Our County Summer 2014 Our County

Continued on page 3...

By Don Walker

Communications Director

Brevard County Public Works utilized Social Media to transform a potential nightmare road project involving replacement of a collapsed stormwater drain on Palm Bay Road into a completely transparent

community conversation.

The collapsed drain was at the intersection of Palm Bay Road and Minton Road, an area used by an estimated 70,000 motorists a day.

Public Works Director John Denninghoff coordinated the community

conversation with assistance from Public Works Business Analyst Rich Ataman, who

established a Facebook page that not only docu-mented the work in pro-

gress, but also allowed citizens to submit ques-tions or raise concerns that were quickly addressed. Comments ranged from “Why are you doing this now?” at

the start of the project to, “You guys are amazing” as the project made rapid progress,

Denninghoff credited coor-

dination between vendors and the county, hard and steadfast work by county road crews and cooperation between the County and city leaders and law enforcement agencies of Palm Bay and West Melbourne, along with Melbourne-

Tillman staff, with making the $650,000 project a success — ahead of schedule, under budget and completed before the start of the hurricane season.

“I have been involved with thousands of projects in my career and seen impressive construc-tion efforts many times, but the effort in this case has been successful beyond the most wild expectations of even the most optimistic and knowledgeable

A Lot To ‘Like’ About Palm Bay Rd. Work

Page 2 Our County

A $3 million TRIP grant received from the Florida Department of Transportation will help fund Brevard County’s Phase I construction of St. John’s Heritage Parkway, from U.S. 192 south to the Palm Bay city limits, starting this fall.

Construction of the nearly 3.1-mile segment of the parkway is targeted to begin in October. Total cost of construction for Phase I is estimated at $16 million. A second phase, estimated at nearly $14 million, will eventually complete the 5-mile arterial roadway from Palm Bay City limits north to Ellis Road. St. John’s Heritage Parkway is expected to serve as a beltway around Interstate 95, reducing traffic on the interstate by as much as 13,000 vehicles a day. The parkway is planned to accommodate motorists employed by several Fortune 500 contractors and future residential and business development in South Brevard. An additional 3.2 miles of the parkway, funded by the state and city of Palm Bay, is already under construction

from Malabar Road to the Palm Bay city limits. The grant from FDOT District 5 was a team effort of the Public Works finance staff, the Space Coast

Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and the local citizens group, Friends of the Parkway. Tammy Thomas-Wood, department finance manager, reviewed the grant agreement accepting the funds and coordinated preparation of the plans and documents by her staff to meet FDOT’s requirements. Georganna

Gillette, the Space Coast TPO’s transportation program specialist, spent several months’ interacting with FDOT to ensure the inclusion of the project and the funding into the FDOT Work Plan. All of staff’s efforts were supported during several public meetings at both the city, County, and state level by Bob Kamm, executive director of the TPO, and the local grass-roots organization Friends of the Parkway, represented by The Holton Group. The cooperation of the Board of County Commissioners, the Space Coast TPO, and the citizen support thru Friends of the Parkway pushed this project to the construction phase.

$3M TRIP Grant Boosts St. John’s Heritage Parkway Phase I Funding

During a ceremony in May, County Manager Stockton Whitten and Assistant County Manager Venetta Valdengo recognized volunteers who helped make Brevard County Government’s first-ever Black History Month Celebration, held Feb. 25, a huge success.

Those recognized and receiving certificates of appreciation were Cheryl Street, Fred Howell, Miriam Fuentes, Euripides Rodriguez, Shawn Turner, Vicki Bennett, April

Chapman, Loretta Berry, Elijah Santana, Steven Baker, Karen Petters, Nancy Slater, Linda Graham, Leslie Jones, Luis Gonzalez , Jimmy McCalla, Marian Bynum, Felicia Fallen, Lawanna Harrell, Trina Judson, Pam Wright and Natasha Jones.

Diversity Committee members are Venetta Valdengo, Miriam Fuentes, Connie Lea, Robbin Porter, C.J. Herriott, Hector Lopez, Jeff Davis, Donna Parks-Martin, Jocelyn

“Jazz” Scott, Euripides Rodriguez, Andrea Villanueva, Alvin Hall, Don Walker, Jonathan White, Scott Barrett, Kathy Engerran and Leslie Jones.

The Diversity Committee, established as a Bre-vard County Government initiative to celebrate cultural diversity, is currently planning and orga-nizing a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration planned for Sept. 30 at the Government Center in Viera.

Cultural Diversity Committee Recognizes Volunteers

Page 3 Our County

individuals in this field of endeavor,” Denninghoff said. “I am very proud to have been associated with the staff that were central to accomplishing this repair.”

Denninghoff said few delays were encountered. Even the weather cooperated. “The weather was very nearly not even a factor in the schedule, slowing us no more than three days,” he said.

“I have seen this project move forward so smoothly that I have yet to notice any avoidable delays. This means that all the staff, vendors, material suppliers, schedulers and other supporting agencies cooperated

and participated taking ownership of their roles in perfect harmony with the rest of the team.” Vendor performance was critical to the project’s success, Denninghoff said.

Vendors were: Hanson Pipe and Precast – Precast

Box Culverts

Goodson Paving – Concrete

Headwalls, Curbs, and Sidewalk

Palm City Sod – Sodding

East Coast Fence – Guardrail

Signal Group – Traffic Signal Removal

and Reinstallation

Precision Contracting Services -

Fiber-Optic Cable Realignment and

Repair

ACME - Maintenance of Traffic Signage,

Variable Message Boards

Florida Striping - Road Striping

V.A. Paving – Asphalt Installation

“This outcome, while not always achievable, could only be achieved as a result of hard work and the wise application of hard-earned experience by many committed individuals functioning as a unified team with a clear goal in mind,” Denninghoff said.

“The several programs within Public Works that were needed to complete

this project included Road & Bridge Construction, Road & Bridge Maintenance, Survey, Engineering, Traffic Operations, Traffic Engineering,

and our Administrative staff. I am most proud of the commitment of the County staff which has resulted in this outcome, which I can say is truly outstanding.”

Continued from Page 1 ...

Page 4 Our County

Human Resources presents the 2014 graduates of the Employee Development Program. The program is a series of 20 classes organized into three phases that highlight communication skills, the continuous

improvement process, and organizational philosophies and objectives.

Since August 2013, when the last certificates were awarded, 27 additional employees completed the 20 workshops and passed the voluntary examinations, earning Certificates of Professional Development. Twelve of these employees received certification with Honors, meaning the combined average of all three tests was above 90%.

Front row: Brian Breslin (Housing & Human Services), Leslie Jones (Office of Human Resources). Second row (from left to right): LeeAnn McCullough-Wham (Natural Resources), Valerie Citta (Natural Resources), Devin Swanson (Public Works/Engineering), Laurie Blair (Parks & Recrea-tion/South Area), Rhonda McConnell (Parks & Recreation/Central Area), Shawn Turner (Parks & Recreation/Central Area), Randy Detwiler (Parks & Recreation/South Area), Phillip Bissett (Utility Services), Michael McGrew (Central Services/Facilities), Jeff McKnight (Information Tech-

nology, Christi Winn (Utility Services). Third row (from left to right): Darrell Schmitt (Public Works/Traffic Operations), Darcy Blessing

(Utility Services), Jason Kelly (Public Works/Road & Bridge), James Ennis (Public Works/Engineering), James Savary (Public Works/Road & Bridge), Constance Lea (Budget Office), Stephen Harrell (Utility Services), Cindy Short (Housing & Human Services), Mark Ellenson (Parks & Recreation/South Area), Dawn Verostic (Planning & Development), Don Kean (Utility Services),

John Self (Information Technology), Sascha Albury (Utility Services). Not in photo: Larry Joseph (Central Services/Fleet), and Fred Poppe (Parks & Recreation/South Area).

HR Employee Development Program Graduates 27

Page 5 Our County

Brevard County Emergency Management stresses the three keys to preparedness this hurricane season: Build a hurricane preparedness kit, make an evacuation/communication plan, and stay informed. The “Stay Informed” component is being emphasized

this year, and residents and county employees are encouraged to register for Emergency Management’s new mass notification system.

Cell phone numbers that are registered to the FirstCall Emergency Notification Service will have the ability to

receive automated message alerts to brush fires, hazardous material incidents, boil-water notices, flood concerns, or other incidents that would directly affect the county. The free service offered through Brevard County Emergency Management is something all residents should take advantage of, said Emergency Management Director Kimberly Prosser.

“We want to get to as many people as we can by using the notification system,” Prosser said, “and we’re sharing the system with Brevard County Fire Rescue and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, as well.” For years, Brevard County has used an automated emergency notification system that provided alerts by telephone via landlines of natural or man-made emergencies that occurred in their area. However, both the

previous system and the new system have access only to telephone numbers that are assigned to home or

business phones, and the previous system had access to only published numbers. Prosser encouraged county employees to go to the Emergency Management website, www.EMBrevard.com, click on ‘Alert Signup’, and register. Those who don’t use computers or don’t have internet access can call FirstCall directly at 866-484-3264 to register their information.

The new system, operated by FirstCall Emergency Notification Service, provides digital emergency notifications via cell phones, text messages or e-mail as well as notifications over landlines. Users also have the ability to select from a variety of weather notifications on the site as well, ranging from severe thunderstorm warnings to tropical storm watches to tornado warnings. The emergency notification system is able to pinpoint whom to notify based on addresses entered into the system, or by an area that is selected on a map.

Hurricane Season 2014:

Stay Informed: Sign Up

for Emergency Alerts

Summer Nights on Florida’s Space Coast… Warm sunshine and glittering waves are the hallmarks of a summer beach vacation. But there's a whole different world to explore after the sun goes down and the stars come out on Florida's Space Coast. Through August, after-dark adventures include nighttime rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center, exhilarating

airboat rides through Florida's lush landscape and bioluminescent night kayaking, an otherworldly experience in which the waters literally light up as kayaks glide through the prettiest parts of the Indian River Lagoon. The phenomenon is caused by tiny bioluminescent plankton that produce streaks of neon-blue light when gently moved by the paddles.

Page 6 Our County

Summer kicks off with 5th Annual “Vote To End Childhood Hunger” event

Research shows that two out of every five children in Brevard County live in households that struggle to put food

on the table. Forty-five percent of Brevard’s student population receive free or reduced price lunches. These staggering statistics were the motivation behind the crea-

tion of the Vote to End Childhood Hunger Bake

Sale, started five years ago by Supervisor of Elections

Lori Scott.

Supervisor Scott and her staff raised $2539.35 during this year’s Vote to End Childhood Hunger Bake Sale & Raffle, held on May 27th at the Titus-ville, Viera, Melbourne and Palm Bay Supervisor of Elec-tions Offices. Proceeds from this year’s event were once again donated to Project

Hunger & United Way in support of their Feed & Read Program.

“With the community’s sup-port, the Bake Sale has

grown bigger and better every year,” Scott said. “Thank you to everyone who participated this year, start-ing with the amazing bakers on my staff, our wonderful corporate partners, and of course our many bake sale customers who, through their generous contributions, allowed us to increase our donation by 25% over last year.”

Eight raffle baskets were available during this year’s Bake Sale. Winners were: Janet Whittimore-Titusville Dinner, Movie, & Dessert Basket (valued at $105); Shirley Corliss-Titusville “Lunch Is On Us” Basket (valued at $209); Gina Cogan-Family Summer Fun Basket (valued at $565); Catherine Parks-Father’s Day Basket (valued at $650); Terri Bowyer-Pamper Basket (valued at $300); Gloria Mullings-Date Night Basket (valued at $500), Valerie Citta-Victory Casino Cruise (valued at $440); Sandy Nathanson-Texas Roadhouse Basket (valued at $35); Ginny Jacobsen-Silent Auction Photograph

(valued at $60).

“I couldn’t be prouder of my staff and our community,” Scott said. “It was an honor and a blessing to donate this year’s check to such a worthy cause.”

Supervisor of Elections Bake Sale

For more information on Project Hunger & United Way’s Feed & Read Program, please visit

http://www.thechildrenshungerproject

.org/uw-feed-and-read-

program.

Come on “Get Happy” at Local Hotels …

Hoteliers along Florida’s Space Coast are rolling out the welcome mat for families every Friday night through August.

Dubbed “Family Happy Hour,” the events take place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and include poolside games, groovy music, bonfires and signature kiddie-cocktails.

Page 7 Our County

NORTH REACH RESTORATION TOPS AMONG AMERICA’S BEACHES The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) named Brevard County’s North Reach beach restoration one of four national winners of its 2014 Best Restored Beach Award.

“ASBPA created the Best Restored Beach Award in 2001 as a way of highlighting the value of America’s re-

stored beaches,” said Harry Simmons, mayor of Caswell Beach, N.C., and ASBPA president. “As Americans flock to our coastline during the upcoming beach season, most don’t even realize they may be enjoying a restored beach.” Brevard County’s North Reach restoration focused on 9.4 miles of shoreline, including Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. Previous restoration efforts of the once highly eroded beach area exceeded expectations in

the face of extraordinary storm events in 2004 and 2012 and helped turn a shoreline lined with seawalls and rock revetments into one of wide beaches and flourishing dunes, drawing tourists and turtles alike to its inviting sandy shores. Recovery projects implemented in 2005 and 2014 have helped sustain the integrity of the project initially begun in the fall of 2000. “Brevard Beach caught our eye because it established wide dunes and beaches where in previous years ero-

sion had completely eliminated the beaches and dunes,” said Lee Weishar, chair of the Best Restored Beach Committee. “The new beach is absolutely fabulous. Additionally, many thousands of people using these beaches most likely have no clue that this is a restored beach. This will provide Brevard a chance to edu-cate the many lucky folks that get to use the beaches.”

The 2014 North Reach renourishment placed nearly 1 million cubic yards of sand at a cost of roughly $15 million, which was virtually 100 percent federally funded, though some state dollars and Brevard County

bed tax revenues generated by overnight hotel stays were also used. Brevard County officials say the cost for renourishment is balanced by the $1.6 billion estimated economic impact to Brevard’s economy each year by beach-related tourism. Others beaches awarded were Aquia Landing County Park in Stafford County, Va.; Iroquois Point Beach, Oahu, Hawaii; and North Topsail Beach, N.C.

Page 8 Our County

County adds signs warning of currents…. New rip current warning signs will be going up along 53 miles of public beaches on the Space Coast. The signs will be bilingual because of the large number of Spanish speakers who frequent our beaches. In

addition to a description with a diagram informing beachgoers how to escape rip currents, there will be a phone number and website that will have information about locations of lifeguard-staffed beaches. A link to a BrightHouse Networks app will provide weather warnings accessible by smart phone. The county plans to make 260 signs which will be placed at Brevard’s 230 public beach

crossovers, with 30 spares for replacement use. The TDC unanimously approved the $16,000 cost will be covered by revenue from our resort tax.

I Need My Space!... The Space Coast Office of Tourism is hoping to drive visits to our area through a stepped -up focus on social media,

targeting families with our jingle that declares, “I need my space.” A contest asks people to create the best short video (up to 30 seconds) using the promo song. The winner will get a five-day trip for four

to the Space Coast. The contest will use not only the Office of Tourism website and a specially

created micro-site, but also Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, incorpo-

rating a unique social media hashtag (#ineedmyspace) into the promotion. This tourism pitch will run thru September and will target the North and the Southeast.

Social Media Buzz…. Twsquared, the TDC’s public relations Agency, is generating social media buzz in a joint effort with the KSC Visitor Complex. Five “Mommy bloggers,” travel writers who focus on family vacations, visited the Space Coast for a

weekend. The idea is that the bloggers will spread the word about the Space Coast to their readers. In addition, two travel experts/mommy bloggers are working with the PR agency on a summer blitz to the

Atlanta, Jacksonville and Orlando markets. The promotion focuses on “vacations that pack a punch” - touting “authentic thrill rides” such as kayak racing, kite-boarding, surfing and zip-lining. These bloggers will share their real-world tips on planning active, easy, outside-the-box vacations for families with kids ages 7 to 14. They will be featured on English and Spanish language media in those markets, which are prime areas for attracting people to the Space Coast.

Page 9 Our County

If you’re looking for a new pet, Brevard County Animal Services is letting you name your own adoption fee for the shelter’s dogs, cats, kittens and pup-pies.

Prospective animal adopters can pay any price they choose for their new pet starting July 1 at the shelters in Melbourne and Titusville as part of the shelter’s “Name Your Price” adoption

promotion, which runs through July 31.

All of the dogs and cats housed at the County’s animal care centers, which are the only open

admissions shelters in Brevard County, are in-cluded in the monthlong promotion and will come spayed/neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped. Adopters will also need to purchase a County animal license for their new pet, which is $10 per year.

“Adopters are encouraged to make a donation they can afford when adopting a shelter pet,” said Karla Torpy, Director of Animal Services & Enforcement. “When you adopt from the

County shelters, your pet has already received hundreds of dollars of free pet services, includ-ing vaccines, spay/neutering, deworming, flea treatment feline leukemia test, heart worm testing and prevention medication.”

To see dogs or cats available for adoption, visit the Brevard County Animal Care Centers at 5100 W. Eau Gallie Blvd. in Melbourne or 2605 Flake Road in Titusville or go to the shelter website at http://www.brevardcounty.us/AnimalServices. The Animal Care Centers are

open from Noon to 6 p.m. every day but Wednesday.

July is “Name Your Price” Pet Adoption Month at Brevard County Shelters

2014 Top Tourism

Awards The TDC is proud to announce the winners of the 2014 Hospitality & Tourism Awards: Eddie James Brown received the Hospital-ity Specialist of the Year award and Rob Varley, Director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism, received the Solomon “Portrait of Excellence.” Brown has been the cook at

the Cocoa Beach International Palms Resort for 45 years. Varley plans to retire in October.

TDC member Tom Williamson (L) presented awards to Rob Varley and Eddie James Brown.

Page 10 Our County

A Grand Opening and ribbon-cutting was held on May 28th for the New Sarno Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center. This new facility replaces an old temporary shed and will provide more storage, easier

navigation and the addition of another operational day

for the public. E-waste (electronics) is now accepted at this new expanded facility. Now open four days a week Wednesday through Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Brevard County Solid Waste has been involved with household hazardous waste

(HHW) collection since the

early 1980’s. In fact the Solid Waste Department had one of the first county pro-grams to partner with the Florida Department of Envi-ronmental Regulation (FDER)

to host a six-day “Amnesty Days” event where residents could bring in their old paint, pesticides, motor oil, batter-ies, etc. and know that it was going to be disposed of prop-erly.

In 1987 the Solid Waste Department received a $50,000

grant from FDER, to help build the first permanent HHW Collection Center in Cocoa, followed by the temporary site

here at Sarno in 1996 and a third facility at the Mocking-bird Mulching Facility in Titusville in 1997.

To date we have serviced over 320,000 customers at

these HHW Collection Centers; averaging 600 participants each week, collecting recycling and safely managing over 14 million pounds of waste over the past 26 years.

One of the highlights of the HHW Program has been the County’s Paint Recycling Program. Since the beginning, paint has been the largest component of household haz-

ardous waste collected. The Department recognized the waste of resources these disposal mechanisms rep-resented; both of wasted usable latex paint and the lost energy value in oil based paint. Enter “Richard’s Paint Company”, they took on the challenge… and the rest is history!

The County’s recycle paint program is an example of a collaborative and pioneering effort, coordinated by the Solid Waste Management Department and Richard’s Paint Manufacturing Company. Our program has received numerous awards since its inception (1988) including recognition as the first initiative of its kind in the nation (1989) and “Longstanding Program Partnership Government/Private” (2009 & 2010).

The Department segregates out all good latex paint and Richard’s consolidates, reprocesses and repackages

the paint into one and five gallon cans with the County’s own “Brevard Recycled Paint” label for re-

distribution to the public. To date an estimated over 500,000 gallons of paint have been recycled.

New Sarno Center Targets Household Hazardous Waste

Page 11 Our County

In March 2014, Bruce Black waspromoted to Road & Bridge ConstructionManager. He has 25 years of experiencein building and paving roads. Twentyyears of his experience was spent in theprivate sector managing projects for VAPaving, APAC, and Old Castle BuildingMaterials. His philosophy is to “put out aquality product, safely”.Bruce and his lovely wife, Susan, havetwo children and one grandchild. Whenhe’s not working, he enjoys fishing,hunting, golf, grilling, and spending timewith his family.

Our New Construction Manager

Jessica Taylor

Jim Marple

Our New DataControl SpecialistsJim Marple works for South Area RB Maintenance and has extensive experience in computer software and process engineering.

Jessica Taylor works for North Area RB Maintenance She‘s a UCF Knight with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a technology and aerospace background.

Page 12 Our County

CPR Training Saves LivesAccording to the American Heart Association, 92 percent of cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital. Fortunately, Road & Bridge Heavy Equipment Operator, Ed Kaelin, averted that statistic on March 28, 2014. While completing a pipe replacement project on Merritt Island, he went into cardiac arrest. Thanks to their quick thinking and CPR training, James Aquino and Jason Colson were able to apply all the life saving techniques they’d been taught until the Fire Rescue EMS arrived. This type of outcome is why we provide CPR & First Aid training to our employees each year. It really pays off – Just ask Ed Kaelin.

Human Resources’ Training & Development Dynamic-Duo:Leslie Jones & Jennifer Meyer

From left to right: Jason Colson, Ed Kaelin, James Aquino

The Human Resource office continues to play an invaluable role in support of the Road & Bridge Program’s commitment to continuous learning and skill development. To help educate and empower our employees, Leslie Jones and Jennifer Meyer designed a two hour training session tailored to our operation. Employees were taught how to create a smart goal - one that is aligned with the strategic goals of the organization, and how to create a career development plan - one that prepares them for the challenges and opportunities we continue to face. Our employees are our greatest asset, as such, their ability to adapt to new technologies, innovate on inefficient processes, and increase production is why we’re committed to a culture of continuous learning.

Employee Development

Page 13 Our County

Mike Brooks, ASC Certified Master Truck Technician Heavy Equipment Mechanic III

On July 31st, longtime employee, Mike Brooks, is putting down the wrench and packing up the RV Camper. After 36 years of service, he and his adventurous wife, plan on traveling the back roads of the United States camping and exploring new places of interest.

During his career with Brevard County, Mike repaired everything from SCAT buses, Solid Waste heavy landfill equipment to Road & Bridge construction & maintenance heavy equipment. His supervisor, Tom Biamonte, explained that "Mike may be the dirtiest person at the end of the day, but he was the hardest working – often doing the work of two people.” He also added that Mike was never afraid to tackle any type of repair.

We extend our gratitude and thanks for 36 years of excellence and wish you the best in your retirement. The Road & Bridge team will be celebrating his retirement on July 25th.

Page 14 Our County

Page 15 Our County

On Saturday, April 26th, the Brevard County Fire Rescue & Friends Team once again participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies at the Space Coast Stadium. Team Captain Carrie Cotter sends a special thanks to the TEAM (cause there’s no “I” in TEAM), to Pam Barrett, Danielle

Jackson, Jennifer Wyman, Ra-chel Poteet, Michelle Levar, Jen Jones, Jill Hayes and our newest walker (and token male) Devin Swanson.

The Team’s fundraising efforts this year included three very fun events. Jennifer Wyman held the first fundraiser by hosting a Thirty-

One party in her home. Fun was

had by all as we viewed and shopped the unique and stylish Thirty-One products. The Team thanks Thirty-One consultant Dawn Niehoff for generously donating a percentage of the sales ($202) to

our Teams’ fundraising goal.

Cotter held the second fundraiser event hosting a Tastefully Simple

party. Tastefully Simple is all about food, fun and friends all of which were in abun-dance (and Tastefully Simple slush drinks!) at the party. Thanks to Tastefully Simple consult-ant Jenny Lucas for a great party and donating

a percentage of sales ($200) to our Team.

And thanks to all of you that attended both fundraisers and to those of you who missed out on the fun but still placed orders.

The Teams’ biggest and most popular fund-raiser is the raffle baskets. We would like to thank all of you who supported the Team by buying raffle tickets for a chance to win 8 awe-

some prize packs. In the raffle alone, the Team raised $1,981.00 and this was only possible because of YOU and the generosity of spon-sors: Aja Salon & Day Spa, Avon Independent Sales Representative Lee Nessel, Azteca II Mexican Restaurant, Basil Pizza & Pasta, The Bath Cottage, Best Western Ocean Beach Hotel & Suites, Bone-fish Grill, Comfort Inn in Cocoa Beach, Courtyard by Marriott, Dixie Crossroads, Duran Golf Club, Essentials

Spa, Firehouse Subs, Fishlips, Grills Tiki Bar, Hampton Inn Cocoa Beach, Imperial Salon & Spa, La Bella Spa, Lia Sophia Jewelry Consultant Joyce Brose, Milliken’s Reef, Norman’s Raw Bar & Grill, Orlando Pet Supplies, Peanut’s Hair Attraction Salon & Spa, The Resort on Cocoa Beach, Rusty’s Seafood & Oyster Bar, TJ Nails, Victory Cruise Casino Cruise Line, Viera East Golf Club, Wakulla Suites and WonderWorks Orlando.

Throughout the year, please be sure to visit and support all these awesome sponsors who donated to our raf-fle as their bighearted contributions made it possible for our TEAM to not only meet our goal from last year but PASS IT RIGHT ON BY and for this we are most appreciative! Because of your generosity and support the TEAM collectively raised $3,257!!!

Fun-filled Events Highlight March of Dimes Campaign

Congratulations to the following winners:

Wasting Away in Margaritaville Basket – Anne Wickham, Supervisor of

Elections

Two Bottles are Better than Wine – Sue Wesley, South Area Road &

Bridge

Time Flies When You’re Having Rum – Beverly Joyner, Kennedy Space

Center

Lia Sophia Jewelry – Cindy Paulin, Fire Rescue

Pamper Me or My Mom or My Aunt or My Sister – Naomi Hicks, Planning

& Development

Avon Calling – Kathy Prothman, Clerk of Courts/Finance

Certificate Bundle – Laurie Rice, Clerk of Courts

50/50 Drawing – Dana Blickley, Property Appraiser (The Team wants to send a very special THANK YOU to Blickley, who so kindheartedly donated

her 50/50 winnings ($213) back to our team!)

Page 16 Our County

Oyster Gardening Project Earns KBB Accolades

On April 5th, Keep Brevard Beautiful recognized individuals and community organizations for outstanding service to Brevard County. Six categories of good stewardship were honored including: Corporate, Tour-ism, Education, Non-profit, Individual and Government. For the best project by a non-profit, they selected Brevard’s Oyster Gar-

dening Project, a partnership between Brevard County and Bre-vard Zoo. Brevard County teamed with Brevard Zoo this year to engage the community in an oyster gardening project to help clean the Indian River Lagoon. So far, nearly 500 Brevard County resi-dents are caring for young oysters in habitats hung beneath

their docks. The goal for the first year of this program is to en-gage 1000 citizens in helping to identify ideal areas for restoring the lagoon’s oysters and to grow 1 million of them this year.

Oysters are filter feeders that live off algae and other suspended solids that cloud the water. Cloudy water prevents sunlight from

penetrating to the bottom where seagrasses need light to grow. Adult oysters can clean over 50 gallons of water a day as they feed. By filtering and clarifying water in the lagoon, oysters improve water quality, reduce algae blooms and help seagrass habitats recover from recent losses. Brevard Zoo, Brevard County Natural Resources, and Brevard County Extension Services have partnered to train community volunteers to be oyster gardeners. Oyster gardeners are provided all the materials they need for gardening, are coached on how to construct four habitats each, and trained to be citizen scientists

- caring for their oysters and collecting scientific data that will be used to prioritize potential oyster reef res-toration sites. To become an oyster gardener, sign up for a workshop by contacting Sammy Anderson at SAnder-son@brevardzoo.org

Parks and Recreation

Department threw a farewell party for Juliet Misconi from Central Services to wish her well on her new endeavors as Senior Contracts

Administrator with the City of Palm Bay.

Left to Right (back row):

Hector Lopez, Lindsay

Perry, Mike Knight, Terry

Stoms, Larry Wo-jciechowski, Jack Mas-

son, Terry Lane, Greg

Minor, (front row) Denise

Hayes, Lee Lowerre,

Juliet Misconi, Marsha

Cantrell, Connie Batt, and

Joyce Carlton.

A Fond Farewell

Page 17 Our County

We rented a small alpine-style cabin a few hundred meters

above the village of Berchtes-gaden for nearly a week.

This region is known for its mountainous beauty; its ex-tremely devout Catholicism; and as the nearest town to Hitler's "Bergdorf" mountain home (and the infamous

"Eagle's Nest.") Joyce and I came for the incredible moun-tain hiking the area affords — Jeff Thompson.

Libraries Director Jeff Thompson Takes a Hike To the Swiss Alps

Page 18 Our County

Page 20 Our County

Name Dept. Name Position Date

ARNOLDY, JOHN M FLEET SERVICES CENTRAL FLEET SYSTEMS CONTROL SUPERVISOR

5/10/2014

HAONG, AMANDA M SUPERVISOR OF ELEC-TIONS

CANDIDATE COORDINATOR 4/26/2014

JOHNSON, ANDREA C COMMUNITY RE-SOURCES

HOUSING TECHNICIAN I 5/10/2014

SCULLY, KARLEE SUPERVISOR OF ELEC-TIONS

ELECTIONS NVRA SPECIALIST 5/10/2014

CALLARD, OWEN W WATER RESOURCES CONSTRUCTION COORDINA-TOR

5/10/2014

SCHMITT, JAMES C EMPLOYEE BENEFITS HUMAN RESOURCES BENE-FITS SPECIALIST

5/10/2014

KINDLER, JR., JAMES E ROADWAY MAINT HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERA-TOR III

5/10/2014

HUTSON, KEITH A ROADWAY MAINT AUTO EQUIP OPER II 5/10/2014

CATRETT, CHRISTOPHER N.

FIRE RESCUE LT FIRE MEDIC 2 4/26/2014

DACKO, II, JOHN E FIRE RESCUE LT FIRE MEDIC 2 4/26/2014

TAYLOR, JEFFREY E FIRE RESCUE DIST CHIEF-UNCERTIFIED 4/26/2014

JURGENSEN, SCOTT M FIRE RESCUE DISTRICT CHIEF 4/26/2014

MULHOLLAND, SHEILA F LIBRARY SERVICES-CAPE CANAVERAL

LIBRARY ASSISTANT I 4/27/2014

BARRETT, PAMELA A COUNTY MANAGER ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO COUNTY MANAGER

5/1/2014

COTTON, STEPHANIE J FIRE OPERATIONS SPECIAL PROJECTS CORDINA-TOR II

4/26/2014

MCCAIN, JR., BOBBY E. ROADWAY MAINT AUTO EQMT OP II 4/26/2014

SALAZAR, ROBERT E PARKS & RECREATION SOUTH

RECREATION PROGRAM CO-ORDINATOR I

4/26/2014

Page 21 Our County

Employees Recognized for Jobs Well Done, Services

Name Award Department

Michael Bohm Job Well Done Award Animal Services

William Turgeon Job Well Done Award Animal Services

Lynn Hollenbeck Job Well Done Award Central Services

Dawn Sale Job Well Done Award Central Services

Debbie Sheffield Job Well Done Award Central Services

Terry Thornton Job Well Done Award Central Services

Merrill Vincent Job Well Done Award Central Services

Aaron Wilder Job Well Done Award Central Services

Juan Alicea Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Steven Baker Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Scott Barrett Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Vicki Bennett Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Loretta Berry Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Marian Bynum Volunteer Service Award County Manager

April Chapman Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Jeff Davis Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Kathy Engerran Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Felicia Fallen Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Mirian Fuentes Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Luis Gonzalez, Jr. Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Linda Graham Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Alvin Hall Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Lawanna Harrell Volunteer Service Award County Manager

CJ Herriott Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Fred Howell Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Leslie Jones Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Natasha Jones Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Trina Judson Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Connie Lea Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Hector Lopez Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Jimmy McCalla Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Donna Parks-Martin Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Karen Petters Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Page 21 Our County

Awards continued ...

Robbin Porter Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Euri Rodriguez Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Elijah Santana Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Jazz Scott Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Nancy Slater Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Cheryl Street Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Shawn Turner Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Andrea Villanueva Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Don Walker Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Jonathan White Diversity Workforce Achievement County Manager

Pam Wright Volunteer Service Award County Manager

Lacie Davis Exceptional Cooperation Award Emergency Management

Brian Breslin Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

John Jay Castillo Extra Mile Award Housing & Human Services

Juanita Davis Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Juanita Davis Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

David Dye Extra Mile Award Housing & Human Services

Chenita Joiner Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Gordon Mark Extra Mile Award Housing & Human Services

Michael McDonald Extra Mile Award Housing & Human Services

Michael McDonald Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Vaishali Patel Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Vaishali Patel Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Leslie Singleton Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Lesley Singleton Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Nancy Slater Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Sandra Urban Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Christine Valdyke Pulling Together Award Housing & Human Services

Joe Clanton Extra Mile Award Information Technology

Submit Articles/

Photos/Info to:

Don Walker SCGTV/

Communications

Viera C-207 or MS#83

Phone: 321.690.6843

Fax: 321.617.7214 Don.Walker@brevardco

unty.us

Our County Page 22

By Lacie Davis

Emergency Management

We are surrounded everyday by all the noise in the world, so I thought I would give you something to smile about. In April, we had two pit bulls running around our parking lot here at the

Emergency Operations Center in Rockledge. It was a mama and her pup. They had been living in one of the homes across the street and were

not being very well taken care of. They were often roaming the street, always together. Many of us had

called Animal Services, who made several visits to the home. On that day in April, I was alerted to the dogs in our parking lot and I couldn’t just let it go. So, I went out-

side, called them over, leashed them up and brought them inside. They were full of fleas, and were so skinny you could see their ribs. We got them some water and food from the veteri-nary clinic up the street. In true pit bull fashion, they were nothing but

grateful and loving.

It is often said that doing the right thing is not always easy. I knew I had to call Animal Services, and I knew they were going to be taken to the North Animal Care Center, which was

already full and is a shelter that does not get much foot traffic. But I kept up with them, through the Friends of the North Animal Care Center Facebook page. The SPCA in Titusville pulls dogs and cats from NACC when they have space. They do this

often, and it is a wonderful partnership. If they didn’t, more animals would be euthanized. Well, my prayers were answered and the SPCA pulled Mama and Isis! I knew they would be safe until they were adopted. Recently, I checked with the Adoption Coordinator and

both have been adopted and are doing great! So many ask why I do what I do, and this is why. Yes, there is so much sadness, but there

are also great stories, such as this. Their fate may have been so different. The animal world is my passion and it feeds my soul. I encourage all of you to find some-

thing you are passionate about. For me it is animals, but for you it may be running, fish-

ing, singing, saving the lagoon. Feed your soul, make a difference, it is so worth it.

ISIS

MAMA

‘A Difference Made’ For ‘Mama’ and ‘Pup’ Pit Bulls