We love hearing the stories about the great men and women working in Arizona’s cities and towns!

Town of Queen Creek Park Ranger Ron Jones is just one of those exceptional individuals who is committed to delivering the best service and providing awesome quality of life for the residents of his community.

Ranger Ron is one of four park rangers in the town whose primary role is to patrol and be the eyes and ears of the town. They also serve as the direct link between residents and parks, interacting with the public, answering questions, and educating youth about parks programs. He has been with the town since 2004.

Read more about Ranger Ron and the many extraordinary individuals working in the Town of Queen Creek:  http://www.queencreek.org/Home/Components/News/News/10133/13?backlist=%2f

The Town of Clarkdale was among 10 local governments who have been recognized for their outstanding programmatic contributions to local government by ICMA, the International City/County Management Association. ICMA’s 2016 Annual Awards Program recipients will be officially honored at a Celebration of Service to the Profession, as part of the organization’s 102nd Annual Conference on September 28, 2016.   The Town of Clarkdale’s award will be officially presented to the Clarkdale Town Council during their meeting on Tuesday, October11, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.

The Town of Clarkdale received a Program Excellence Award in the Community Sustainability category for the demonstration of water sustainability in their Centennial Plaza project.  The award recognizes innovative local government programs or processes that creatively balance a community’s social, economic, environmental, and cultural needs.

According to Town Manager Gayle Mabery, “The Town of Clarkdale is very honored to receive this prestigious award from the International City/County Management Association.  This an award our whole community should celebrate!  Our Town Council set a vision for a sustainable community, our citizen’s endorsed that vision through the adoption of the Town’s 2012 General Plan, and our staff worked hard at every stage of this project: planning, construction, implementation and maintenance … to achieve not only an award-worthy result for Clarkdale, but a project that is a true demonstration of sustainability for our community.”

The ICMA Local Government Excellence Awards Program highlights creative contributions to professional local government management while demonstrating the difference that this kind of management makes to the quality of life in our communities. ICMA’s Program Excellence Awards are presented to local governments, their chief administrators, and others within the 10,000+ member organization in recognition of their innovative and successful programs.  This year, an independent, 21-member evaluation panel reviewed the eligible nominations.

“We congratulate the recipients of our 2016 Program Excellence Awards and the administrators and managers who lead them,” says ICMA Executive Director Bob O’Neill. “The communities and men and women recognized this year set the standard for innovation, effectiveness, and creativity. We thank them for their commitment to improving the lives of the constituents they serve every day.”

As the City Manager of Goodyear, Brian Dalke is always thinking about how to make the city better into the future. His forward-thinking attitude has been the guiding aspect for recently adopting a new city strategic plan and implementing a city-wide performance measure program.

He is also focused on the city’s residents, working with city employees to ensure that they are satisfied with the work their city is doing. He works closely with the Human Resources Department to develop an employee appraisal tool that is aligned to core customer service values. He has also started an initiative for Priority Based Budgeting, which will help facilitate meaningful communication between Council and staff about resources and their city initiatives.

Before becoming City Manager, Brian spent twenty years working for the city, learning the culture of Goodyear. He joined as an Economic Development Director, leading the small city as it made its mark in the West Valley. In his role there, he helped charge on many development agreements and projects that still continue to sustain the city.

His role in development continued as Deputy City Manager, where he oversaw key projects like the Estrella Falls Regional Mall agreement, which is slotted to bring a 1.2 million square-foot regional shopping center to the West Valley in 2016. In addition, the was instrumental in the development of the Goodyear Ballpark and Recreational Development Complex, which serves as a year-round economic engine for the community, and a venue for many events for the community to enjoy.

Brian likes to say that in Goodyear, they are in the “forever business,” and his guidance is ensuring Goodyear will be prosperous for many years to come. He is one of the many reasons Arizona Cities Work!