Laguna Beach mayor spotlights city employees with new 'Mayor's Award of Excellence'

Mayor Alex Winoghe announced a new Mayor's Award of Excellence at the City of Laguna Beach’s annual employee picnic, recognizing individual staff and one firefighting team for work the city described as going “above and beyond.”

Winoghe said multiple employees were nominated by co-workers and that he selected several individual winners plus a team: firefighters from Fire Station 1, Engine 3. “Pat Carey was, you know, literally on the front lines of the Palisades fire,” Winoghe said, adding that the firefighters operate as a team. He also named Becca Wilson, the mayor’s executive assistant, and Anthony Viera, planning manager, among the honorees.

Winoghe described Wilson as frequently working late, noting she was at City Hall “at 07:30 at night,” and called her “a model for every city employee.” He described Viera as a “rising star” in community development and mentioned Porter Hogan, a lifeguard and Laguna local, among those singled out.

The mayor framed the awards as recognition of people “who are passionate and come to work every day” and encouraged public appreciation for staff service.

The announcement came during an interview on the local program Fair Game Laguna and was presented as part of the city’s employee appreciation events rather than a formal council action. No formal city resolution or budget allocation for the award was mentioned in the interview.