By Karen Haave
Four village employees have been recognized with Monee’s semi-annual CREW awards this month.
“It’s an honor to have our village employees recognized as the valuable ambassadors to the Village of Monee that they are,” said Mayor Therese Bogs.
“CREW is an acronym that defines an employee who provides exemplary work,” she explained.
“CREW represents Credibility, Respect, Equality/Fellowship/Identity, and Work Commitment/Personal Performance. The Semi-Annual CREW Employees have shown in many ways that they go the extra mile to serve the village, both in their attitude and performance. The Semi-Annual CREW Employees are an integral part of the CREW in how they approach the people they encounter and the work they perform. Anyone may nominate any employee as a CREW Award Winner for the semi-annual recognition. Requests for CREW nominees will be solicited by Human Resources throughout each semi-annual period.
“To nominate employees, the nominator must complete the CREW Award Nomination Form and submit the nomination form to Human Resources. The nomination form solicits the nominator to provide written examples as to how the nominees exemplify CREW. After receiving the nomination forms, Human Resources sends out a list of all nominees to department heads, along with excerpts regarding the nominees’ CREW efforts. Nominees then will be voted upon by the department heads.
“Once CREW Award winners have been selected, a presentation will be implemented, like we are doing tonight, to recognize those nominated employees by myself and the board of trustees. Following the presentation, a letter will be sent to the CREW Award winners’ homes, congratulating them for winning. The letters include excerpts from their nomination forms. The letter going to the home will be signed by myself, the village administrator, department heads, and the designated department’s trustee.”
Deputy Clerk and Office Manager Michelle Powell-Johnson was nominated by Bogs.
“No matter what the task, Michelle will do her best. Michelle is polite to all the co-workers and residents of the village. She is a great representative of our team. Michelle defines Equality, Fellowship and Identity and has been a very loyal employee for 20 years. She always steps up to the plate for everyone.”
Public Works employee Justin Fleck was nominated by Trustee Douglas Horne.
“Justin Fleck is always on time and shows up every day to work and get any new tasks given to him,” Horne wrote in his nomination.
“Justin is very respectful to his fellow employees; he’s always there to help them out with any questions or tasks, on or off, the workforce. Justin always is committed to his job. I can’t say enough about Justin; he is always helping to get tasks done throughout the village. Everyone knows, if they can’t figure it out, they can ask Justin, and he will stop in the middle of a task to help another fellow employee.
“Justin has served as the village’s in-house mechanic for the past nine years and has learned and become proficient in numerous other tasks under the umbrella of public works,” Horne added.
“Justin brings an easy going, positive attitude to the shop on a daily basis and is willing to take on virtually any task asked of him. In addition to maintaining the village’s entire vehicle and equipment fleet, Justin also has taken on and completed several property maintenance projects at various buildings, as well as taking a lead role in putting up the village’s holiday decorations. Justin has remained committed to serving Monee’s residents with pride and integrity and has proven to be a valuable asset to the DPW team.”
Trustee Scott Youdris nominated Dan Depaolo and Evie Lazzaroni of the Monee Police Department.
“What an honor it was to recognize these officers,” he said. “They both do so much for our village.
“Detectives Depaolo and Lazzaroni handle the most critical and complex element of our responsibilities – criminal investigations.
“The list is long and varied, everything from domestic battery, theft, armed robbery, sexual assaults, and homicide, to name a few. They are on call 24/7 and have achieved the position of detective precisely because of their credibility and everything that defines credibility.
“CREW defines Respect in that “A respectful person is not one who always agrees with everyone but rather someone who values the opinions of their co-workers, even when they don’t agree with them. Someone with a high level of respect makes a constant effort not to discriminate or offend others for their decisions or lifestyle. They always are appreciative, polite, considerate, and recognize the value in other people’s points of view; Yes, Yes, Yes, and yes – this defines Detectives Depaolo and Lazzaroni,” Youdris continued.
“Detective Lazzaroni represents the department in the schools, at our charity events, and with every other agency investigative and admin personnel.
“Dan Depaolo is our face at the state’s attorney’s office and with any other department we work with, from the FBI to the ISP lab to a multitude of LE agencies and attorneys.
“If these two were not 100 percent professionals, who carry our patch with pride, they wouldn’t be in those positions. Victims are one of our most important contacts. No one has more victim contact than these two, and it is 99 percent as positive as it can be, based on the circumstances.
“No two people work more and ask for less than these two. They are constantly awakened by patrol for guidance and advice. They stay as long as the assignment takes and never complain about it. They take it upon themselves to remind other officers of the importance of their work.
“These two have spent the past six months handling more than 60 patrol referrals and calls, including a high profile sex assault arrest and an infant homicide that is still being worked on daily; smash ‘n grabs, stolen vehicles, domestic battery, identity theft, and robbery are all on the plate. These two just keep pushing forward, doing the work of five officers. They are my CREW!”