at the May 7 County Board meeting as
part of the Public Employee Excellence Recognition (P.E.E.R.) Program, and the Board
acknowledged Years of Service milestones as part of Public Service Recognition Week.
“Having employees who are good at what they do, who interact well with the public and are
creative and innovative in making the County run more effectively and efficiently make our jobs
much easier,” said Board Chair Tim Lynch. “We appreciate all that our employees do for Carver
County.”
Developed by the General Unit’s Labor Management Committee five years ago, the P.E.E.R.
Awards Program allows county employees to nominate their peers in Customer Service,
Innovation, and Teamwork award categories. This year, a total of 57 employees were nominated
for the three types of awards.
Marlene Slavik, a Workforce Center employee in the Income Support Department of the
Community Social Services Division, received the Customer Service Award. The award
nomination said Slavik provides excellent support services to staff and excellent customer
service to the public and clients who utilize services and equipment at the Workforce Center. She
patiently assists people who have limited or no computer skills and helps other units with timesensitive
projects. Slavik is said to have “a smiling attitude” as she works behind the scenes to
make things run smoothly.
Other Customer Service Award nominees included: Library workers Kay Carlson and Geri
Gillis, Facility Services employee Kathleen Hennessy, and Information Technology employees
Mark Pexa, Chad Riley and Jim Stoll, who are all part of the Administrative Services Division;
Community Social Services Division Administrative Support employee Molly Koehler;
Taxpayer Services employee Marce Selvey and Service Center Supervisor Lori O’Keefe in the
Property Records and Taxpayer Services Division; and Grants and Financial Communications
Coordinator Coleen Speer in the Financial Services Division.
SharePoint Administrator Nancy Southorn, who works in the Information Technology
Department of the Administrative Services Division, received the 2013 Innovation Award.
Southorn received two nominations for this award, both of which referred to the definition of
innovation in relation to her work. One of the nominations reads, “Innovation is the introduction
of something new, a new idea, method, or device, and Nancy Southern is exactly that!” It went on
to state Southorn consistently delivers a work project that “exceeds all expectations and then
some.” Whether it’s her work as the developer of the SharePoint intranet site or her work on

specific projects such as creation of the Incident Reporting Form, co-workers appreciate
Southorn’s attention to detail and ability to simplify processes to save time and money for Carver
County. She tends to completely immerse herself in the tasks at hand, and her tremendous work
ethic contributes to the County’s success.
Other Innovation Award nominees were: Child and Family Department Therapist Charlene
Forcier in the Community Social Services Division; Information Technology Business Analyst
Celia Gust in the Administrative Services Division; and Mental Health Crisis Program Health
Care Navigator Shawna Vivant in the Behavioral Health Department of the Community Social
Services Division.
The Mayer/New Germany Recycling Site Project Team received the Teamwork Award. The
project involved construction of a recycling site in Mayer to replace a small substandard site in
New Germany. When private contractor bids on the project came in at more than $62,000, the
Environmental Services Department staff searched for costs savings and discussed the project
with Public Works Division’s Highway Maintenance Superintendent Mike Legg.
Legg was able to work the project into the department’s schedule, and his crew completed the
bulk of the site work with minimal need for private contractors. Public Works employees from
the Surveying and Mapping Department Lloyd Schaeffer and Greg Lang worked to design,
provide plans, survey and stake the site. Pete Bendzick and Andy Wigfield from the Sign Shop
created and installed signage at the main entrance, instructional signs for residents, and decals for
the recycling containers. The end result was the new recycling center was opened in October at a
cost of $33,000, a savings of nearly $30,000 over the privately bid option.
Other finalists for the Teamwork Award were:
Mental Health Consortium of Carver County members Don Heywood, Jim Olson,
Marcee Shaughnessy, Coleen Speer, Shawna Vivant and Melanie Warm.
Juvenile Probation Team members Jill Arbeiter, Talli Dorf, Leah Fleming, Eric
Johnson, Renee Kleber, Jackie Nichols and Gerri Sherman.
Other Teamwork Award nominees included the following teams: AIS Watercraft Inspection
Program, Clinical Support, Governor’s Fishing Opener, Lean/Kaizen Events, Therapeutic Mental
Health Services in Carver County Schools, Working on What Works Day Treatment Program,
and the Sheriff’s Patrol Sergeants and Deputies.
In addition to the PEER Awards, the Board recognized Mike Lein, Kimberly Stender, Ellen
Roan, and Robert Olson for 30 years of service. And the following employees received Board
recognition for 25 years of service: John Bramwell, Bruce Furman, Peter Ivy, Michael Kohls,
Patrick Murphy, Stephanie Ponath and Wynne Trick.
Carver County employees provide a full range of services to residents. These services include
public safety and law enforcement, courts and probation services, tax assessment and collection,
vital statistics and public records, health and human services, highways, parks, public works,
planning, environmental management, recreation and cultural services. Carver County currently
employs more than 700 individuals in full- and part-time capacities to fill a total of 624 Full-
Time Equivalent (FTE) employee positions. For more information on the county and its
employment opportunities, please visit www.co.carver.mn.us.