Honoring Excellence

Sadly, the idea that public servants will go the extra mile seems as quaintly outdated as the marble carving on the old Post Office in New York that proclaims, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

That spirit is very much alive in Ventura, where there is a long and robust tradition of honoring excellence. Each year, a staff committee pours over nominations for "employee" and "supervisor" of the year. The selection is made by peers -- not management. Department heads proudly introduce the finalists at a packed ceremony. Then the City Manager gets to open the envelope and reveal the winner.

This year's Supervisor of the Year is Stacey Zarazua, who's been with the City less than six years, but has been nominated three times before -- once for employee of the year and twice for supervisor of the year.

Stacey has been the point person for planning, opening and supervising the Ventura Community Park Aquatic Center that debuted last summer. She's had the responsibility to lead a part-time, seasonal staff of 52 providing a safe and welcoming atmosphere for a huge influx of swimmers, far exceeding original expectations for attendance.

"Stacey has truly been outstanding and has gone far beyond the call of duty this last year, " her boss, Recreation Services Manager Judy Devine noted. "I have never had a supervisor work for me in 20 years that I have asked so much of and who has delivered as well as Stacey."

But what earned her the distinction was the respect and admiration of her colleagues and young staff. Getting a major three pool aquatics complex up and running is, of course, fraught with challenges, starting with the transition from construction to operations. Not to metntion the tensions of wildly different expectations from all kinds of family and individual users, from experienced swim fanatics to parents of toddlers splashing in the wading pool.

Stacey hasn't just coped with these challenges, she's shined. The facility has already bagged two awards, one for outstanding operations from the California Parks and Recreation Society and the other for "Outstanding New Facility" from the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation. The Aquatics Center has also played host already to the National Junior Olympic Water Polo annual meet.

She is characteristically enthusiastic about the important work being recognized, but eager to emphasize that her secret for success is "teamwork -- this is not just an honor for me, but for our entire department. We tackle issues that are vital to this community -- everything from preventing childhood obesity to promoting more visitors to Ventura. We work together to be sure we get all our jobs done, so it's not just me that recieved this award."

There were other remarkable nominees honored as well. Stacey represents all our front-line supervisors in showing that passion, empowerment, collaboration, new ideas, risk taking and fun are the values that produce the results that matter most to our citizens.