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Hillsborough County honors Social Services staff, Sunshine Line leader and volunteer communications teams at quarterly awards
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Summary
At a quarterly awards ceremony, commissioners proclaimed May 2026 Community Action Month, honored Sunshine Line manager Leslie McNeil for transportation leadership, recognized CDM's graphics team for a national design award, and acknowledged volunteer radio teams for emergency communications performance.
The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners held a quarterly awards and recognition ceremony that included a proclamation for Community Action Month, honors for county staff and volunteers, and presentations recognizing transportation, communications and emergency-preparedness contributions.
Commissioner Cohen read a proclamation declaring May 2026 as Community Action Month and described the Hillsborough County Community Action Board’s role in administering community services block grant funds. The proclamation text, as read, notes the board’s fiduciary and advisory role and urges residents to recognize the board’s efforts. The document read at the podium declared May 2026 Community Action Month; the proclamation text also referenced an execution date of November 2026 on the document as presented.
A Social Services department representative, introduced to the podium by Commissioner Cohen, summarized two core programs funded by the Community Service Block Grant: an education empowerment program and a family empowerment program. The speaker said the 2025 grant year helped “over 60 eligible students” and enrolled “almost a 100 families” in the family empowerment program.
Commissioner Cohen and colleagues recognized Leslie McNeil, manager of operations for the county’s Sunshine Line, with the University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research "New Voice in Transportation" award. In presenting McNeil, the commissioner cited recruitment and retention that brought Sunshine Line to about 95 drivers and noted a 23% increase in trips to just over 530,000 door-to-door and bus trips in 2024; client enrollment rose about 24%. On-time performance figures were cited twice at the podium: one presenter referenced a 93.4% on-time performance baseline and a later on-stage update noted 97.1% on-time performance.
"Her calm command under pressure, strategic coordination with emergency management, and tireless commitment to public safety exemplify her strength as a crisis leader," Commissioner Cohen said when presenting the award. McNeil briefly thanked the board and staff for their work and offered an on-stage update on on-time performance.
Commissioner Cepeda recognized Michael Galenas and Julissa Vasquez of Communications and Digital Media for producing an award-winning season booklet for the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. The booklet won a 2025 American Graphic Design Award from Graphic Design USA; Galenas thanked the commissioners and credited collaboration with the performing arts center and his CDM team.
Commissioner Boles presented awards to Hillsborough County’s Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) and local amateur radio clubs, noting strong results in the American Radio Relay League field day exercise: the county core RACES team placed first in the state and third nationally, and the Kings Point team placed second in the state and twelfth nationally. Volunteer representatives accepted the awards and emphasized ham radio’s role when cellular systems fail and the challenge of recruiting younger operators.
The moderator closed the ceremony by thanking award recipients and attendees. No formal policy votes or motions were recorded in the ceremony; the event consisted of proclamations, recognitions and brief remarks.
