“We Build Community, One Neighbor at a Time!” Employees of the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Parks and Recreation Department have adopted that mantra because each day they possess the capacity to make a huge impact in people’s lives. Often during the hustle and bustle of daily life, we forget to recognize employees who go above and beyond their public-service duties. To this effect, the agency decided to initiate an employee recognition program, also known as the LEGO® program, which has helped boost morale and build camaraderie.
The program allows staff to award recognition cards to employees who were commended by residents (whom the agency refers to as neighbors), visitors or co-workers. The impact of the program begins with the opportunity for every employee to recognize another’s efforts, not just supervisors or management staff. Each time someone receives a recognition card, a LEGO® building block is placed to help complete the current model.
For example, the first structure the agency completed was the word “community” to visually represent their mantra. Subsequent buildings included a house and a marina to represent the City of Fort Lauderdale’s designation as the “Venice of America.” Future plans to expand the model community include the additions of a park, community pool, police station, fire station and much more. Collectively, the building blocks represent all of the employees’ accomplishments to help the City of Fort Lauderdale “Build Community, One Neighbor at a Time.”
Recognized employees are also treated to a quarterly lunch with Phil Thornburg, the City of Fort Lauderdale parks and recreation director. During the lunch, several grand prizes are awarded during a raffle. In addition, one employee from each of the agency’s three divisions is honored with the LEGO® Star of the Quarter Award. Thornburg says, “The LEGO® program has been tremendously successful, because every employee has the ability to recognize another’s efforts. It reminds us that we have to work as a team each day to provide our neighbors with the best service at the best price.”
Some of the most noteworthy employee recognitions include lifesaving efforts. For instance, during the YMCA National Swimming Championships at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex, staff responded to a person in respiratory distress. The aquatic complex’s assistant manager and lifeguards acted as the first-response team, conducting CPR until emergency personnel arrived onsite. On another occasion, staff noticed a person in distress who had fallen into the Intracoastal Waterway from a nearby seawall in the park. After confirming the person had no injuries, they transported him back to land safely. And finally, staff at a community pool quickly recognized a child struggling to swim in the deep end. The staff member assessed the situation and stepped in before it could have become critical. Another staff member met with the child’s parents to educate them about necessary parental supervision and about the agency’s low-cost swimming lessons for all skill levels.
The LEGO® program is featured on display in the agency’s lobby to show all of our neighbors, as well as our employees, just how integral the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Parks and Recreation Department is to the foundation of our community by ensuring the best quality of life.
Angela DiPietro is the Public Information Specialist for the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation.