May 2023 Newslink

Get Excited

Recently, City staff members were introduced to a new mission statement: We GO. ALL. OUT. to enrich the quality of life in Johnson City. After an extensive study which began in June 2022, the core values settled on are Excellence, Customer Service, Integrity, Teamwork, Engagement, and Dedication

With this new mission statement and core set of values, City leadership feels confident that employees can move forward with a clear understanding of how culture can define the workplace. In her address to City staff, City Manager Cathy Ball acknowledged that a clearly understood mission statement and set of values aid in recruitment and retention. She also placed emphasis on accountability for leadership. With this newly defined direction, employees can hold their leaders accountable when policies conflict with an organization’s values.

Cathy introduced the mission statement and values in a series of departmental meetings followed by “pop-

up” celebrations hosted by Lindsey Jones and the Communications and Marketing Department. Citywide 80s parties and fun surprise drop-offs brought the values to life in an uplifting engaging way.

The party continues with an Employee Appreciation luncheon on Friday, May 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the

Memorial Park Community Center gymnasium, 510 Bert St. The event will include swag, prizes, and a taco bar. During the celebration, staff nominated by their peers for the GO. ALL. OUT. Award will receive recognition for their Excellence, Customer Service, Integrity, Teamwork, Engagement, and Dedication. Get excited!

Ball appointed to accreditation commission

City Manager Cathy Ball has been named by the Board of Directors of the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. to the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). In this position, Cathy fills a vacancy reserved for city managers. She will serve with 10 other members from across the United States and Canada representing a cross-section of personnel in

private and public sectors. One of the functions of the CFAI is to advise agencies interested in maintaining and obtaining accreditation. In addition, the commission supports access to various resources including connecting interested agencies to peer assessors who can offer guidance on the process of selfassessment for accreditation.

Officer Ellenburg honored by veterans group

Ashley has been a member of the Johnson City Police Department since 2013. During that time, Ashley has provided support to the Police Explorer Program, Junior Police Academy, and Crisis Intervention Team. She is a field training officer as well as a member of the Bike Team and Traffic Homicide Team.

Annually, the Veterans of Foreign Wars honors public servants who perform outstanding service in their field and for their community. This year, the VFW awarded Johnson City Police Officer Ashley Ellenburg with the VFW National Law Enforcement Public Servant Citation for the state of Tennessee. This honor recognizes Ashley’s commitment to her duties and the excellence she demonstrates in performing her role.

Ashley was nominated by Police Lt. Mark Hollis. In his recommendation, Hollis noted that she answered more than 630 calls for service last year, four of which resulted in felony arrests and 31 in misdemeanor arrests.

“Officer Ellenburg’s recognition at the state level is a testimony to the Johnson City Police Department’s commitment to excellence, teamwork, and integrity,” said Interim Police Chief Billy Church. “We’re certainly proud of her dedication to our department and our community.”

Congratulations, Ashley.

City employees participate in GOV. ALL. OUT.

This year, city commissioners and City Manager Cathy Ball introduced the students to Johnson City’s budget process and challenged them with an exercise in spending. The discussion was lively with many creative ideas emerging.

On April 20, students from Science Hill joined their social studies department chair, Jessica Connor, for GOV. ALL. OUT. Students were selected by social studies faculty at Science Hill and many of these students are also members of Rho Kappa, the social studies honor society.

GOV. ALL. OUT. is an annual event and serves to educate area high school students on important local government policies, procedures and programs. Throughout the day, students engaged with different departments including fire, police and human resources.

GOV. ALL. OUT. offers students insight into local government and the impact policies have on individuals in Johnson City. Connor adds, “I participated in Government Day when I was a senior at Science Hill in 2002 and since I started teaching at Science Hill bringing back Government Day was a goal; so to be able to work with Keisha (Shoun) and Ann Marie (French) to plan and implement a day that is substantive and builds connections for students, city commissioners, and city staff is a genuine pleasure.”

We look forward to hosting the next round of student leaders in 2024!

SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE

May 20

May 29

June 2

June 15

June 22 - 24

Kids to Parks Day, Winged Deer Park lakefront, 199 Carroll Creek Road

Memorial Day (offices closed)

Mr. Speed: A Night of Kiss, Freedom Hall, 1320 Pactolas Road

Lakeside Concert Series begins, Goulding Amphitheater, 199 Carroll Creek Road Wake Surfing Competition, Winged Deer Park lakefront, 199 Carroll Creek Road

Harrison wins competition

Multimedia Specialist Nick Harrison participated in the second annual 52 Film Festival. This event challenges participants to create a short film within 52 hours for a chance to win awards. Nick and his team wrote, filmed and edited their video in time for the screening held at the Wallace Theater on March 5.

Congratulate Nick the next time you see him! He and his team won Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and the Vital Voice and Vision A. Pearson Prize. Nick’s team included Amy Harrison, Erin

Taylor and Sullivan Perry.

“It was challenging, but we had a lot of fun and we learned a lot throughout the weekend. I think I got about five hours of sleep during the competition and that was all on Friday night,” said Nick. “We worked through the night on Saturday to get the film edited and submitted by the deadline on Sunday.”

Later this year, Nick will compete again at the Highland Horrorfest. We wish him all the best in the next competition.

SHOUT OUT SHOUT OUT

This news story appeared on WJHL on April 2, 2023.

Recently, Café Lola Head Chef Michelle Browning expressed gratitude to the City’s first responders and staff for their response to an issue at the area restaurant. The following excerpt is from an April 2 WJHL news story. “Well, I do want to thank again the first responders, Engine Five, the fire department, those guys were so great and working with the city officials, we couldn’t have had a greater team to figure out, what exactly was going on,” said Browning.

“The building is secure, everybody’s safe, so we’re just happy to be back up and running.”

Congratulations to everyone involved. Your response demonstrated Excellence, Teamwork and Dedication.

May 2023

Scholarships awarded to high school students

Since 1994, The Johnson City Employee Scholarship program has awarded 215 scholarships totaling $178,260 to students whose parents work for the city. This

Emily Barnette, daughter of Brian Barnette (Fire Department) will major in business at King University.

scholarship program is funded through voluntary, city employee contributions. This year scholarships were awarded to eight students, each receiving $650.

Quintin McSpadden, son of JT McSpadden (Communications & Marketing) will major in fine arts at East Tennessee State University.

Kelli Blackburn, daughter of Dana Blackburn (Information Technology) will major in communications at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Drew Finney, son of Kelly Finney (Parks & Recreation) will major in pre-dental at the University of Tennessee.

Marin Ross, daughter of Brian Ross (Facilities Management) will major in kinesiology/sports medicine at the University of Tennessee.

Evan Rutledge, son of Allan Rutledge (Juvenile Court) will major in mechanical engineering at Tennessee Tech University.

Maggie Howland, daughter of Ann Howland (Information Technology) and David Howland (Fire Department) will attend Kansas State University. Her major is undecided.

Morgan Sagona, daughter of Lisa Sagona (Information Technology) will major in sports management at Georgia Southern University.

Employee donations through payroll deductions or a one-time donation make the employee scholarship program possible. Though a lot of employees do not have college-age children, they have chosen to help improve the lives of other City employee’s children with their donations.

Please consider a payroll deduction to support this very important program. This is a tax-deductible contribution. Email Richard for information on how you can donate, rlockner@johnsoncitytn.org.

Day of Service helps beautify parks

On Saturday, April 29 in partnership with a local nonprofit, Just Serve, the first Day of Service took place at several of our community centers. Community members gathered at Memorial Park Community Center as

Vice Mayor Aaron Murphy declared the fourth Saturday in April as the Johnson City Day of Service. Volunteers then completed mulching at Memorial Park Community Center, Carver Recreation Center, and the Langston

Centre. In addition to these beautification efforts, work began on the area’s first United Way Born Learning Trail. A full ribbon cutting and celebration ceremony for the trail will be announced at a later date.

Teamwork spells excellence

Recently, City employees participated in the third annual Spell-A-Bration, a fundraiser for the Johnson City Public Schools Foundation. Joy Baker, Keisha Shoun, Julia Thomas, and Karen Wise represented the City as the J.C. Bees. Through teamwork, the group correctly spelled multiple words including tourniquet, arrhythmia, tufting and entrepreneur to earn fourth place among 20 teams. (Commissioner Jenny Brock’s team, ‘67 Beetles, edged them out for third.) Proceeds from Spell-A-Bration went to a Digital Communications Lab at Indian Trail Middle School.

Cooper wins John W. Campbell Scholarship

The John W. Campbell Scholarship is funded by former City Manager John Campbell in memory of his father. It is awarded in the amount of $500 to a student currently enrolled at ETSU or Northeast State Community College. This year’s winner is Alexandria Cooper, daughter of Shane Malone (Police Department).

Alexandria is a freshman

at ETSU majoring in dental hygiene. Her academic excellence is marked with a 3.88 GPA, and she is an APS Provost Scholar. Alexandria’s community involvement includes: the National Society of Leadership and Success; Skills USA Member; Students Against Destructive Decisions; Tennessee Christian Teen Convention; and volunteering at Love Chapel Christian Church.

Clean up your network files on computer

While cleaning up your computer may seem like a daunting task, deleting old or unused files can help speed up your machine. The search function on the computer will drastically improve because it will no longer have to sort through all the unused files. The extra files can take up a ton of space and slow down the system.

As a reminder, employees should not save any files on their desktop. The desktop is not backed up by the IT Department making them easily lost if deleted by mistake. Every employee has a personal drive on the City’s network. It is listed as Home (U:). These files are backed up daily. Employees should place business critical files here. That is its intended use. Employees should take a minute to scan through their personal drive and purge files no longer needed.

Each department also has shared department folders. Many of the items in these folders no longer apply to the department’s day-today operation. Files and folders that are no longer needed should be purged to open up storage space.

If a file or folder is accidentally deleted, IT can help recover it within 30 days of deletion.

Voirin receives certification in planning

Peyton Voirin, planner in the Planning and Development Services Department, received her American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification. This is the only nationwide, independent verification of planners’ qualifications. AICP is shorthand for education, experience, breadth of knowledge, ethical practice and commitment to the planning profession. In addition to passing an exam,

candidates must also provide educational and professional experience.

Peyton has also been named to the 2023 Advisory Council of the Young Professionals of Johnson City. The young professionals program provides opportunities for networking, leadership, personal growth, exclusive experiences, and community service. Congratulations, Peyton.

New sculptures installed throughout city

In February 2023, the Johnson City Public Art Committee moved to rename its Biennial Sculpture Exhibition in recognition of former Public Works Director Phil Pindzola’s three decades of service to the City. Under Phil’s leadership, he played an important role in creating a robust public art program.

Johnson City Public Art’s Phil Pindzola Biennial Sculpture Exhibition will include 14 new leased pieces. Over the next few weeks, the sculpture artists will travel to Johnson City to install their artwork with assistance from Public Works.

The sculpture exhibition began in 2013 and has become a defining feature of Founders Park and nearby areas. The sculptures are leased from regional artists for a two-year period, and then a new round of sculptures is selected from a pool of applicants. The sculptures create a strong artistic presence

in the park and downtown, encouraging residents and visitors to linger in these areas.

Previously, locations for the sculpture installations focused on downtown. This year, new locations include the traffic circle at Browns Mill and West Mountain View roads and the intersection of North Roan Street and Princeton Road. For a complete list of sculptures, visit jcpublicart.com.

Get to know...

Name: Tayler Dixon

Title: Promotions and Events Coordinator

Department: Parks and Recreation

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Johnson City and attended Science Hill High School and ETSU. All my roots are here in JC – I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else!

2. Do you have pets?

I have one dog – Wilbur. He is a 2 year old basset/beagle mix and loves to run. I also have 11 chickens and a hive of honeybees, but I don’t necessarily consider those to be pets.

3. What movie can you watch over and over?

Any of the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy movies. These are my all-time favorites.

4. What book are your reading right now?

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

5. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love all areas of my job, but I think my favorite part is getting to interact with participants of events. It is so gratifying to be able to see the enjoyment and fun that comes out of the special events I am able to help plan.

6. What is the strangest job you’ve ever had?

Definitely the strangest job I have ever had was working for Wallabies. It was one of the most fun jobs I’ve had, but you never knew if you were going to come in and paint nails and fix hair in the spa or clean up bodily fluids from kiddos that got sick in the inflatables. This job definitely kept me on my toes!

Congratulations to the City’s newest hires

JANUARY

Justin Westmoreland, Public Works

Stephanie Laos, Finance

Alex De Las Alas, Motor Transport

Lindsey Jones, Communications & Marketing

Gregory Beck, Public Works

Timothy Devlin, Purchasing

Francisco Garcia, Parks & Recreation

Kyle Watson, Police

Chasity Osborne, Police

LAKESIDE CONCERT SCHEDULE LAKESIDE CONCERT SCHEDULE

Winged Deer Park’s Lakeside Concert Series begins in June. Each concert will include a theme, food trucks, kid zones, and fun for the whole family.

The concerts are from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) at Goulding Amphitheater, 199 Carroll Creek Road.

Thursday, June 15: Spank!

Thursday, June 29: The Well Drinkers

Thursday, July 6: Blake Ellege Blues

Thursday, July 13: Preston Benfield Band

Thursday, July 20: From the Edge (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)

Thursday, July 27: Marques Puckett & the 8 Second Ride

Weekend of Music, each night from 7-9 p.m.

Thursday, June 22: Florencia & the Feeling

Friday, June 23: Hillbilly Jedi

Saturday, June 24: Liquid Velvet

FEBRUARY

Dillon Andes, Water & Sewer

Shannon Arias, Human Resources

Sierra Arnold, Parks & Recreation

Sierra Draper, Senior Services

Mackenzie Gale, Parks & Recreation

Cody Griffin, Water & Sewer

Anthony Gross, Public Works

William Burris, Public Works

Travis Gray, Fire

Brittany Hand, Transit

Hunter Summie, Public Works

Hunter Wallace, Transit

Marina Arbucle, Fire

Dominique Cross, Fire

Anthony Eddins, Fire

Alec Johnson, Fire

Jorge Munoz Ruiz Dana, Fire

Derek Onks, Fire

Hunter Posner, Fire

Austin Shuler, Fire

Robert Simpson, Fire

Hunter White, Fire

MARCH

Crystal Lewis, Planning & Development Services

Cassandra Storm, Transit

Juan Cardona Santiago, Human Resources

Justin Carter, Police

Gaberiel Douglas, Police

Justin Gilliam, Water & Sewer

Pamela Hoard, Parks & Recreation

Travis Hunt, Water & Sewer

Hunter Johnson, Water & Sewer

Amy Sanders, Risk Management

Aaron Thornburg, Water & Sewer

Recent Promotions

JANUARY

Arron Davis, Water & Sewer

William Freeman, Water & Sewer

Johnny Isaacs, Public Works

Richard Pari, Golf

Paul Rodifer, Public Works

Shanda Sargent, Human Resources

Kimberly Shepard, Risk Management

Lawren Smith, Parks & Recreation

Traye Townsend, Water & Sewer

FEBRUARY

Vanessa Kukrkic, Transit

Sabrina Kitto, Juvenile Court

Huetta Isom, Transit

Jeffery Smithpeters, Transit

Gretchen Wells, Juvenile Court

Melissa Slagle, Transit

Terry Wallen, Water & Sewer

Michael Godsey, Transit

Vanessa Masters, Transit

Pamela Cullop, Transit

Nolan Correa, Transit

MARCH

Shawn Harshbarger, Water & Sewer

Andrew Birchfield, Water & Sewer

Terry Davis, Public Works

Jeramy Isbel, Water & Sewer

Michael Adams, Police

Mark Hollis, Police

James Tallmadge, Police

Recent Retirements

JANUARY

Charles Stahl (16), Administration

Mark Slagle (29), Water & Sewer

Andrew Nave (30), Water & Sewer

James Tolley (34), Water & Sewer

Phillip Davis (41), Public Works

FEBRUARY

David Lowe (34), Police

Joseph Bowers (36), Purchasing

Donnie Campbell (44), Public Works

James Ellis (44), Parks & Recreation

Billy Hickman (31), Public Works

David Kistner (32), Fleet Management

Philip Pindzola (44), Public Works

Paul Robinson (37), Public Works

Jeffrey Stork (30), Police

Alfred Whitson (36), Water & Sewer

Charisse Peeks (39), Water & Sewer

Lorrie Goff (33), Police

Kevin Peters (32), Police

Karl Turner (31), Police

Melissa Richardson (31), Risk Management

Debbie Botelho (35), Police

Walter Deneen (37), Parks & Recreation

MARCH

David Rock (27), Public Works

David Kistner (32), Fleet Management