Mid-Year Team City Award Winners

It’s great to spend time appreciating and celebrating some of the amazing staff who devote hours of hard work, compassion and talent to help make Madison a better place to live, play and raise a family.  

The employees selected for a Team City Award this quarter were selected from a large pool of candidates that were nominated by their peers. The recommendations are always remarkable to read and continue to give me confidence that the work that we do for this community is in good hands. 

The Team City Community Service & Support Award:
Patrick Truschinski

Patrick is an Operations Lead Worker at Monona Terrace. He leads the morning shift at Monona Terrace, managing an often-chaotic time when clients arrive and request last-minute changes to rooms that are already set up. Patrick handles these changes with a great attitude and exceptional customer service. Additionally, he excels in collaborating with other departments in the building, from pre-planning to making changes to a room that is already set, to helping the maintenance or audio-visual departments. Overall, he is a wonderful colleague who enhances Monona Terrace with his positive attitude and strong work ethic. Patrick was nominated by IT Specialist John Schwoerer.

The Team City Public Health & Safety Award:
Curtis Price & Jackie Ward

Curtis is a Public Works Maintenance Worker 3 and Jackie is an Administrative Clerk 1 at the Madison Water Utility. In addition to their regular job duties, Curtis and Jackie have been the backbone of the Water Wagon Outreach Program. From May through September, the Water Wagon is part of community events throughout the city. It allows our community members to stay hydrated with access to cold Madison tap water in big events such as Loop the Lake, Ride the Drive, and Parks Alive. This program cannot happen without staff signing up to deliver the wagon and be present at these, sometimes long, events. While staffing the Water Wagon, Curtis and Jackie not only encourage people to drink water and stay hydrated, but they are always amazing ambassadors for TeamCity. They eagerly listen to questions and share information on the source of our water supply, details on the quality of Madison’s water, conservation methods, and more. Curtis and Jackie were nominated by Community Outreach Specialist Jody Berndt.

The Team City Public Works & Land Use Award:
Ali Heinritz

Ali is an Engineer 2 in the Traffic Engineering Division. She analyzes historical data, identifies issues, and recommends improvements for transportation-related concerns reported by the public, or discovered during safety reviews. She also contributes to many public works projects by preparing construction project plans, specifications and cost estimates, and co-leads the City’s Vision Zero project to reduce fatalities and injury-crashes on City streets. Ali is responsible for organizing the weekly Vision Zero Steering Team meeting and the quarterly Vision Zero Stakeholder Task Force meetings. She is also one of the main contributors to a long list of tasks that the Vision Zero team tackles to meet their goals. She is passionate and motivated about her work, especially traffic safety, which has led her to contribute to the Vision Zero team for nearly three years and counting. Ali received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from San Diego State University and has been with the City since 2018. Ali was nominated by the Traffic Engineering Division Director Yang Tao and Operations and Safety Manager Tom Mohr.

The Team City Public Administration Award:
Coleen Lisauskas

Coleen is the Payroll Supervisor in the Finance Department. In her role, she oversees the payroll process for all city departments and agencies. Coleen was an invaluable resource to Metro during their recent switch to a new timekeeping and payroll process for their management and office staff. On top of the complexities of this process involving multiple levels of staff over the 85 people affected, Metro has several different projects to which people need to charge portions of their time. Coleen not only helped simplify this process, but she went above and beyond to guide employees through unending email chains, last-minute requests, and video calls to walk team members through the process. She remained professional, calm, friendly, and just plain helpful. She directly contributed to the successful rollout of this project. Coleen was nominated by Transit Chief Administrative Officer, Rachel Johnson.

The Team City Mayor’s Choice Award:
Paul Carroll

Paul is a daytime Custodial Worker at the Engineering Building. Sometimes doing a good job means your work goes unnoticed, and that’s often the case with custodial work. Keeping a space clean and healthy so other staff can do their work efficiently is critical, and Paul does exactly that for the Engineering team. On top of that, he does this every day with enthusiasm and a smile his face. He brings curiosity and friendship into a work environment that is often hectic and full of distractions. Paul’s outstanding attitude day-in and day-out, and his constant readiness to help are truly commendable. Paul is an avid biker, a long-time personal computing powerhouse, an accomplished moviegoer, and is absolutely passionate about all the unique culinary options around town. He has worked with the City since 2016. Paul was nominated by Jon Evans, an Engineer 4.