Dougherty County held its annual Employee Service Awards to honor those employees with five to 45 years of service to the county on December 14, 2019.

This year, all Dougherty County employees were invited to join in the ceremony in an effort to increase employee engagement and showcase appreciation to employees for their service to the county.

“Employee engagement is of the utmost importance to me,” said Michael McCoy, County Administrator.  “I believe that if you don’t give employees a reason to stay, they will find an employer who will and Dougherty County seeks to be a preferred employer in our region.”

Since being appointed to County Administrator, McCoy has been working to increase employee engagement through internal news publications, a summer employee picnic held in July, and ending the year with the annual Employee Service Awards where all county employees have the opportunity to enjoy an evening celebrating their colleagues countywide.

“The greatest benefit to engaging our employees is that they are happier at work and in their personal lives,” said McCoy. “Our organization can’t afford not to engage our employees and not retain talent in our area. It’s a win-win for our employees and the county overall.”

Dougherty County employees were honored in five-year increments of service with various gifts at each level. Five year employees included: Anthony Bell (County Jail); Jeremy Brown (Public Works); Tewonda Daniels (Human Resources); Jessie David (County Jail); Juanita Gilyard (County Jail); Samuel Green (Public Works); Monique Hudson (District Attorney’s Office); David Hundley (County Jail); Matt Idlett (Facilities Management); Danielle Jackson (Library); Alberta Jones (Tax and Tag); George Lilly (Public Works); Gabriel Lopez (County Jail); Kayla Mallard (Clerk of Court); Eboni Oliver (Library); Marquise Robinson (EMS); Richard Salisbury (Solid Waste); Melinda Vest (Library); Lekesha Walker (Human Resources); Erick Williams (Tax and Tag); and Susan Williams (Clerk of Court).

Ten-year award recipients included: Terron Hayes (Sheriff’s Department); Byron Hill (County Police); and Theodore Wertz (County Police). Fifteen-year recipients included: Kimberly Ash (County Jail); Vontressa Carruthers (Superior Court); and Ralph Shubert, Jr. (Public Works).

Twenty year recipients included: Walter Bullock (Solid Waste); Vicky Craft (Tax and Tag); Christina Cruz (County Jail); Andrea Harris (Tax and Tag); Dickie Livingston (EMS); Scott Manning (County Jail); Heidi Minnick (Facilities Management); Carolyn Nixon (County Jail); Rodney Washington (Facilities Management); and Michael Wood (County Police).

Twenty-five year recipients included: Eloise Barnes (Human Resources); Donald Hood (Facilities Management); Pamela Johnson (Sheriff’s Department); Donald Knighton (County Jail); Marie Ostrander (County Jail); Davis Sims (County Jail); Jeanette Smith (Clerk of Court); Karla Turner (Clerk of Court); and Shannon Willis (Sheriff’s Department).

Thirty-year recipients included: William Allen Brock (County Jail); Annie Hill (Solid Waste); Eddie Jackson (Sheriff’s Department); and John Ostrander (County Jail).

Thirty-five year recipients included: Craig Dodd (Sheriff’s Department) and Cynthia Gibson (Solid Waste).

Forty-year recipients included: Lisa Jones (Library). Forty-five year recipients included: Robert Daniels (Sheriff’s Department).

Retirees for 2019 were also recognized at the event. Those included Cynthia Battle (Police Department); John Salter (Magistrate Court); Sherry Swift (Sheriff’s Department); Lee Harris (Public
Works); Patricia Hunter (District Attorney’s Office); David Baty (County Jail); Eddie Gulley (Public Works); Cathie Wilson (County Jail); Cathy Parks (Sheriff’s Department); Robert Daniels (Sheriff’s Department); and Robert James (Police Department).