Yuma County recognizes top employees
Awards handed out at Historic Yuma Theatre
Yuma County recognized its County Employee of the Year, Superior Court Employee of the Year and County Safety Excellence Annual Award winners during an event Wednesday at the Historic Yuma Theatre.
Community Planning Coordinator Nancy Ngai won County Employee of the Year for her efforts to secure grant funding for numerous county projects during her nearly 25 years with the county. She received a trophy and a $1,000 cash prize.
A video presentation highlighted the $22 million in funding that installed a sewer system for the Avenue B and C Colonia, just west of Yuma. More recently, in 2017 she won $1.1 million in Community Development Block Grants which rehabilitated 32 county homes and implemented a countywide grants management system.
County Board of Supervisors Chairman Tony Reyes said, “This isn’t just for one year, she’s been doing a great job for a long time.”
“It’s a real honor, there are so many employees who are certainly so deserving of this, and I really did not expect to win, I was just so honored to be nominated,” she said.
Ngai also briefly appears in the episode of Mike Rowe’s “Returning the Favor” Facebook Watch series recently filmed in Yuma. She is the widow of Frank Carrillo, the former Yuma Habitat for Humanity director who died last November, and to whom an obstacle course at the Bully Rehab Awareness Gym (BRAG) unveiled during the show is dedicated.
“A lot of my friends saw me on it, and they really did a great job,” she said.
The other nominees were: Employment Specialist Jessica Arciniega, Foothills Library Branch Manager Dorey Conway, Detention Sergeant Ana Duarte, Animal Control Supervisor Dennis Owen, and Housing, Facilities Maintenance Worker Richard Zavala.
The Superior Court’s Employee of the Year is Robert “Bobby” Guzman, a Juvenile Court education paraprofessional who has worked at the county for 21 years and is become known as “Mr. Aztec” for his work at the charter high school operated by the Juvenile Court. He also won $1,000.
The other nominees were Bailiff Supervisor/Assistant Caseflow Manager Lindsay Caraway, Justice Court Chief Clerk Teresa Piedra and Adult Probation Services Supervisor Lucia Rodriguez.
Public Works Traffic Signal Technician Ramon “Ray” Salcido was given the safety excellence award, one of 13 monthly winners recognized during 2017. His award came with a $250 check.
County employees who reached milestone anniversaries during last year, from five to 40 years, were also recognized.