Mayor to Present Award of Excellence for May and June 2020
Published on July 12, 2021
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird today will present the Mayor’s Award of Excellence for May and June 2020. Russell Murray of Lincoln Transportation and Utilities (LTU) Wastewater division will receive the May award, and Senior Traffic Technician Shane Dostal from the LTU Engineering Services division will receive the June award. The awards will be presented at 3 p.m. at the beginning of the City Council meeting at the County-City Building, 555 S. 10th Street.
The award presentations were postponed due to the pandemic. The awards recognize City employees who consistently provide exemplary service and work that demonstrates personal commitment to the City.
Murray was nominated by Telemeter Control Technician Rex Jordan, in the categories of customer relations, productivity, and safety for his role in an electrical infrastructure project.
As part of a large biogas to energy project at the Theresa Street Water Resource facility, electrical infrastructure improvements were necessary to serve the new compressed natural gas facility and equipment. Murray planned and coordinated a series of complex steps to accommodate construction and maintain critical water recovery operations during lengthy power outages.
Jordan wrote that the project was successfully finished largely due to Murray’s thorough efforts toward planning, communication, and attention to detail that included ensuring the safety of all those involved working with high voltage infrastructure.
Dostal was nominated by Senior Engineering Technician Harry Kroos in the categories of customer relations, productivity, and safety for traffic coordination during the pandemic.
In spring 2020, Dostal managed traffic coordination and messaging associated with the COVID-19 testing sites. With most employees teleworking, Dostal also performed barricading for Parks and Recreation and LTU street closures and became the primary contact for contractors on City projects. Because these activities were outside his normal duties, Dostal was required to be on-call at all hours. This resulted in significant cost savings.
Kroos stated that Shane’s positive attitude and efforts are recognized by internal and external agencies throughout Lincoln and that his efforts are unmatched within the LTU department.
The other categories in which employees can be nominated are loss prevention and valor. Consideration also may be given to nominations that demonstrate self-initiated accomplishments or those completed outside of the nominee’s job description. All City employees are eligible for the award except for elected and appointed officials. Individuals or teams can be nominated by supervisors, peers, subordinates, and the public. Nomination forms are available at lincoln.ne.gov/awardofexcellence or from department heads, employee bulletin boards or the Human Resources Department, which oversees the awards program.
All nominations are considered by the Mayor’s Award of Excellence Committee, which includes a representative with each union and a non-union representative appointed by the Mayor. Award winners receive a $50 gift certificate, a day off with pay and a certificate. All monthly winners and nominees are eligible to receive the annual award, which comes with a $250 gift certificate, two days off with pay and a plaque.