VENTURA COUNTY — 2018 has been a great year for Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA). After their highly successful VCPWA Public Works Week event on May 22, they are excited to share the news about their outstanding VCPWA employees who have been selected as Employee of the Year, combining skills and efficiencies for great job performance.
Nominees for the annual award are nominated by peers for one of the three categories: office employee, operations & maintenance, and manager. There are 386 employees serving the five VCPWA departments. Department directors were then tasked with choosing the top employee for each award category.
The individuals selected for Employee of the Year are: Raul Ruiz from Water and Sanitation, Jim Van Voorhis from Engineering Service and Debra Cavaletto from Central Services.
Cavaletto is the Accounting Manager within Central Services. In that capacity, she serves as the Agency’s Fiscal Officer planning, organizing and directing the functions of the Fiscal Services Division. As one of VCPWA’s senior managers, she provides business information that supports VCPWA’s decision making process. Along with being awarded Employee of the Year, she was also awarded Employee of the Quarter – 3rd quarter.
“I am fortunate to have a dedicated team of individuals who are committed to serve the County and its constituents,” said Cavaletto. “I feel the recognition is as much about VCPWA’s Fiscal Team as it is about my individual work.”
Raul Ruiz is the Water/Wastewater Services (WWS) Supervisor for Water & Sanitation where he’s responsible for overseeing the activities of their operations group including monitoring WWS employees and their equipment. Along with being awarded Employee of the Year, he was also awarded Employee of the Quarter – 1st quarter.
“I’m truly honored that I was selected, it was a group effort,” said Ruiz. “I’m just a reflection of our group that works diligently to keep our system operating as efficient as possible.”
Jim Van Voorhis is the Senior Public Works Inspector for Engineering Services. He brings 28 years of experience working with the County of Ventura and six years with the City of Los Angeles. Van Voorhis credits his positive attitude for winning Employee of the Year but says it’s really his team that deserves the credit for the win. Along with being awarded Employee of the Year, he was also awarded Employee of the Quarter – 2nd quarter.
“I keep a positive attitude on difficult projects and having the opportunity to work with dedicated talented coworkers within the agency has helped me keep a positive attitude,” said Van Voorhis. “I was honored, I feel the whole department deserved the award.”
VCPWA is also excited to give special recognition to all the Employee of the Quarter nominees including: Frances Tamayo of Central Services, David Hubenthal, Howard De Leon and Ben Emami of Transportation, Gloria Silvestri-Whitcomb and Jean Fontayne of Watershed & Sanitation, as well as Scott Holder and Kirk Norman of Watershed Protection.
“We are very grateful to have this fantastic group of hardworking employees who exemplify what VCPWA proudly stands for,” said Ventura County Public Works Agency Director Jeff Pratt. “Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees.”