The meeting ends with the annual Employee Achievement Awards. The following people were nominated by their peers. Then a cross-functional team of employees reviewed the nominations and about half of them were deemed exceptional and beyond just doing a good job. This group is listed below.
Join me in congratulating these winner!
* all photos have from left to right: Brian Knapp (Board Member), Michael Nardolilli (Vice Chair), Stella Koch (Chair), Award Recipient, Paul Gilbert (Executive Director).
 |
| Dan Iglhaut |
Dan Iglhaut
NOVA Parks HQ
Dan Iglhaut has achieved recognition in the area of Above
and Beyond. Dan’s efforts to assist in
the protection of historic railroad siding on the W&OD Trail were important
on many levels. When faced with public
outcry after a developer began destroying this historic feature, Dan worked
extensively with Arlington County to create a historic district that now protects
the Benjamin Elliott Coal Trestle and will give NOVA Parks the opportunity to
interpret the site and its significance.
Ann Marie Warren
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Anne Marie Warren has achieved recognition in the area of
Above and Beyond. Anne Marie plays a
critical role as Pool Manager at Pirate’s Cove and has been called “The Glue”
that holds the waterpark together. Anne
Marie’s assistance with the staff incentive program and the rollout of the new
customer service program were instrumental in the programs successes at
Pirate’s Cove Waterpark.
 |
| Ben Bilko |
Ben Bilko
White’s Ford Regional Park
White’s Ford Regional Park
Ben Bilko has achieved recognition in the area of Team
Player. In addition to Ben’s duties at
many other NOVA Parks locations, he was tasked with assisting in the
preparations and final details for the opening of White’s Ford Regional
Park. Ben worked closely with the
Planning and Development Department and assigned contractors to ensure the park
was ready for the grand opening. Tasks
included assisting with the boat launch facilities, tree plantings and ordering
and installation of park signage. The
opening of the park was a great success, and much of that can be contributed to
the work of Ben.
 |
| Dave Zickafoose |
Dave Zickafoose
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
David Zickafoose has achieved recognition in the areas of
Cost Savings and Above and Beyond. With
the implementation of a new point of sale system came the possibility that we
would be required to replace a large portion of our existing hardware. David took it upon himself to research and
develop a solution that created compatibility between the new system and our
existing hardware. David’s hard work and
knowledge saved NOVA Parks thousands in equipment upgrade costs.
 |
| Sarah Johnson |
Sarah Johnson
Cameron Run Regional Park
Cameron Run Regional Park
Sarah Johnson has achieved recognition in the area of
Safety. During her years at Great Waves
Waterpark, Sarah has developed into a vital component of the NOVA Parks
aquatics program. Sarah’s mastery of the
NASCO aquatics system and her ability to teach others has been important to the
program’s success, not just a Great Waves but at all the NOVA Parks waterpark
facilities. Sarah has also assumed the
lead role on the Aquatics commitment for the last several years using her
knowledge and skills to impact the agency as a whole.
 |
| John Houser |
John Houser
Occoquan Regional Park
Occoquan Regional Park
John Houser has achieved recognition in the areas of
Above-and-Beyond and Team Player. John
has played a critical role in the development and delivery of our new
agency-wide customer service program.
John’s participation in the interview process to select our program consultant,
his assistance with the overall design of the program and its successful
delivery to hundreds of NOVA Parks’ employees and volunteers is a big part of
why moving into our second full year the program is flourishing.
 |
| Cindy Hudson |
Cindy Hudson
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Cindy Hudson has achieved recognition in the area of
Innovation. Cindy’s extensive work on
the new employee pay table was tremendous and exceptionally time
consuming. This required extensive
research and huge attention to detail to ensure it had the desired impact on
how NOVA Parks employees are compensated.
The result of Cindy’s hard work is a system that will benefit all
current and future employees for many years to come.
 |
| John Lewis & Tracy Gillespie |
John Lewis
Temple Hall Farm Regional Park
Temple Hall Farm Regional Park
John Lewis has achieved recognition in the area of
Programming. John played an integral
role in the development of a first of its kind week-long Civil War camp that
encompassed several of NOVA Parks’ historic sites. Campers were able to experience the life of a
Civil War soldier practicing marching and artillery drills and also what life
was like on the home front.
Tracy Gillespie
Mt Zion Historic Park
Mt Zion Historic Park
Tracy Gillespie has achieved recognition in the area of
Programming. Tracy played an integral
role in the development of a first of its kind week-long Civil War camp that
encompassed several of NOVA Parks’ historic sites. Campers were able to experience the life of a
Civil War soldier practicing marching and artillery drills and also what life
was like on the home front.
 |
| Dale Hook |
Dale Hook
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Dale Hook has achieved recognition in the area of Customer
Service. Dale epitomizes GREAT customer
service and this shows not only in how she treats NOVA Parks customers but also
how she handles the internal customers she serves in her many roles at NOVA
Parks Headquarters. A great example of
this is the assistance she provides to the marketing department with the
assembly of new promotional features such as the cabin information binders for
Pohick Campground, or assisting with copying and editing of other promotional
materials. Dale is quick to support
whatever functions are needed; this was seen firsthand with Dale’s work on
inputting customer data into the new agency-wide point of sale system. This work took months to complete and was
done with great care.
 |
| Sharon Swab |
Sharon Swab
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Sharon Swab has achieved recognition in the area of Customer
Service. Sharon’s passion for Meadowlark
and NOVA Parks is contagious, and she shares that daily with visitors year
round. Whether it is providing a great
experience at the Winter Walk of Lights or the gardens during the summer
season, visitors will find a knowledgeable, enthusiastic ambassador of all
things Meadowlark.
 |
| Kelly Koster |
Kelly Koster
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Kelly Koster has achieved recognition in the area of Above
and Beyond. With the NOVA Parks
rebranding efforts in full swing, Kelly was asked to be the lead “on camera
star” for a new promotional video that highlights our organization and will be
used in a multitude of ways, including public broadcast. Kelly handled this task with great ease and
enthusiasm, and the product produced turned out to be some of the best
promotional work we as an organization have done.
 |
| Brian Bauer |
Brian Bauer
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Brian Bauer has achieved recognition in the area of
Innovation. Brian’s work on the NOVA
Parks rebranding efforts has been extraordinary. Our agency at times has suffered from an
identity crisis and now the new NOVA Parks brand that Brian has spearheaded has
given us an identity which will assist greatly in letting the communities we
serve know how unique and exceptional NOVA Parks truly is.
 |
| Doug Smith |
Doug Smith
Bull Run Regional Park
Bull Run Regional Park
Doug Smith has achieved recognition in the area of Above and
Beyond. Doug joined NOVA Parks first
ever Civil War Camp as Corporal Smith, volunteering his time and talents to
many eager campers. Corporal Smith’s
duties included standard military drilling, battle scenarios and the sharing of
his extensive knowledge of the Civil War with the group. Doug’s interactions with our campers were
done with great patience, encouragement and good humor, with Doug even
providing each camper with a souvenir minie ball to take home.
 |
| Vanessa Herndon |
Vanessa Herndon
Carlyle House
Carlyle House
Vanessa Herndon has achieved recognition is the area of
Programming. Vanessa especially shines
in children’s programming where she is credited with the creation of the
Carlyle Craft Day that, as a first time program, hosted more than 120
attendees. Vanessa is also a large part
of the overall success of the increasingly popular Camp Carlyle. Thanks to Vanessa’s fresh eye and inventive
approach, the stories of the Carlyle House live on through dynamic programs.
Jake Bumbrey
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Jake Bumbrey has achieved recognition in the areas of
Versatility and Responsiveness. Jake’s work
on the development of the Tinner Hill Historic Site was one that was extremely
time sensitive and of great importance to the community. The project had many complications with
regard to construction and permitting issues that Jake was able to navigate
through with great skill. While doing
this, he also worked closely with various interest groups and their
expectations for the site. As a result
of Jake’s efforts, Tinner Hill Historic Site opened on time and with great
accolades from the community.
 |
| Ben Goode |
Ben Goode
Rust Sanctuary
Rust Sanctuary
Ben Goode has achieved recognition in the areas of Cost
Savings and Above and Beyond. Ben has
been able to use his wide range of skills to improve the facilities at Rust
Sanctuary. Ben has taken on the renovations of four rooms within the main
house, including a redesign of the kitchen, installation of new flooring and
extensive plaster work throughout the house.
Ben has also stepped in on a number of other projects, including the
emergency repair of a well pump to ensure water was available for an afternoon
wedding. Because of efforts like this
Rust is quickly becoming a popular destination for area brides.
 |
| Doranne Pittz |
Doranne Pittz
Fountainhead Regional Park
Fountainhead Regional Park
Doranne Pittz has achieved recognition in the areas of
Customer Service and Team Player.
Doranne pioneered the first ever Customer Service GREAT Board, setting
the standard for other facilities to follow.
Doranne has also taken it upon herself to organize activities outside of
work in an effort to build a true team atmosphere among all NOVA Parks
employees. Doranne is often one of the
first to volunteer or take on additional duties as needed, making her the true
definition of a Team Player.
 |
| Brian Nolan |
Brian Nolan
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Brian Nolan has achieved recognition in the area of
Versatility. Brian, as the Special
Projects Manager for the Planning and Development Department, is responsible
for managing a multitude of complex projects and tasks. Doing this well requires constant
communication and updates to contractors, consultants, local permitting offices
and NOVA Parks staff. Brian accomplishes
this with great skill and exceptional organization and results.
 |
| Jules Maloney |
Jules Maloney
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Jules Maloney has achieved recognition in the
area of Versatility. Jules is tasked
with managing an emerging camp program in the summer months and then is asked
to quickly transition into Light Show mode soon thereafter. As the Camp Grow Leader, she provides
exceptional experiences for all campers introducing the groups to new and
exciting activities. During Light Show
times, she becomes an orchestrator of the multitude of details that go into
making the light show a success. Jules
has managed both roles with tremendous enthusiasm and great results
 |
| Jenny Friedman |
Jenny Friedman
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Jenny Friedman has achieved recognition in the area of
Innovation. Jenny’s design efforts on
The Atrium wedding venue booklet provided NOVA Parks’ most popular wedding
venue a prestige piece that assists in painting the picture of The Atrium as a
first class event venue to prospective clients.
This promotional piece also surpassed many great nominees from the state
and received the award for “Best Promotional Effort” from the Virginia
Recreation and Park Society at its annual conference.
 |
| Ted Riley, Jr. |
Central Maintenance
Ted Riley Jr. has achieved recognition in the area Team
Player. Each day, Ted demonstrates the
true meaning of being a Team Player with his willingness to take on projects
outside of his normal job duties to achieve positive results. This can often mean assisting with plumbing
or carpentry projects that due to his assistance contribute greatly to the
efficiency of our Central Maintenance operations.
 |
| Jackie Querry |
Jackie Querry
Rust Sanctuary
Rust Sanctuary
Jackie Querry has achieved recognition in the area of
Customer Service. Jackie exemplifies
GREAT customer service by consistently assisting couples in the planning of
their event with their budget and overall event expectations in mind. This is especially helpful with the wedding
ceremony itself, where Jackie often leads couples through the details they
often have not yet thought about. Jackie
is consistently identified in online and other site reviews as a true event
professional.
 |
| Kim McCleskey |
Kim McCleskey
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Kim McCleskey has achieved recognition in the area of Responsiveness. Each budget year, Kim works tirelessly to
create a budget process that is efficient and easy to navigate for everyone
involved. Kim is always willing to meet
with staff who request additional information or explanation about their
particular piece of the budget. Kim
consistently seeks feedback on the overall process and has also taken the time
to generate a survey that is given to staff to solicit suggestions about
additional ways to improve the budget and process. Kim’s hard work makes what could be a
difficult process easier and one that values everyone’s input and ideas.
 |
| Brad Jackson |
Brad Jackson
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Brad Jackson has achieved recognition in the areas of Safety
and Responsiveness. Brad, recognizing a
significant need, took on the challenge of reorganizing the parking within Camp
Wilson to address customer confusion about where to park and overall safety of
the site. Brad’s plan provided a safer
environment by clearly defining parking locations, and in the process created a
better overall camping experience for our NOVA Parks customers.
 |
| Debbie Patterson |
Debbie Patterson
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Debbie Patterson has achieved recognition in the area of
Customer Service. Debbie has quickly
adjusted to the demands of the NOVA Parks budget process and has added to its
success. Debbie has displayed a
willingness to assist with any questions or explanations but has also been a
part of implementing new ways to get information out quickly to staff. A great example of this was her assistance in
providing completed budget pages at the conclusion of each budget meeting. Doing this gave everyone an immediate
snapshot of the changes and even provided a head start on the entry for the
final document.
Kathy Brooks
NOVA Parks HQ
NOVA Parks HQ
Kathy Brooks has achieved recognition in the areas of
Versatility and Team Player. Kathy has
willingly taken on the challenge of becoming an expert in the development and
implementation of our agency’s new point of sale system. Kathy has worked exceptionally hard to
develop a deep understanding of the systems capabilities and functions as they
relate to the needs of NOVA Parks, and she has actively assumed the role of
in-house trainer and go-to staff member for all questions related to the new
system.
