SAVE THE DATE: Public Service Recognition Week
When we revealed our DirectionFinder results last month, I emphasized that our success in 2021 was only made possible because of you. YOU are the difference in how we treat our customers, the innovation behind our strategy and the collaboration that brings it to life.
I have no doubt that over the past year you have experienced countless acts; acts of kindness, acts of leadership and as we recently witnessed, acts of remarkable bravery.
We can't wait to celebrate these moments with you, throughout PSRW, that continue to raise our standard of excellence.
Michael Wilkes, City Manager
Stay tuned as more details are revealed about our 2022 celebration!
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Get to Know Our Executive Team
Exceptional Services Director Erin Vader
Erin Vader has always sought to leave things better than she found them. While Erin’s path has never been traditional, it’s always been authentic, answering the call to her community’s greatest needs in whatever capacity she can best serve in the moment. Inspired by her mom and grandma’s impact as teachers and her father’s service in higher education and leadership through the United Way, she set out to do the same.
Erin's full story can be read on Workplace.
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City Attorney Ron Shaver
Amidst the chaotic grey space of the legal world, Ron Shaver is calm and steady. He’s grown accustomed to the ebb and flow of change, and he takes it all in stride, finding comfort in the black and white anchor of the law. But this has always been Ron, thriving like the tenacious eye inside the storm.
In undergrad at KU, he studied political science and history, pursuing a career in law and public service to help people and make an impact on his community.
Ron's full story can be read on Workplace.
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Fire Chief Jeff DeGraffenreid
Empathy is said to be a defining characteristic of good leaders. For a division that responds to critical moments in a civilian’s life, it’s only fitting that their leader shows up with his head and his heart.
Jeff DeGraffenreid began his life in Olathe when his family moved there in the early 70s. Little did he know that this little town, which at the time ended at about 143rd and Black Bob, would grow to be so big, and the monumental role he’d grow to have in it.
Chief's full story can be read on Workplace.
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Quality of Life Director Mike Sirna
If you ever walk past Mike Sirna's office, you might not realize it’s his. Aside from his desk and chair, it’s empty. He keeps nothing on his desk or walls, just a plant he received when he began with the city over three years ago.
But that’s the funny thing about blank space, for some it distracts, with an impersonal feel, but for others, it frees the mind to be creative or focus on the task at hand. For Mike it does the latter, reflecting his love of precision.
Mike's full story can be read on Workplace.
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Infrastructure Director Mary Jaeger
When 23-year-old Mary Jaeger graduated from college, she knew exactly what she wanted; and if you’ve ever spent time with Mary, you know she didn’t just have a plan, but the kind of passion that sets the world on fire.
“I wanted to be in construction, but at that time, the world just wasn’t ready for a blonde hair, blue-eyed 20-something in that role. I kept getting design job offers, but I wanted to be where the action was, on highways and bridges,” said Mary.
Mary's full story can be read on Workplace.
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Director of External Affairs and Issue Management Tim Danneberg
It was 2000 and Tim Danneberg was heading to the IHOP off 119th for a meeting that would change the course of his career. Tim had recently left his position at a large public relations firm, following the birth of his second child. He was ready to go out on his own and pave his own path, having already secured contracts with large businesses like Sprint.
Tim's full story can be read on Workplace.
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Police Chief Mike Butaud
When Mike Butaud speaks with new officers, he shares three expectations: work hard, be safe and have fun. For a station that prides itself on cultivating a family atmosphere, these words keep it real, indicative of the kind of authentic support that officers and civilians alike will receive from someone who’s been there and seen it all.
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