ROCKINGHAM — City employees were treated to a meal and had the chance to win prizes at the 39th annual dinner at Browder Park Thursday.
As the crowd cleaned their plates of food catered by Seaboard Station, City Manager Monty Crump recognized recent retirees, new hires and held a moment of silence for a former employee who passed away within the past year.
About half of the city’s employees received longevity bonuses this year for having at least 10 years in, Crump said.
“Experience pays off,” he said. “Because you know your job … you’re able to save money, work more efficiently” and save the taxpayers money.
To those who recently started working with the city, Crump said, “We want you to make the city of Rockingham a career.”
He then turned the mic over to Mayor Steve Morris, who introduced the City Council members.
“These folks really, really have your interests at heart,” he said. “They are a brave crew. They make some decisions to do some things that don’t normally happen, knowing they might get some criticism.”
One of the biggest things the city has gone out on a limb for, Morris said, is the downtown campus of Richmond Community College.
The city is paying for the building’s construction and will give it to the college and is — to best of Morris and Crump’s knowledge — the only city to do so.
The grand opening is slated for some time in the spring of 2020, Morris said.
“And I want every employee in the city to stick your chest out, raise your head up a little bit higher, because you helped build that building,” he continued. “You did it by working very efficiently at your jobs, and being safe, having few accidents, and doing the best you could to take care of the city’s equipment … and if you hadn’t done all that we couldn’t afford to build that building.”
Following Morris’ speech, Crump and the City Council members handed out door prizes, which included $25 gift certificates and family packs of tickets to Discovery Place Kids before drawing for other prizes:
- $100 gift certificate – Harold Isler, Mark Rohleder
- $75 gift certificate – Heather Bellamy, Ed Byrne
- $50 gift certificate – Josh Webster, Marcus Ricks, Mark Godfrey
- $300 grand prize – Gena Peveto, Rockingham Police Department administrative assistant
Those with a certain number on the back of their programs were allowed to take home a poinsettia at the end of the event.
