5281 Past Winners

Human Resource Center

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› Employee Resources › Employee Recognition › 5281 › 5281 Past Winners

Human Resource Center

Employee Resources

2010 Winners

The 5281 Awards ceremony was held Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. If you missed it, you can watch it online at www.DenverGov.org/Denver8online

Winners were chosen using the following criteria:

1. City's Five Goals - This award recognizes individuals and teams who have helped the City reach one or more of the City’s Five Goals:

Bringing fiscal sustainability and responsibility to city government.
Driving private-sector economic growth and job creation.
Improving education and opportunities for all kids.
Restoring public trust and confidence in the Police Department and all city agencies.
Becoming number one in customer service.

2. STARS - This award recognizes individuals or teams who have exemplified STARS values:

Service to Customers
Teamwork
Accountability
Respect for self and others
Safety

3. Greenprint Denver Sustainability - This award recognizes individual or team actions that promote Greenprint Denver's Action Agenda.

Improve resource efficiency (fuel/energy, materials, water, and natural resources)
Advance triple bottom line actions (economic, social, and environmental) of City activities
Reduce adverse environmental impacts to air, land, and water through:
- Natural resource savings or enhancement
- Energy or fuel efficiencies
- Community improvements
- Greenhouse gas reductions

These City and County of Denver employees have gone above and beyond in delivering a world class city where everyone matters.

Individual Award Winners
Team Award Winners
Honorable Mentions

Individual Award Winners

Andrea Albo
Denver Human Services

Andrea Albo's division at DHS serves nearly 183,000 vulnerable individuals in the community - 25% more than two years ago. Andrea planned and implemented a two-phased project, which became known as "The Recovery Effort," to shorten wait times and reduce backlog in the medical, food and cash federal assistance programs at DHS. Because of her leadership, which stressed customer service, teamwork and accountability, the processing time for assistance applications was reduced over 29% in one year - with an even greater reduction in food only assistance processing times.

Dawn Crosswhite
Denver Human Services

Dawn Crosswhite is a tireless advocate for vulnerable youth. She volunteers for the most difficult cases, and spends large amounts of time with each of her clients, to help them find a sense of purpose in their lives. Dawn expects more from her clients and doesn't mind putting in the hours to make them feel respected, worthy of love and inspired to work toward their future. Under her guidance, many of her clients have successfully reconnected with lost families or found new families through adoption.

Stephen Digiacomo
Denver Human Services

Stephen Digiacomo has made a significant impact on DHS by taking DHS hotline training to a new level. He took on the challenging job and through diligence, humor, and ability to organize, improved the teams work environment, work processes and customer service. He is vigilant concerning the safety of children, and brings that passion to the training of new employees. Stephen's positive attitude and expectation that everyone deliver outstanding customer service is infectious to his peers and the community he serves.

Glenn Frieler
Denver International Airport

Glenn Frieler and his team implemented a new technology at DIA that crushed, recycled and reused roadway concrete in-place. This process saves the time, expense and environmental impact of transporting old pavement and new base materials. This first project alone saved 1,250 gallons of diesel and avoided 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions, and most importantly, paved the way for broader applications of sustainable roadway improvement projects at DIA.

Lorrie Kosinski
Human Rights & Community Relations

Lorrie Kosinski is the primary Sign Language interpreter, trainer and advocate for the City and County of Denver. She receives between 35-50 requests for service per month. She helps ensure that hearing impaired residents receive accurate information, and makes sure that their voices are heard. She serves as a resource for multiple agencies including County Courts, Human Rights and Community Relations, the Sheriff’s Department, Parks and Recreation and Human Services. In addition to being a liaison between The City and the deaf community, she trains fellow City employees in Sign Language so that they too can communicate with deaf hard of hearing residents. Because of Lorrie’s work, Denver is one of the country’s most renowned cities for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.

Joseph Malouff
Safety

Joseph Malouff provides a variety of volunteer opportunities to Denver residents by coordinating DPD’s Volunteers in Policing (VIP) Unit as well as the Denver Explorer Scouts Post 83 (14-20 year old youth). Tech Malouff meets with Explorers each Wednesday at the Police Academy to study and practice, preparing them to be the next generation of police officers. Under Tech Malouff, more than 250 volunteer assist officers by performing duties that will allow them to return to law enforcement. He has also found ways to commemorate outstanding volunteer service and is developing a system to archive information. In the year he has been VIP Coordinator, more than 60 new volunteers have joined the VIP Unit.

Heather McKee
Denver International Airport

Heather McKee is the system administrator for many of DIA’s critical systems, including the DIA Emergency Communication System, the DIA Airfield Lighting Controls and Monitoring, and the in-pavement airfield sensors. She also serves as a subject matter expert for the DIA Lift Station System. In each of these areas, Heather took on various projects that optimized, upgraded or improved the function of these systems using leading edge technology. Because of Heather’s efforts, DIA’s critical systems are more reliable, use less energy and are safer for DIA’s passengers and employees.

Amber McReynolds
Clerk & Recorder

Amber McReynolds developed an efficient and cost effective way for the Denver Elections Division to update voter registration records to include more eligible voters. By transferring National Change of Address data from the U.S. Postal Service to the election administrator to update the voter registration record, the process will become more streamlined and require less data entry. In addition to the benefits to voters, if the legislation that is based on her solution passes, the reduced cost associated with it could be upwards of $75,000 per election for the Denver Elections Division.

Jessica Skibo
General Services, Purchasing

From 2009 to 2011, Jessica Skibo has saved the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) project more than $500,000. The SCBA project is a region wide effort made up of more than 20 different cities, various agencies and multiple fire protection districts. Because the funding comes through the Department of Homeland Security, there are strict procurement regulations. Jessica’s efforts in overseeing the contract bidding process for all the stakeholders involved in the project, as well as compliance with regulations Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants, has helped stretch funding in these difficult economic times.

Ann Williams
Public Works

Ann Williams spearheaded many of of the great public communications campaigns for Public Works in 2011. Because of her efforts, Public Works has improved their service delivery and Denver is an even more livable city. Campaigns that Ann worked on included the “Show Your Pride, Move Your Ride“ street sweeping reminder campaign, the “DenverSnowPlan.com” snow removal tracking website, and the “ParkSmarkDenver” campaign to educate residents on the new rules for overnight parking. Ann also formed the team that puts on the “Brush Off Community Challenge” graffiti removal events twice a year. In addition to her work in Public Works, in 2011 Ann Williams served as Mayor Vidal’s Communications Director. She made the City and County of Denver look good by routinely dealt with community safety issues in a professional and sensitive manner.

Team Award Winners

Arts & Venues Denver Team
Kent Rice
Jan Brennan
Tad Bowman
Mark Najarian
Ginger White
Brian Kitts

In June, 2011, the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs merged with Theatres and Arena, creating a new City agency called Arts & Venues Denver. The efficiencies created through combing resources will generate a savings of 1.2 million dollars annually. In addition, the merger is expected to further Denver’s goal to be the Creative Capital of the West with opportunities for expanded arts, education, entertainment, sponsorship and economic development partnerships.

Central Park Core Leadership Team
Charlene Branch
Tracy Breckenridge
Mary Carriero
Matt Draper
Tony Hernandez
Naomi Pratt
Felicia Rodriguez
Henry Sena

The new Central Park Recreation Center breaks new ground because of its size (57,000 square feet operating 7 days a week) and because of the funding partnership between the City and a special district. The staff had to implement 30+ fitness programs, develop procedures and order supplies and equipment from scratch, all in time for the grand opening. They also recruited community members to help facilitate many of the youth sports programs. Central Park’s projected revenue for the first year was exceeded by $250,000, with a member usage that was 2.5 times higher than expected. This center has raised the bar for all Recreations centers, in Denver and beyond.

DEH Environmental Sustainability Team
Tom Herrod
Sharon Procopio
Liz Babcock
Janet Burgesser
Jeremy Lauffenburger
Todd Bevington
Julie Carlton

The Environmental Sustainability Team helps resident and businesses save money through reduced energy costs, improved waste management practices and increased natural resource conservation. Through the Denver Energy Challenge and the Certifiably Green Denver programs, nearly 700 businesses and 2,700 homes received free assistance with their sustainability efforts– 18 businesses even met the certification requirements for exemplary environmental achievement. It is estimated that this endeavors will save a combined 6.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity, which will equate to about $650,000. In addition, 17 million points of greenhouse gases and 1200 tons of landfill waste have been avoided or diverted.

Enterprise Cashiering Solution Team
Angel Muse
Rae Alarid-Santore
Alexandra Esquibel
Alyssa White
Susan Ingle
Sean Curley
Lisa Walker
Michelle Herrera
Jamie Bartel
Autumn Valdez
Caroline Hendrickson
Mike Love
Liz Clymer
Susan Ingle
Shea Scott

The Enterprise Cashiering System fully automates the acceptance of payments o line and at point of sale locations so it improves customer service, while saving time for manual entry, processing and reconciliation. The ECS Team selected and implemented the first phase of the Point of Sale cashiering System in Treasury, CPD and PW Wastewater. In addition, they gave online functionality to Police Records, composting and Parks and Rec donations. The system is now compliant with the compliant with the payment card industry’s security standards, limiting a customers’ exposure to fraud. It also offers customers additional online payment option types. In 2011, the system process nearly 40,000 transactions, equaling $103,000. The system also accelerated the deposit of funds into City accounts by at least one day.

Overnight Parking Program Team
Kelly Duffy
Matt Wagner
Sean Mackin
Kelly Colvin
Cindy Patton
Tina Scardina
Bill Miles
Roberta Munoz

The overnight parking program team worked with the Downtown Denver Partnership, the LoDo Business District and City Council to make changes that would allow for overnight parking in Denver. In addition to bringing together stakeholder to undertake this project, the team launched a comprehensive communications campaign to educate the public and businesses about the change. They even developed new wording for the meter stickers to make the rules more clear. From May through September, 125,000 total hours were purchased for the time period when parking was previously free or forbidden. This has positively affected businesses in the Denver area – especially those who have late night or early-morning customers, or employees that work graveyard shifts.

Strategic Initiatives Energy Team
Susie Zeylmaker
Dawn Levin
Christian Willis
Judy Rigg

In 2011, the Strategic Initiatives Energy team changed their mission from a bill paying unit, to a dedicated energy management team. One of their first endeavors was to transition to a paperless billing system. The effort as reduced duplicity in account payment processes reduced turn-around time for payments and stopped all prompt payment interest charges. In addition, the team can now track all energy use and cost data electronically to develop new cost saving initiatives. They have organized energy audits of City facilities that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, and laid the foundation for many future energy saving efforts in various initiatives. Through rebate programs and stringent contract management, they were able collect $400,000 worth of energy rebates and save an additional $500,000. They even finished the year with a utility budget savings surplus of about 1 million dollars!

Honorable Mentions

Detective Nash Gurule
Denver Police Department

Detective Nash Gurule went above and beyond the call of duty in solving the five month long Kenia Monge case. Because of the confidential nature of his work, details are unavailable, but suffice to say that Detective Gurule's perseverance and diligence brought a suspect to justice and gave a grieving family closure.

2009 - 5281 Winners

Congratulations 2009 - 5281 Winners

See winner summaries below

Paul Bedard
Environmental Health

Roger Celius

General Services

Chani Goering
Technology Services

Georgia Howard
Office of Economic Development

Scott Morrissey
Greenprint Denver

Rita Murphey
Career Service Authority

Denise Stepto
Greenprint Denver

Brent Tongco
Office of Economic Development

Sabrina Williams
Environmental Health

Denver Bike Loaner Program
Greenprint Denver

Denver Zoning Code Team
Community Planning & Development

General Services
Environmental Initiatives

Public Trustee Team
Office of the Clerk & Recorder

Honorable Mention
Tim Corcoran, Public Works
Mark Guerrero, Public Works

Kip Memmott, Auditor’s Office
Human Resources Division, Denver Human Services

5281 Winner Summaries

2009 Individual Winner Summaries

Paul Bedard

Environmental Health | Nominated by: Gary Lasswell

As Program Administrator for Denver’s Facility Compliance Active Storage Tank Program, it is Paul’s responsibility to ensure that 40 underground petroleum storage tanks at 15 City facilities comply with all applicable laws. In 2009, strict new regulations, construction of a new fueling center, installing new tanks, retrofitting old ones and overseeing Denver’s aging infrastructure caused a “perfect storm” of circumstances - all of which Paul handled ably. Under his supervision, 139 employees trained as Class C UST Operators at 12 facilities, Citywide capability to provide routine visual monitoring was expanded and design features that reduce liability associated with spill prevention & storm water management at the Central Platte Campus were maximized.

Roger Celius

General Services | Nominated by: Tenlee Shoffstall
Roger oversees several sustainability & environmental issues, including UST training and inspections, environmental housekeeping at facilities throughout Denver and EMS internal & external audits. He also coordinated window blind replacement, saving $240,000, carpet replacement, janitorial services procurement, re-lamping of Webb Building interior lighting and City/County Building exterior lighting. Roger’s ability to careful articulate reasons for the changes, ally key stakeholders and see implementation & training through to completion are much valued.

Chani Goering
Technology Services | Nominated by: Chuck Frederick, Brad Laing (2 nominations)

Chani redesigned Denver’s primary website, Denvergov.org. She carefully researched designs and made the technical modifications required to migrate 1000s of web pages into the new configuration, using customer feedback to improve that process while correcting broken links throughout the process. The overall result is that several City agencies have been able to improve their own customer service. For example, the 311 Call Center was able to upgrade its own web procedures, generating more than twice the number of inquiries through Denvergov. Additionally, Career Service consolidated over 40 sites and 4,000 pages to under 100 pages, as well as created a dynamic public-facing job sites and the internal Human Resources Center on the intranet.

Georgia Howard

Office of Economic Development | Nominated by: Paula Gomez Farrell

In 2009, Georgia was charged with becoming an expert for the energy & green jobs industry sector for OED’s Workforce Development. As this is a new focus for the country, Georgia created a strategy that has subsequently been adopted by other industry sectors, including construction/skilled trades, healthcare & hospitality. She led a team that educated businesses on accessing talent development, resulting in nearly 100 jobs and newly trained workers. Her focus is consistent: self-sufficiency wages, clear identification of business needs, leading to a broader job base. Georgia’s focus on both job-seekers and business customers has identified her as an expert for the region.

Scott Morrissey

Greenprint Denver | Nominated by: Michele Weingarden

Scott coordinated, compiled, secured and now oversees $6M in energy efficiency and conservation block grant fund obtained from the Department of Energy. He guided stakeholders through the task of determining the programs that should be included in the grant application and how the resultant funding should be allocated, all to fulfill Greenprint Denver goals. The selected programs include Mile High Million Tree program and the building of bicycle share stations near critical transit depts. Denver’s application was in the first 5 of over 180,000 submitted to be approved, speaking volumes on the effectiveness of the proposal.

Rita Murphey
Career Service Authority | Nominated by: Pete Garritt
Rita oversees the City’s disability management program, ensuring the Americans with Disabilities guidelines are followed and determining essential job function capabilities of each employee. She manages 12,500 cases involving illnesses, injuries or disabilities and has developed ADA procedures & documents to keep employees and their management informed. She coordinates the interactive process for all City agencies, obtaining and analyzing complex medical data to make disability determinations. Rita has also developed community resources and co-facilitates ADA/FML training throughout the City. *Rita was recently selected as a finalist for the national Case In Point awards program for her work on the City’s disability management program. Winners are announced in Washington, D.C. in April.

Denise Stepto
Greenprint Denver | Nominated by: Michele Weingarden
Denise developed Denver’s Climate Action Plan residential challenge program. She convened several organizations to determine current services and future needs, targeting one neighborhood at a time so that residents could better learn about available services. Those residents are now saving money on utility bills, staying warm in their homes and conserving resources. In 2009, Denise’s program reached 12 such neighborhoods, with another 20 scheduled in 2010. The City is also seeing benefits in carbon emissions reduction, participation increase with Denver’s recycling program and more trees planted.

Brent Tongco

Office of Economic Development | Nominated by: Steve Sander

Brent’s work on providing marketing services to the Greenprint Denver program have resulted in a wide knowledge and acceptance of key City initiatives. Those include the DNC Greening Report, the DNC Convention Final Report, B-cycle Bike Sharing program (over 5000 pounds of CO2 saved), Earth Day Fair (10,000 attendees, with wide media coverage) and the Green Festival (15,000 visitors at Denver’s booth, featuring the Green Sweeper, Million Tree program, Greenprint, B-cycle and recycling). Brent uses his comprehensive knowledge of promotional campaign design, public relations and strategic communication skills to raise awareness of Denver’s environmental initiatives.

Sabrina Williams
Environmental Health | Nominated by: Ron Latreille

Sabrina is an Environmental Analyst and Green Fleet Program Coordinator who faced into a challenging budget year to address Denver’s designation as “out of compliance” with Federal ozone clean air standards. As a result of that designation, Denver committed to reducing emissions caused by diesel truck traffic in City neighborhoods. Sabrina was responsible for supporting the Mayor’s sustainability goals outlined in Executive Order 123 with no funds allocated. She developed partnerships with City agencies, outside vendors and networks. She located new funding sources and wrote 2 grant proposals that successfully secured $1M for cleaning biodiesel fuel burning, anti-idling and pollution control devices for 235 heavy duty fleet diesel vehicles. As a result, 196 tons of smog-forming emissions was diverted from our atmosphere, 424 tons of CO2 was conserved and 47,000 gallons of fuel conserved, netting $1M savings for Denver.

2009 Team Winner Summaries

Denver Bike Loaner Program

Greenprint Denver | Nominated by: Cindy Bosco

The Mayor’s vision aligned with a Greenprint Denver goal to increase the downtown bicycle commuting population to 10% by 2018. This team established comprehensive procedures to make the City bike pool safe, fun & flexible. They persuaded Humana to donate 27 bikes, 2 docking stations, technology & hardware. Bicycle Village kept the bikes maintained. Those partnerships saved Denver about $40,000.

Denver Zoning Code Team

Community Planning and Development | Nominated by: Council Members: Jeanne Robb & Carla Madison and Julius Zsako (2^nd nomination)

CPD comprehensively revamped the City’s zoning code, which had been used since 1956, emphasizing preservation, sustainable growth and reducing citizen time in review & negotiations. This web-based code will allow citizens to access map amendments, conditions & waivers, and Board of Adjustment variances.

General Services Team - General Services

Nominated by: Derek Brown

This team received eight nominations this year for their successful implementation of environmental and sustainability initiatives. Some highlights include installing 576 new LED fixtures for the City’s’ holiday lights which saves Denver $180,000 each year and supports environmental sustainability. The team was instrumental in reducing adverse environmental impacts to air, land and water by converting from toxic to green cleaning products. Their energy savings calculations have allowed the City to make better decisions about energy expenditures, and their own recommendation to change custodial shifts saved close to $250,000 annually through shift differential and utility reduction.

Public Trustee Team

Clerk & Recorder | Nominated by: Stephanie O’Malley

Due to economic troubles, Denver’s foreclosure filing rate created a backlog that was out of compliance with State law. This team not only cleared the backlog but reorganized workflow, developed a Code of Conduct for weekly foreclosure auctions and cross-trained all staff members.

2008 - 5281 Award Winners

Congratulations 2008 - 5281 Individual and Team Winners

5281 Individual Award Winners

5281 Team Award Winners

Susan Baird
Parks and Recreation

Janell Barrilleaux
Denver International Airport

Joe Davis
Theatres & Arenas

Dolores Gallegos
Public Works, Fleet Maintenance

Guadalupe Gutierrez-Vasquez
Department of Finance, Treasury Division

Sara Harmer
Technology Services

Ryan Nisogi
Career Service Authority

Lee Ragon
Denver Parks and Recreation

Michael Rappe
Denver Police Department

Delfino Rodriguez
Community Planning and Development

Lynn Rubner
Denver International Airport

Bobbi Smith
Office of Economic Development

Community Recreation
Parks and Recreation

DIA PV Solar Plant
Denver International Airport

Election Division Construction/Facility Team
General Services

Environmental Management System (EMS) Team
Environmental Health

Fleet Maintenance Division
Public Works

Denver Great Kids Head Start
Office of Education and Children

Landfill Gas-to-Energy Team
Environmental Health

Denver Motor Vehicle Division
Department of Finance, Motor Vehicle Division

Citywide Payroll & Administrative Team
Department of Finance, Controller's Office

Rude Rec Center Revitalization Team
Parks and Recreation

Southwest Park District
Parks and Recreation

TANF Employment Services Team
Office of Economic Development

2008 - 5281 Winners Summaries

Individual Summaries

Susan Baird
Parks and Recreation

Susan initiated, received funding, championed and became the Project Manager for the Master Plan. This resulted in a plan that answered salient questions and charted the course for sound management of this world-class park system.

Janell Barrilleaux
Denver International Airport

Janell was the driving force behind DIA's Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation and subsequent ISO 14001 certification. Because of her actions, DIA has completed several projects with an environmental benefit.

Joe Davis
Theatres & Arenas

Joe has made huge efforts the past year in the greening of Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Denver Coliseum. His examples of recycling and composting have set an example for other venues across the nation.

Dolores Gallegos
Public Works, Fleet Maintenance

Dolores has improved processes and procedures to various City agencies, vendors and the citizens of Denver with her professionalism and accountability. Her creative approach to the Residential Plow Program ensured that there were always enough plows to cover the City.

Guadalupe Gutierrez-Vasquez
Department of Finance, Treasury Division

Lupe has displayed her acumen in fiscal modeling with her abilities to positively engage in discussions and information sharing between the City, DURA, Park Creek Metro District and Forrest City about the Stapleton project. Her efforts with the Stapleton project provided important economic and social advantages to the City.

Sara Harmer
Technology Services

Sara faced a daunting matrix of tasks as project manager for all technology-related needs of the Denver Elections Division in one of the largest elections in the City's history. The success of all of the Division's voter registration, data processing, polling place, ballot processing, customer service and public information services to Denver citizens were highly dependent on the projects Sara managed.

Ryan Nisogi
Career Service Authority

Ryan's creative design and strategic marketing skills are only matched by his dedication to the City and County of Denver. In addition to his regular duties, Ryan spent much of 2008 working with the City's web site team to create a dynamic intranet for employees and enhancing the external site for job applicant, helping position the City as a customer- focused and responsive organization.

Lee Ragon
Denver Parks and Recreation

As a long-time member of the Aquatics Division in Denver Parks and Recreation, Lee's vision of keeping the department on the cutting edge of safety and training reached another milestone in 2008. Lee rallied support, funding and donations to bring life-saving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to 29 recreation centers and outdoor pools.

Michael Rappe
Denver Police Department

Technician Mike Rappe oversees the Denver Police Department's "Volunteers in Policing Services" (VIPS) unit which taps into citizens to support the DPD with perfunctory duties. Thanks to the Mike's diligence, passion and leadership, more then 27,000 hours were volunteered through the VIPS program last year, which is approximately $550,000 in value.

Delfino Rodriguez
Community Planning and Development

As a neighborhood inspector and Graffiti Fellow in the Mayor's Office, Delfino exemplifies the City's STARS values in his department, when working with elected officials and in dealing with citizens in the field. The effect of his efforts is a better understanding, resident by resident, business by business, of how City services work on citizens' behalf.

Lynn Rubner
Denver International Airport

Lynn's work behind the scenes with many of the technology systems at DIA was recognized by airlines and airports alike. She successfully completed a Visual Paging project, bringing DIA into compliance with Americans with Disability standards, and the standards she created for Airport Information Hub-AIH project are being adopted by airports worldwide.

Bobbi Smith
Office of Economic Development

Under Bobbi's leadership and support the "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" (TANF) program, more than 150 employment opportunities were created and more than 500 refugees were provided employment placement, training opportunities and supportive service, and TANF increased employment placement rates by up to 50 percent.

Team Summaries

Community Recreation
Parks and Recreation

The Community Recreation Team created and developed new and innovative programs for youth ages 12-15. Working together they secured grants and other funding to engage young people in a positive way on Friday and Saturday nights.

DIA PV Solar Plant
Denver International Airport

The DIA Solar Team installed the second largest solar photovoltaic facility yet built at a US commercial airport resulting in reduced carbon dioxide, reduced fossil fuel consumption and cost savings for the City and County of Denver.

Election Division Construction/Facility Team
General Services

The Election Division Construction/Facility Team looked at many options to relocate to a bigger space while staying within the budget while providing a great, new Elections facility. These actions resulted in an improved resource for the City and County of Denver.

Environmental Management System (EMS) Team
Environmental Health

Using the ISO 14001 process the EMS Team put in an environmental management system (EMS) for six City agencies to better manage environmental aspects and impacts to reduce impacts to air, land and water. The EMS was certified in November 2008 and will be expanded to another nine agencies in 2009, eventually leading to a citywide EMS.

Fleet Maintenance Division
Public Works

The Fleet Maintenance Division worked hard in 2008 to promote a green action agenda. A few of these initiatives include securing a hybrid trash truck, reaching 5% of the City Fleet with hybrid-electric vehicles, purchasing 1.4 million gallons of biodiesel fuel, using environmentally-friendly automotive paint and reducing hazardous waste generation.

Denver Great Kids Head Start
Office of Education and Children

The Denver Great Kids Head Start under a new director and excellent teamwork from all the DGKHS staff successfully obtained a Head Start Federal Grant for the next three years totaling $23 million, completed a metro-wide community assessment of Head Stat programs and a new contracting system for the contract services needed by Head Start.

Landfill Gas-to-Energy Team
Environmental Health

The Landfill Gas-to-Energy Team successfully developed and implemented a project to capture and convert landfill gas into a renewable energy source via a landfill gas-to-energy plant. This accomplishment resulted in greenhouse gas reductions by offsetting the use of fossil fuel at the local utility power plant at a cost savings of about $80,000 per year.

Denver Motor Vehicle Division
Department of Finance, Motor Vehicle Division

The Denver Motor Vehicle Division in cooperation with the State of Colorado developed a one stop license plate and driver's license facility. With the new intergovernmental facility, Denver residents have the convenience of performing their business within the same proximity with a unique and pleasant customer service experience.

Citywide Payroll & Administrative Services Division
Department of Finance, Controller's Office

The Citywide Payroll Services Division undertook the process of centralizing all payroll services under the Office of the Controller. They partnered with CSA and ERS to develop communication and training plans. As a result of the centralization the City recognized $1.5 million in sustainable cost savings and will also see a substantial return on investment related to the Kronos system that was rolled out in 2008.

Rude Rec Center Revitalization Team
Parks and Recreation

The Rude Rec Center Revitalization Team set out to reinvent itself by increasing facility usage, program participation and revenues while at the same time reaching out to those residents who had not used the Rude Recreation Center. Their public outreach efforts have yielded impressive results and have made the Center a model for other recreation centers.

Southwest Park District
Parks and Recreation

The Southwest Park District prioritized water conservation as their primary focus for 2008. They focused upon infrastructure improvements, staffing analysis, education and collaboration. The district saved 21,865,000 gallons of water roughly translating into just over $40,000 in savings while fostering an excellent model of teamwork.

TANF Employment Services Team
Office of Economic Development

The TANF Employment Services Team provided services that significantly improved the work participation rate for residents receiving TANF benefits. This was accomplished by redesigning work processes, retraining staff, establishing clear criteria for accountability and creating a culture of respect for recipients and staff.

5281 Past Winners - 2007

Congratulations 2007 5281 Individual and Team Winners

5281 Individual Award Winners

5281 Team Award Winners

Andrea Christensen - DIA
Bruce Dennis - TS

Gina Egger - Parks

Adrian Gonzales - DIA
David Huntsinger - PW

Nora Kimball - Council
Frankie Rachell-Bruce - Police
Doug Schoch - Parks
Gregg Thomas - DEH
Michael Wright - TS

Honorable Mention
Chief David Fisher - Police
Brendan Hanlon - Finance
Darrell Jordan - Sheriff
James Kellner - Parks
Ron Latrielle - PW

5 x 5 Project - MOEC
7,000 Trees - Parks

Building and Construction Team - CPD
Cancer Buddies - OEA
Civil Division - DCC
Denver Road Home - DHS
Denver Radium Streets Team - DEH
Environmental Management Team - DIA
Infrastructure Task Force - MO
Strategic Planning and - DHS

Leadership Team (SPLT) - DHS

Honorable Mention
Alley Paving Team - PW

Planning Services Team - CPD
Facilities Planning - LEED

Theatres and Arenas

5281 Past Winners - 2006

More than 200 City employees, friends and family members joined Mayor John Hickenlooper, CSA Director Don Cordova and other members of the executive team in celebrating the 2006 5281 Award winners on March 6th, 2007 at the Seawell Ballroom.

Congratulations to the following employees:

Individual Winners

Michael Aleksick
Department of Revenue - Treasury

Robert McDonald
Department of Environmental Health

Ginger White
Denver Office of Cultural Affairs

Mark Nagel
Department of Aviation

Deneen Stone
Department of Aviation

Ralph Mestas
Parks and Recreation Department

Ann Williams
Department of Public Works

Matthew Bryner
Department of Public Works

Team Winners

Lights on After School
Special Events Committee
Shelly Pawlowski
Kay Spring
Dave Petersen
Tracy Breckenridge
Ronald Picaso
Edward Manzanares
Glen Riley
Ginger Perez-Housley
Delores Moreno
Michael Barney
Dody Erickson
Maxine Quintana (MOEC)

Ruby Hill Rail Park Team
Parks and Recreation Department

Jill Coffman
Tim Hutchens
Jill Wuertz
Travis Ireland
Roy Vicory

Ruby Hill Rail Park
Southwest Park Division Team
Steven Hoerdemann
Carol Segura
Mike Trujillo
Keith Grant
Dana Rivera
Gerrard Pacheco Jr.
Richard Pardo
Ernie Rivera
Patrick Ertler
Mollie Vialpando
Ben Martinez
Dennis Rojas

Ruby Hill Rail Park
Outdoor Recreation Team

Brian Graham
Thomas Ruggles
Ronald Picaso

Summer Camp
Parks and Recreation Department
Dolores Moreno
Shelly Pawlowski

Montclair Fitness Center
Parks and Recreation Department
Sid Schwarz
Sid Shuck

Training Team
Career Service Authority
David Pickart
Robert Moody
Marcia Cunningham
Melody Soell
Debra Luckett
Richard Del Valle

Denver County Court
Kris Martinez
Orlando Vega
Robb Cole
Barbara Doyle
Bridget Williamson
Denise Origgi
Roberta Munoz

Team 55
Denver Human Services
Denise Archer
Sylvia Castillo
Dani Madril
Rebecca Rosales
Judy Rosso
Frances Sarno
Freddie Carter
Roechelle Cox
Christine Piper
Pamela Thomas
Andrea Albo

Denver Electronic Engineering Bureau Team
Technology Services
Myron Kissinger
Jon Manna
Gary Pasicznyk
Butch Ireland
Kurt Goldyn
William Orsborn
Michale Diubaldo
Tom Meggitt
Thomas Knapp Jr.
Deanna Vega
Andrew Anders
Bruce Dennis
Burnis Heard
Jordan Drazin

Special thanks to Gail Bailey, 5281 Selection Committee Members, Darryl Collier, Bernard Grant, the Denver Municipal Band, Parks and Recreation, Central Services, Seawell Ballroom and the wonderful volunteers who made this event a success including Cynthia Morales, Tanya Turcios, Corrine Freese and Cheila Mendoza-Sholler!