Chief Deputy City Attorney Named City of Little Rock Employee of the Year

(Thursday, April 12, 2007) – William C. “Bill” Mann III, Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of Little Rock, was named the 2007 Mahlon A. Martin Employee of the Year for the City of Little Rock. The announcement was made by City Manager Bruce T. Moore at a luncheon as a part of the City’s annual Employee Appreciation Week.

Mann was cited for his outstanding leadership and dedication to the City of Little Rock. As an example of his leadership, recently he was chosen by Mayor Mark Stodola and City Manager Moore to present the legal aspects of the ordinance which proposed changes in governance. Mann joined the City on August 1, 1991. He has been the City Attorney’s Office Employee of the year in 2004 and 2007.

In recognition of his efforts to advance the legal profession, Mann was named a recipient of the 2006 Lawyer Community Legacy Award, given by the Arkansas Bar Association. He was one of the first twenty persons in the country to be recognized as a Fellow in Local Government Law, and he actively participates in the Arkansas Bar Association's Mock Trial Committee. He has served as the IMLA State Representative and, he has been awarded the national award for out-standing public service by a municipal attorney, an award that is essentially the City Attorney of the Year award.

In addition to his outstanding work with the City, Mann devotes much time to community endeavors. Mann serves on the UAMS Psychiatry Advisory Board and has served on the Board of Directors and as Chair of Arkansas CARES. When he is not playing golf with friends, following the St. Louis Cardinals, or spending time with his family, his weekends are spent as a volunteer for MIWATCH (Ministries to Incarcerated Women and Their Children) and the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Mann's is actively involved with his church, Pulaski Heights United Methodist, where he serves as a head usher, a mentor for youth, and teacher for adult classes.

The Mahlon A. Martin Award was established in 2004 to acknowledge City of Little Rock employees who exhibit a high quality of job performance and significantly contribute to the quality of life within the City. The recognition begins at the department level and culminates with the selection of one person from the departmental nominees to be chosen as the recipient of the Mahlon A. Martin Award.

Mahlon A. Martin was the first African-American to serve as Little Rock City Manager, Director of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, and Manager of Methods and Standards Departments of Systematics, Inc. Martin also served as President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation until his death in 1995. Although Martin’s rise up through the ranks to become Little Rock’s first African-American City Manager is highly significant, Employee of Year Award is named in his memory as a testament to the type of person that he was and the integrity he maintained throughout his career in government.

The other two finalists were Trish Bass, Community Services Coordinator in the Housing and Neighborhood Programs Department, and Barry Burke, Inspector in the Fire Department. Previous recipients of the Mahlon A. Martin Award were Modena Jardina, Human Resources Department, in 2004; Linda Baer, Finance Department, in 2005; and Clay Waters, Finance Department, in 2006.

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