Cheers, twirls, flowers and balloons were some of the highlights as 85 people accepted certificates of recognition for serving 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service at Multnomah County.
The 2017 “Years of Service” celebration on Dec. 6 was especially resonant said Chair Deborah Kafoury.
“Although we’re in the holiday time and everyone’s really happy about that, I still feel there’s a general unsettling in our community and in our country,” Chair Kafoury said. “It makes it even more important to come together at times like this and celebrate each other, because regardless of what is happening elsewhere, we are all doing really amazing things here at Multnomah County.”
Each county commissioner noted the story (view full meeting) of an employee who reached a milestone in the 20-, 25- and 30-year group, including Dana Scott, a 20-year veteran of the Library; Gary Magnuson, a 25-year veteran of the Health Department; Travis Gamble, a 25-year veteran with the Department of Community Justice; Gina Oliveros, a 30-year veteran with the Department of County Management; and Mary Nguyen, a 25-year veteran of the Department of County Assets.
“Mary’s life and career could very easily be the storyline for an inspirational novel,” Commissioner Sharon Meieran said.
Nguyen, Meieran continued, was rescued from a sinking fishing boat with her 18-month old daughter, while fleeing Vietnam in 1981. The young mother arrived in the United States in 1985, learned English, and worked her way through school while making contact lenses.
A year after earning a degree in electrical engineering from Portland State University in 1991, she began her career at the County as an on-call interpreter for the Health Department. Then, after taking night school and weekend classes in computer-aided drafting and architectural building drawings, she landed a construction technician job in the Department of County Assets.
“Over the years, Mary has created and updated drawings for every County facility,” Meieran explained. “Mary still loves her job and is very proud to work for Multnomah County.”
Employees in each department, from Community Justice, County Assets, Human Services, Community Services, Health, the Library, the Joint Office of Homeless Services and more, were honored.
The collective years of service for the 85 employees honored amounts to 1,780 years of service and dedication.
Eight employees reached 30-year milestones and two employees, Jodi Erickson with the District Attorney's Office and Elizabeth von Behren with the Library, reached 35-year milestones.
“The Multnomah County Service Awards represent just one way of thanking our employees for making Multnomah County an excellent place to work, as well as an outstanding service provider,” said Human Resource Manager Travis Graves.“Every employee that is here today has played an equally essential role in making that happen.”
Photo gallery contains a total of 11 images.
