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Carver County recognizes employees at 15th annual Peer Awards; Food Access project honored
Summary
Carver County presented its 15th annual Public Employee Excellence (peer) awards, honoring an innovation project, customer service recipient and a project-based teamwork award for the county's Food Access initiative.
Carver County honored employees Tuesday during its 15th annual Public Employee Excellence Recognition Program, commonly called the peer awards. Michelle Miller of employee relations presented the ceremony and highlighted three category winners.
Why it matters: The awards recognize county employees’ work on services that affect residents daily — including library programming, health and human services operations and a county-led food access initiative that partners with local organizations.
Winners and programs: The 2025 Innovation Award went to Bridget Stewart for launching a book club for adults with disabilities; Miller said Stewart works out of the Watertown library and was not present at the meeting. The Customer Service Award went to Brandy Danielson of Health and Human Services; Heather Goodwin of Health and Human Services described Danielson’s work moving from front-desk duties into a child support enforcement technician role and praised her responsiveness and compassion.
The Project-Based Teamwork Award was presented to the Food Access project team in the county’s public health department. Team members listed by staff were Lily Halverson, Caitlin Harris, Tammy Legau, Kelly Velker, Samantha Downs and Richard Scott. Heather Goodwin described the team’s Find Food Carver County effort as a collaborative resource to help residents locate nutritious, affordable and culturally relevant food, and urged residents in need to use the website.
Remarks and context: Staff noted the awards ceremony took place earlier the same morning and that hundreds of county employees — staff referenced “about 750 employees” countywide in remarks — do work across programs that are not always visible to the public. Commissioners thanked staff and noted the value of recognizing public employees; no board action was required.
Ending: County leaders returned to regular business after the presentation and said they appreciated the opportunity to acknowledge employees who support residents through daily services and longer-term projects.
