Women have made a clean sweep of the first three Deputy Governor’s Employee of the Month awards for the government fiscal year that began on 1 July 2013.

From diverse backgrounds, the one common thread that bonds them is their dedication to duty and to uphold the core values expected of all civil servants.

When Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson, Cert. Hon., JP, presented the awards recently, each monthly winner received a plaque inscribed with their name and achievement.

Lauding the recipients for being role models to every civil servant, Mr. Manderson named Computer Services Helpdesk Support Administrator I, Ms Tracey Gale, as his chosen employee for July. The honours for August have gone to Shift Commander and Health & Safety Officer at Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service, Ms Julia King. Meanwhile, September’s win went to Detective Sergeant in the Family Support Unit of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Ms Doris Morris-Herrera.

Known for her humility and dedication to her job, Ms Gale is hailed as having been instrumental to rebuilding government’s computer network infrastructure system.

Presenting Ms Gale with her award, Mr. Manderson extolled her capability to “consistently go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the best service” to all government employees. “I understand that you always strive for the best, and seek opportunities to improve services,” he said.

He added, “Dating back to Hurricane Ivan and up to the recent deployment of a new Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, your achievement of the department’s goals has been paramount to many successes in Computer Services and across the Cayman Islands Government. It is for these reasons that you were named the ‘Most Dedicated’.” DHCP provides improved access to Government network users.

Ms Gale commented: “I am truly honoured to receive this unexpected award as well as the Chief Officer’s award for July.  It has been a real privilege to be nominated, but then to be chosen is something extremely special. I would like to thank the Deputy Governor and Chief Officer for this honour. I have to recognise my colleague Keisha Leslie as an exceptional teammate; together we make our little Helpdesk team work smoothly.”

August awardee Ms King’s steadfast commitment to making a difference, doing the right thing, as well as making an impact on her staff, are cited as some of the qualities that underscored her selection.

Noting Ms King was named the “Most Committed” by her nominees, Mr. Manderson said she was chosen because of her commitment to doing the right thing, and making a positive impact on everyone she interacted with. Her services were all the more valuable because she holds both herself and others around her accountable for their contribution, he commented.

Despite facing serious obstacles in her work, he added that Ms King’s commitment had not swerved over all her years in the prison service.

In response, Ms King said, “I am deeply humbled to have first been nominated by the Prison Service for the Deputy Governor’s Award and secondly to have been selected for both the Chief Officer’s Award and the Deputy Governor’s Award for August. I am honoured to have been recognised and I want to thank the management team for the Prison Service for putting my name forward.

“I choose a career in corrections 28 years ago in Nottingham, England and came to the Cayman Islands on a secondment 13 years ago.  I’ve never regretted my choice for a single day.  I’ve committed my life to community safety and rehabilitation of prisoners and I love my job!”

Named the “Most Resilient and Flexible” by her employers, September award recipient Ms Morris-Herrera’s proposal for a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (M.A.S.H.) reflected her passion for protecting juveniles and enhancing family well-being, the Deputy Governor said, presenting her the award. The multi-agency proposal aims to enable all child protection agencies to share information to ensure the safety of at-risk children (including those abused) to prevent serious injuries or worse, death.

Equally passionate about improving service delivery, the police officer excelled at managing client expectations, he noted. In return k she received admiration, trust and respect.

Appreciating her abilities to give praise where due and her positive approach, Mr. Manderson underscored her professionalism and dedication to her job. This is demonstrated, he said, by her parting comment each time she leaves work: ‘I am only a call away.”

On receiving her awards, Ms Morris-Herrera commented: “I am truly honoured to have been recognized with the Chief Officer’s and Deputy Governor’s monthly awards. It is my passion to ensure that the Family Support Unit serves the public with tact and diplomacy. I believe that embracing the benefits of a multi-agency approach would surely provide a better quality of life for the people we serve.”

The Employee of the Month is chosen from staff members who have been recognised by their organisation’s Chief Officers as the best service providers in any month. From among those awardees at the end of the current fiscal year, the Deputy Governor will choose a final winner to be the Employee of the Year for 2014.

Photo captions: Photos by Suzette Ebanks and Bina Mani

July Group: L-r: Computer Services Director Mr. Gilbert McLaughlin; Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson, Cert. Hon., JP; Computer Services Helpdesk Support Administrator I, Ms Tracey Gale; Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer, Mr. Eric Bush, JP, who presented the Chief Officer’s award; Chief Human Resources Manager, Ms Briana Ebanks and Deputy Chief Officer, Mr. Wesley Howell

August Group: L-r: Her Majesty’s Prison Services of the Cayman Islands Director, Mr. Neil Lavis; Deputy Governor Hon Franz Manderson, Cert. Hon., JP; HMPS Shift Commander and Health and Safety Officer, Ms Julia King; Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer, Mr. Eric Bush, JP; and Deputy Chief Officer, Ms Kathryn Dinspel-Powell

September group: L-r: Commissioner of Police, Mr. David Baines; Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson, Cert. Hon., JP; RCIPS Family Support Unit’s Detective Sergeant Doris Morris-Herrera; Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer, Mr. Eric Bush, JP; Chief Human Resources Manager Ms Briana Ebanks and Deputy Chief Officer, Mr. Wesley Howell