Mayor to Present May 2024 Award of Excellence

Mayor to Present May 2024 Award of Excellence

Published on August 12, 2024

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird today will present the Mayor's Award of Excellence for May 2024 to Curt Helgoth, a Network Supervisor for the Finance Department. The award will be presented at 3 p.m. at the beginning of the City Council meeting at the County-City Building, 555 S. 10th Street. The awards recognize City employees who consistently provide exemplary service and work that demonstrates personal commitment to Lincoln.

Helgoth was nominated by Beau Wolfe, LNKTV Manager, in the categories of loss prevention and customer relations for his work to upgrade LNKTV's fiber optic connectivity.

In his nomination, Wolfe said Helgoth and his team saved the City more than $25,000 by upgrading to fiber optic cables rather than replacing aging network devices. Wolfe said Helgoth and his team laid out the foundation and mapping needed to connect an eight-mile fiber feed from both Lincoln Public Schools and Nebraska Public Media to the LNKTV studio located at the County-City Building.

"Curt and his team provided outstanding customer service and were able to complete the project quickly and efficiently. Their work has saved the city money and improved the quality of the video signal going to LNKTV," Wolfe said.

The other categories in which employees can be nominated is safety, productivity and valor. Consideration also may be given to nominations that demonstrate self-initiated accomplishments or those completed outside of the nominee's job description. All City employees are eligible for the award except for elected and appointed officials.

Individuals or teams can be nominated by supervisors, peers, subordinates, and the public. Nomination forms are available at lincoln.ne.gov/awardofexcellence or from department heads, employee bulletin boards or the Human Resources Department, which oversees the awards program.

All nominations are considered by the Mayor's Award of Excellence Committee, which includes a representative with each union and a non-union representative appointed by the Mayor. Award winners receive a $50 gift certificate, a day off with pay and a certificate. All monthly winners and nominees are eligible to receive the annual award, which comes with a $250 gift certificate, two days off with pay and a plaque.