Jones and Pennywell Selected as Employees of the Quarter
The city honored two outstanding employees for the Employee of the Second Quarter.
Mike Jones, Fire Battalion Chief, was nominated and selected for his tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic protecting the community and city staff’s health.
“Mike is our boots on the ground and central point of communication and coordination for the COVID-19 public health response,” states his nomination form.
The extra duties that Mike has taken on include working with the testing site partners for results, the city’s public health official for evaluation on every case, the city’s human resources department and other various departments on related assessments and exposures. He also has trained additional support staff and ensured state and other regulatory reporting is completed.
“This has been a 24/7 assignment showing no signs of slowing, and we cannot express our gratitude enough to Mike for looking out for the community and our city staff each day and at all hours,” states his nomination form.
Mike Jones has over 21 years of fire service with the City of Burleson. Mike started his career with the city on April 1, 1999, as a firefighter working his way through the ranks to Battalion Chief.
Drew Pennywell, Economic Development Specialist, was selected as employee of the quarter for his work as the Project Manager over the last four and half years on the Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza.
“Drew was instrumental in working and coordinating with the community, old town business owners, Council, design team and contractors to bring the vision of the plaza to life,” states his nomination form.
A project of this magnitude takes detailed managing and a large time commitment. There were various obstacles throughout the planning and construction of the project, as typical in extensive project management, and Drew faced them head-on with patience and a great attitude.
“The Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza is a source of pride, and we want to express our appreciation to Drew for a job well done on a beautiful space for the community to enjoy,” states his nomination form.
Drew has been with the City since October 3, 2014. Drew grew his career here starting as a Recreation Center Coordinator in Parks and Recreation, promoting to the Old Town Tourism Coordinator, then to Assistant to the City Manager where he continued his work for Old Town. He currently works as an Economic Development Specialist focusing on attracting and retaining a diversified business base in Burleson.
Mike and Drew were honored during the August 3, 2020, City Council meeting. The city's employee of the quarter award is based on an employee's efficiency, transparency, honesty, innovation and customer service, all of which make up the city's ethics statement.