Delray Beach honors dozens of city employees at quarterly service awards

Delray Beach recognized dozens of municipal employees Thursday at its quarterly service awards, honoring milestone anniversaries across police, fire, utilities, public works, information technology and administrative departments. The event included short biographies of honorees, department remarks and a raffle for attendees.

The program, led by city staff and event organizers, opened with the announcement of newly elected Commissioner Judy Malakas and a welcome from organizers who emphasized the city’s focus on employee well-being and accessibility. "We do a lot to offer positive energy and synergy to employees at all levels of the organization," the staff member who opened the ceremony said, thanking department directors and elected officials for attending.

Highlights included a profile of Officer Nicholas Windsor, who was recognized for 15 years of service and whose career was described by a presenter as moving from community service officer (hired February 2011) to sworn officer with roles in patrol, DUI enforcement and traffic-homicide investigations. The presenter said Windsor now works in the Clean & Safe unit and has been active in community engagement efforts, including distributing "patrol packs" of trading cards to children to start conversations and build connections. "Officer Windsor is a great representative of our agency, our profession, and someone that we can always trust to make the right decisions," the presenter said.

Other departmental highlights included: John Manville (finance) and several finance staff recognized for 10 years of service; Adrienne "AJ" Johnson in information technology honored for 10 years with colleagues noting her work across Tyler New World, Adobe Sign and UKG time systems and upcoming ERP testing; numerous public-works and utilities employees recognized for 5–25 year milestones; and fire-rescue personnel commended for community programs such as smoke-detector installs, CPR training and technical rescue specializations. The assistant IT director noted an IT campaign was "at 76% completion in three weeks," with a late-April deadline for outstanding tasks.

Speakers repeatedly emphasized the value of institutional knowledge, employee engagement and cross-departmental collaboration. Human resources staff praised long-serving engagement leaders for building volunteer teams, employee recognition programs and mediating workplace situations; the HR speaker noted a national mediation certification completed in 2025.

The event concluded with a raffle (a $100 gift card was cited as the typical prize), a group photo of honorees and a reminder that the next quarterly awards program is planned for July. No policy actions or votes were taken during the ceremony.