National Public Works Week was held the week of May 20-26, and the City of Concord’s public works department, Concord General Services, hosted events to raise awareness in the community about the importance of public works services and to recognize employees for their dedicated service all year long.
Concord General Services started celebrations for National Public Works Week by hosting a Public Works Twitter Party on May 21. The hourlong Twitter party was held to encourage an online national discussion and increase awareness about public works. Twitter users tweeted along with the national campaign hashtag, #NPWW. Tweets received over 4,300 views and got recognition from local residents, public works organizations across the nation and the American Public Works Association.
On May 22, Concord General Services hosted their 2nd annual Concord Public Works Celebration at Memorial Field from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Approximately 270 guests were in attendance, including the general public and local school children from Woodside, Christa McAuliffe and Broken Ground schools.
The event featured live demonstrations, games, exhibits, Touch-A-Truck and Battle of the Backhoe. Congratulations to Dennis Gilmore, an equipment operator for General Services, for taking this year’s title as the 2018 Battle of the Backhoe Champion! Music and emceeing were provided by Nazzy Entertainment DJs featuring Binnie Media. Concord General Services’ new mascot, “Public Works Pup,” made his grand debut and was an exciting new feature that the kids and public enjoyed interacting, dancing, and taking pictures with. The community enjoyed learning more about Concord’s public works services at this free event. ConcordTV produced an event video that can be seen on Youtube.
A barbecue-style department luncheon was held May 23 to recognize employees for their dedicated work year-round. Superintendents cooked food for staff to thank employees for their hard work, and General Services Director Chip Chesley presented service recognition pins to employees that have been working for the City of Concord for an extended period of time.
Congratulations to: Tristain Smith, Kevin Rowell, John Hanlon, Zacharia Montoya, Corey Turmelle and Fred Schaefer for five years of service; Lucie Muhlfelder, Kevin Demers and Scott Benoit for 10 years of service; Glenn Vallee for 15 years of service; Jim Major and John Clement for 20 years of service; Duncan Walsh, Mike Croak and Mike Sorrenty for 30 years of service; and Tim Fontaine, David Hussey and Brian Deschenes for 35 years of service with the City of Concord.
Learn more about Concord’s public works by visiting concordnh.gov/generalservices. View pictures of the luncheon and Concord Public Works Celebration on Concord General Services’ Facebook page at facebook.com/ConcordNHGS.
National Public Works Week is hosted annually by the American Public Works Association to promote the importance of public works, but also to recognize employees for their service. This year’s theme, “The Power of Public Works,” celebrated the impact of the many aspects public works provides to determine a community’s quality of life. The City of Concord appreciates the dedicated public works services Concord General Services provides 24/7 to keep the Concord community running and resources flowing.
Angelina ZulkicConcord General Services
