Sterling Heights honors municipal employees at 2024 awards ceremony

Sterling Heights city leaders presented department and individual awards Tuesday night recognizing more than a dozen municipal employees for service and achievement in 2024, concluding with a council resolution to formally congratulate the honorees.

At a ceremony held during the city council meeting, Community Relations Director Melanie Davis and Human Resources Director Kate Baldwin led presentations for department-level and individual awards. The Sterling Heights Fire Department was named Office/Department of the Year and received public acknowledgment from Assistant City Manager Dale Dvorakowski and Chief Kevin Edmond. City Manager Mark Vanderpool presented Josh Cole with Administrator of the Year and an exemplary service award was given to Assistant City Manager and former city attorney Jeff Bohorski.

The awards spanned departments: library, parks and recreation, public works, fire, police, district court and facilities. Notable honorees announced included Jessica Leathers (2024 Sterling Heights Public Library Employee of the Year), Anne Marie Cole (Parks & Recreation part‑time employee of the year), Rebecca (Becca) Wynne (Parks & Recreation full‑time employee of the year), Mackenzie Zyla and Jackie Geldof (DPW part‑time and full‑time awards), firefighter Lance Stevens and fire officer Phil Ioco (Fire Department awards), Officer Jeremy Wallaman and Sergeant Tanya Jesperson (Police Department awards), Detective Christian Beselow (Detective of the Year), and Andrea Barra (City Hall full‑time employee of the year).

Council members and department leaders described programs and accomplishments tied to the awards: expansion of adaptive recreation and Project SEARCH internships with Utica Community Schools, the library’s sensory‑friendly story times and Sterling STEAM programming, DPW’s successful refuse and recycling transition (40,000 carts delivered), and public safety recognitions including an ISO Class 2 rating and consistent high resident satisfaction for fire and EMS. City Manager Mark Vanderpool noted the ceremony also served as a prelude to the city’s upcoming strategic planning session and budget process.

Council then considered a formal motion "to resolve to recognize and congratulate all of the recipients of awards for outstanding employee performance in 2024." The motion, moved by Councilmember Carol Schmidt, was supported and carried by voice vote (Council recorded “Aye”; no roll‑call tally was stated in the record). The council later recessed for photographs with honorees before continuing the regular agenda.

The ceremony featured short acceptance remarks by multiple recipients and statements from department directors describing specific programs and initiatives that motivated each award. The event and associated remarks are intended to inform residents about programming (for example, library sensory story times, parks’ cool‑down zones and inclusion efforts) and to highlight operational achievements across city departments.

The council's formal recognition will be entered into the public record and the city encouraged residents to note programs discussed during the presentations, including the City’s home rehabilitation program and upcoming Parks & Recreation hiring fair.