Online Staff Report

The Rockford Park District announced that Community Recreation Manager Danielle Potter was selected as the Rockford Park District 2011 Employee of the Year. Laurie Anderson, Matt Bunk, Barb Neville, Brenda Parrish and Judy Roby were selected as 2011 Team of the Year by all staff members through an online voting system.

Throughout the year, 24 employees and seven teams were nominated by team members and selected by a staff recognition committee as Employee of the Quarter and Team of the Quarter, making them eligible to be selected as Employee of the Year and Team of the Year.

The nominations for each quarter included recognition for Outstanding Performance, Creative Contributions, Notable Service to Community/Citizens, Notable Service to Staff, Dollars for Ideas, and Safety First.

Factors used to determine quarterly award recipients included special contributions to the Park District as a whole, successful completion of special projects, ideas for improved work methods, outstanding dedication to the Park District, ideas that generated revenue or saved money for the district, attention to safety details, and/or outstanding customer service.

Potter received the recognition because of her involvement in the “Summer Challenge” program. This year, the Park District coordinated the entire program at six schools for more than 1,800 students in grades kindergarten through eighth. Potter demonstrated excellence in leadership while working with a direct budget of more than $1 million, hiring well more than 60 additional seasonal employees and preparing all policies, procedures, logistics and service partners.

Potter’s success was noted by Rockford Public School District 205, the YMCA of Rock River Valley, and other partners participating in the program.

Anderson, Bunk, Neville, Parrish and Roby were selected as 2011 Team of the Year based on their quick actions to capture available grant money and create a new program of the Rockford Park District.

Neville noticed an article in a National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) magazine about a grant for serving veterans with disabilities upon returning home. Following up on the article, but with less than one day to get it done, Brenda, Laurie, Matt, and Judy pulled together to complete what was needed for the application. The end result: $14,000 was granted to the Park District’s Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies program. This is the first time the Park District has received national grant funding for Therapeutic Recreation programs.

The other employees of the four quarters who were eligible to be named Employee of the Year included Penny Christians, John Piccolin, Reggie Peterson, Tina Leinbaugh, Nathan McDonald, Dave Rutherford, Curt Johnsen, Laura Gibbs-Green, Miranda Sparks, Garrett Jones, David Petrovich, Jeff Stacy, Zachary Zage, Pat Krueger, Paula Reiter, Matt Dutkiewicz, Gerald Bell, Alex Peterson, Pete Stankiewicz, Cindy Rathke, Pam Lindstrom, Shannon Crain, and Kyle Martinson.

The other quarterly team winners that were eligible to be named Team of the Year included Breedy Wilson and Cedric Wynn, Scott Burfoot and Don Walker, Horticulture Department, Magic Waters Seasonal Staff, Therapeutic Recreation Team, Atwood Environmental Education Team, along with Officer Scot Nason, Officer Joe Williams and Officer Jason Parada.