Winter Park City Talk

Employee of the Quarter

Please join us in congratulating Mark Brown, Electric Utility Specialist, on his nomination as employee of the fourth quarter of 2011. Mayor Bradley and the City Commission presented the award to Brown at the City Commission meeting on Jan. 23.

Brown has worked for the city for more than 24 years since he was hired in November 1987. He exemplifies an exceptional employee with his ongoing positive attitude and willingness to take on a wide variety of responsibilities. Never complaining and always carrying out his duties with a smile is his signature trait. Mark’s responsibilities include maintaining and reporting the Winter Park Electric’s Utility Department’s reliability measurements, assisting with substation maintenance, operating the SCADA system and providing outage support to the city’s contractor after hours.

He is a certified energy auditor and frequently performs analysis and provides support to customers with concerns regarding their utility bill or consumption rates. Mark is the kind of employee that comes off vacation to help put the system back together after a storm and does so with a positive attitude. Whether during regular business hours or 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning, Mark is up for the task at hand often providing on-call support to line crews and communicating with on-duty personnel to make the necessary repairs and restore service to our customers.

In addition to his normal work duties, Mark serves as the department’s compliance officer for North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which was created by the former Federal Power Commission as a result of the northeast power blackout in 1965. NERC is responsible for ensuring the security and reliability of the North American Bulk Power Supply system. There are currently 102 NERC Reliability Standards occupying 1,044 pages of print. Figuring out which standards apply to Winter Park and which ones do not is a burdensome responsibility in itself. In October 2011, Winter Park was audited on 39 of the actively monitored reliability standards. As a result of Mark’s diligence and hard work, Winter Park was determined to be in compliance and no fines were levied. It should be noted that findings of violations and significant fines are commonplace in the industry.

Winter Park Electric’s clean bill of health is directly attributed to Mark’s organization of the standards, his thoroughness, and the complete documentation of our compliance efforts. In advance of the NERC audit and in association with the Florida Municipal Power Agency, Mark implemented a mock audit to insure that the detail of our compliance program met the requirements of NERC. It is this type of foresight, thoroughness and commitment to our customers that makes Mark Brown the 2012 Employee of the Quarter.

City Blood Drive

When: Monday, Feb. 6.

Time: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: In front of Winter Park City Hall, 401 Park Ave. South

Cost: Please donate blood!

Contact: 407-599-3506 or floridabloodcenters.org

To donate blood, you must be at least 16 years old, weigh 110 pounds and be in good health. All donors must bring photo ID.

Thank you for doing your part to help Florida Blood Centers. A critical number of voluntary donations are required every day to meet the need for blood. We appreciate your lifesaving efforts.

WPPD Citizens Academy

The Winter Park Police Department (WPPD) is very proud to announce the commencement of its Citizen Police Academy in 2012, the same year that commemorates WPPD’s 125th anniversary. The academy is a nine-week class that meets every Tuesday night and offers participants classroom training, a patrol ride-along and a voluntary class focused on firearms training.

The academy is an all- encompassing view of the daily operations of Winter Park Police Department and a great way to get to know the members of these various divisions:

• Patrol and Special Operations

• Criminal Investigations

• Street Crimes

• Community Services

• Traffic and Parking Enforcement

• K-9

• SWAT and Hostage Negotiations

• School Resource

Classes are open to all Winter Park residents, business owners and community stakeholders. A minimum background check must be completed satisfactorily. If you are a previous graduate of the academy, new information will be shared so please consider participating again.

Only 25 participants are accepted. Applications for the Citizen’s Academy are available by emailing [email protected] or calling 407-599-3664.

S.A.F.E. classes

The Winter Park Police Department and Victim Service Center of Orange County frequently hosts women’s safety awareness classes for all interested women that have a tie to the city of Winter Park. There is no cost, special dress or equipment needed. Two dates for the two-hour class have been scheduled to accommodate as many women as possible.

This class is for ladies only and is limited to the first 25, ages 14 and older, who sign up.

Thursday, Feb. 16, at 6:30 p.m. or

Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1:30 p.m.

The class is held at Winter Park Police Department Public Safety Facility Community Room at 500 N. Virginia Ave.

For more information or to sign up, please email [email protected] or call 407-599-3663.

An icy success!

Ice skaters of all ages enjoyed the third annual “Winter in the Park” holiday ice skating rink in the West Meadow of Central Park, from Nov. 18 through Jan. 8. Funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency and the city of Winter Park, the event has grown more successful each year and rapidly become an important part of the holiday traditions in downtown. About 14,300 skaters enjoyed the ice skating festivities and they spent an estimated $250,000 in the city’s downtown shopping district.

The 2011 event saw major improvements in enhanced demographics, increased sponsorship support, and financial performance. Special thanks to the event’s major event sponsors: Winter Park Memorial Hospital, Florida Hospital for Children, Rollins College, Ruth’s Hospitality Group and the Orange County Department of Health. Also, thank you to the rink’s media sponsors: Mix 105.1, Sunny 105.9, WKMG Local 6, and Orlando Sentinel. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this icy event such a cool success!

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