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Deputy City Clerk Veronica Prince is the 2021 City Employee of the Year. The community-led Employee Review Board selected Prince for implementing open meeting procedures and best practices that allowed City Council, boards, and commissions to operate during the pandemic.
Prince was selected for going above and beyond her job description by coordinating and tracking over 500 City virtual board and commission meetings to comply with state law and ensuring boards and commissions work was accessible to the community.
Prince is the main point of contact for staff liaisons to the City's 21 advisory boards and commissions. During the pandemic, she provided training every time laws changed regarding open meetings. She ensured meeting notices, agendas, materials, and videos were posted for the public. After each meeting, she also posted videos and relevant documents for each meeting to a public access portal. Through it all, Prince provided ongoing support to staff liaisons and worked directly with board and commission members to help them understand open meeting laws and purpose.
Her nomination essay reads, in part, “The additional training and interaction precipitated by the pandemic allowed Veronica to emphasize, with staff and volunteers alike, the importance for our democracy that government proceedings remain transparent and easy for the public to access. Veronica performed this additional work (training, monitoring and posting, keeping track of 500+ meeting videos and agenda materials, and answering daily questions about open meetings) while continuing to excel at her regular duties. Veronica is the backup for all City Clerk duties, including FOIA coordination, records management, and legislative administration."
The community-led Employee Review Board selects an Employee of the Year each year from nominations submitted by City employees and citizens. The other nominees this year were Matt Brown (Public Works) and Joe Carter (Emergency Management).
Emergency Manager Joe Carter is the 2020 City Employee of the Year. The community-led Employee Review Board selected Carter for leading the City's response to the pandemic.
Carter exhibited extraordinary leadership, ingenuity, and dedication in planning, preparing, and responding to an emergency that changed the posture of the City’s business and public service communities. The pandemic forced the community to reinvent its way of life and realign its priorities, and Carter was considered the “tip of the spear” in the City’s response.
The nomination reads, in part, “Throughout the pandemic, Joe demonstrated selfless leadership and exceptional courage, putting others’ well-being first to serve and support the City community. He approaches each day with grit, compassion, and grace - and it’s his persistent grace that truly left City employees and residents feeling safe, informed, and empowered by his service. He has never wavered from his mission in keeping the lives and livelihood of City residents and employees healthy and safe.”
The community-led Employee Review Board selects an Employee of the Year each year from nominations submitted by City employees and citizens. The other 2020 nominees were Akida Rouzi (Community Planning and Economic Development) and Steve Helfer (Community Planning and Economic Development).
About the Award
The “Employee of the Year” Award was established in 1987 to grant recognition to a City employee for accomplishments of outstanding worth in advancing and improving public service in the City of Falls Church General Government.
Accomplishments that are eligible for consideration will vary widely in form and substance due to the many different jobs City Employees perform. They will be evaluated against criteria that examine gains achieved, overall impact of the accomplishment, and the environment in which the achievement took place. The recipient receives a cash award.
Eligibility for the award is open to all permanent full or part-time employees in the City’s personnel system and employees of Constitutional offices, provided the initial probationary period has successfully concluded. Appointed officials, elected officials, and department directors are not eligible.
The criteria used in judging are:
Nominations may not be submitted by a member of the immediate family of the nominee or the nominee themselves.
Nomination Process
Year | Winner | Department |
---|---|---|
2021 | Veronica Prince | City Clerk's Office |
2020 | Joe Carter | Emergency Management |
2019 | Jeremy Edwards | Department of Public Works |
2018 | Carly Aubrey | Planning Department |
2017 | Ibby Acosta | Finance Department |
2016 | Joe Dowling | Public Works |
2015 | Missy Elliott | Police Department |
2014 | Megan Graham | Court Services |
2013 | Leslyn Barrow | Housing and Human Services |
2012 | Cary Frostick | Mary Riley Styles Public Library |
2011 | Susan Richter | Housing and Human Services |
2010 | Kathy Allan | Environmental Services |
2009 | Rachel Kindell | Aurora House |
2008 | Ed Lancaster | Police Department |
2007 | Marshall Webster | Mary Riley Styles Public Library |
2006 | Beverly Reich | Human Resources |
2005 | Debralee Woodbury | Recreation and Parks |
2004 | Jill Anne Spence | Planning Department |
2003 | Dan Ellis | Police Department |
2002 | Ali Khan | Environmental Services |
2001 | Deborah Taylor | Registrar |
2000 | Butch Goff | Recreation and Parks |
1999 | Linda Weikle | Recreation and Parks |
1998 | Danny Schlitt | Recreation and Parks |
1997 | Robert Goff | Environmental Services |
1996 | Dagmar McGill | Mary Riley Styles Public Library |
1995 | Donna Ahart | Aurora House |
1994 | Debra Gee | Planning Department |
1993 | Bruce Taylor | Police Department |
1992 | Ralph Lewis | Environmental Services |
1991 | Annette Mills | Environmental Services |
1990 | Melodie Baron | Housing and Human Services |
1989 | Sue Spiker | City Attorney's Office |
1989 | Lieutenant Greg King | Police Department |
1988 | Howard Herman | Recreation and Parks |
1987 | Robert Compher | Environmental Services |
Steve Mason, Director
City Hall
300 Park Ave.
Suite 200 West
Falls Church, VA 22046
Email
703-248-5127 (TTY 711)
Fax: 703-248-5196
Monday - Friday
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.