It’s no secret that the city is fortunate to have an abundance of outstanding employees who are dedicated to serving the Wilmington community.
Every quarter, we honor a select group of these employees with the STARS (Service, Teamwork, Accountability & Professionalism, Respect, Safety) Awards, recognizing their exceptional work.
The following were recognized during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7:
Service
Ernest Marsan (Fire Department)
Firefighter Ernest Marsan joined the department in May 2021 as a new recruit.
Shortly after completing recruit academy, he volunteered to become a Lead Shift
Educator. As the Lead Shift Educator, Ernie saw a need within the community
to help individuals to connect with needed services, so he established Empower
Wilmington. This program is geared toward the underserved population and helps
allocate local resources through community partners to reduce risk and improve
quality of life. Ernie plans to continue to assist our community by coordinating additional events to bring much needed services together for the public. Ernie’s work ethic, respect for others, professionalism, and his heart to serve are evident in everything he does.
Teamwork
Nicole Smith (Planning)
Nicole had an idea to engage the community for the Greater Downtown
Plan before our project kickoff to let them help us determine the specialties
needed for our consultants She takes on these collaborative opportunities
with passion, dedication, and professionalism. She has brought the last two
code amendments through, and she often covers the planning intake desk
as the Planner on Duty. Nicole takes on these endeavors with full focus and a smile. She leads by example. Her knowledge and application of planning and development practices are only eclipsed by her ability to knit that expertise into a cross-departmental collaboration.
Accountability
Sara Yanosy (Public Services)
Sara Yanosy agreed to take on the role of Buildings Manager, on an interim basis, with very little direct experience with building maintenance. While she learned quite a bit on buildings, she also gained the experience of managing a division. In addition, she has gone to extensive efforts to prepare the new manager for his role. Most importantly, Sara recognized the importance of providing a value-added service to our citizens.
Respect
Lynn Hartley (Police)
Lynn Hartley was nominated for the woman’s impact award within the community. Every day she works with her fellow Officers to provide a safer environment for the community. She is a daily inspiration for the importance of community engagement. Her compassion is exemplary to not only her coworkers and the citizens, but to even the animals she comes across in the city streets. Lynn is a team leader but asks those around their opinions on what they would like to see or believe they would benefit from. Every day she is smiling and shows a true commitment to being an officer.
Safety
Tim Collins & Deven Laverdure (Engineering)
Tim and Deven were conducting preventative maintenance on the traffic signal at the intersection of Market Street and Kerr Avenue when they noticed a car that had not moved after receiving a green light. They walked over to the gentleman and noticed he had passed out at the wheel and were unable to get his attention or wake him. They called WPD to respond due to the vehicle being in gear and the gentleman passed out with his foot on the brake pedal not knowing if it were a medical emergency. They directed traffic around the stopped vehicle until police arrived on scene to render aid and safety.
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