Contact Information:

Meg Matthews

Public Relations Manager

mmatthews@littlerock.gov

(501) 804-4822

Media Advisory

What: City of Little Rock Employee of the Year Award

When: Wednesday, May 16, 2011 – 11:30-1:00

Where: Embassy Suites Hotel – Financial Parkway

The Mahlon A. Martin Employee of the Year Award will be given to one very exceptional City of Little Rock employee on Wednesday, May 16^th during a luncheon at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Financial Parkway.

An employee from each City department is selected annually then, three finalists are chosen from that group. This year those finalists are:

• Deborah Baldwin – City Attorney’s Office
• Abdoul Kabaou – Finance Department
• Travis Rumph – Public Works

The Mahlon A. Martin Award was established in 2004 by City Manager Bruce Moore 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. 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, the 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 2012 Departmental Employees of the Year are:

• Jimmy Pritchett – City Manager’s Office
• Eleanor Louis – Community Programs
• Tiffany Keene – Criminal District Court
• Linda Brown – Traffic District Court
• Changus Bell – Fleet Services
• Kevin Howard – Housing and Neighborhood Programs
• Melinda Mitchell – Human Resources
• Ralph Noll – Information Technology
• Paula Patterson – Little Rock Fire Department
• Grant Humphries – Little Rock Police Department
• Geneva Hampson & Gina Pharis – Parks and Recreation
• Kathryn Barszczowski – Little Rock Zoo
• Alice Chalk – Planning and Development

Also at the luncheon, employees who’ve achieved 20, 30, and 40 years of tenure with the City will receive special acknowledgement. The five 40 year employees are:

• Leo Anderson – Parks and Recreation
• Linda Baer – Finance
• James Foster – Little Rock Police Department
• Arthur Nugent – Little Rock Police Department
• Ronnie Hudson – Little Rock Fire Department

This Awards Luncheon is a part of the City of Little Rock’s annual Employee Appreciation Week – which includes special events, such as a breakfast at the Public Works Operation Facility, a Bike to Work event and the Employee Picnic at the Southwest Community Center.