ParkS HeroES: ERIK RODRIGUEZ, CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS Submitted by Kurt Schroeder, Park Maintenance and Operations Manager, City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services
Through this challenging and unprecedented year, one staff member in Parks was positioned to coordinate our department’s response to the pandemic. Erik Rodriguez, our Health, Safety and Environmental Specialist, became charged with keeping our staff safe and informed to the ever-changing COVID world. This required serving as a liaison to different departments Erik Rodriguez within the city and organizations across the state, while simultaneously disseminating critical recommendations to leadership and staff. In this role, Erik led record keeping and compliance requirements, ensuring timely and accurate detailing of CARES Act eligible expenses. Finance shared with us that Erik “was amazing in the quality and the detail of the information” he provided and that he “tracked expenses thoroughly” and was “always responsive” to their requests and needs related to closing out the grants they were managing. They also stated that Erik “deserved a gold star” for his work and that they “couldn’t imagine how it would gone were in not for Erik”. Likewise, representatives of our Safety Office raved about Erik’s work, stating that “they couldn’t imagine
him having done any better” and that his effort was “nothing less than outstanding”. Erik also served as a vital link in the chain of communication, acting as our conduit between staff that had potential COVID exposure and Occupational Health staff, exchanging information and keeping all abreast of each individual’s situation. Overall, Erik has performed exceptionally, meeting the challenges presented by COVID and ensuring that our department could operate safely and continue to serve the public. He continually addressed nuances presented by the pandemic, and adapted to the fluid situation to support staff. On top of all things related to the pandemic response, Erik ably continued on with his other assigned duties that encompassed regular employee safety interactions. Erik has performed remarkably in managing our department’s COVID response, supporting other COVID impacted departments, and assuring that Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services staff were kept safe during these trying times. Erik’s commitment to our community ensured continued operations and safe management of our local spaces that became even more beloved due to COVID - our parks, trails, open spaces, community centers and cultural amenities continued to offer valuable respite due to his on-going coordination and unparalleled professionalism.
ParkS HeroES: TOWN OF CRESTED BUTTE PARKS CREW Submitted by Janna Hansen, Parks, Recreation, Open Space & Trails Director, Town of Crested Butte
Let is be known that Dylan Bova, Les Choy, Pete Curvin, Nick Dermer, Bobby Knight, and Chris Wiig of the Crested Butte Parks Crew are true parks heroes. In April 2020 when they received the news that they would not be able to hire any summer staff, they responded admirably with stoicism and confidence. The summer of 2020 turned out to be the busiest summer on record with more visitors than Crested Butte has ever seen. These Parks Heroes kept CB parks not only open and usable, but beautifully maintained. Crested Butte’s iconic flower barrels were planted, fields were given extra care, and mountains of trash were removed without complaint. The flexibility this crew showed in adapting to ever-changing public health orders and the reconfiguration of our main street was commendable. The Town of Crested Butte is tremendously grateful to our Parks Heroes for their outstanding efforts in 2020. 16 • Colorado Byline | Spring 2021
Dylan Bova
Les Choy
Pete Curvin
Nick Dermer
Bobby Knight
Chris Wiig
