Purchasing Division Recognized for Earning the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award

The Broward County Purchasing Division has once again earned the prestigious Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Purchasing Institute (NPI), which has been recognizing organizational excellence in public procurement since 1995.

The Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) is awarded annually to procurement agencies that successfully apply and demonstrate excellence by obtaining a high score based on standardized criteria that measures innovation, professionalism, productivity, electronic-procurement and leadership attributes of the procurement organization. June 2009

Two Broward County Agencies Earn Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties

Two Broward County agencies, Parks and Recreation Extension Education and Permitting, Licensing and Consumer Protection, received three 2009 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo), given in recognition of "innovative county government programs."

Extension Education received an award for its volunteer program, the Mobile Extension Office Networks with Local Master Gardener Coordinators. The Broward County Master Gardener Coordinators operate 33 "Mobile Extension Offices" in 29 Broward cities, through Web pages, emails and an online Yahoo Group. This network has resulted in a 400 percent increase in public service, serving more than 49,000 residents per year.

Permitting, Licensing and Consumer Protection received two awards. The first was for the "Consumer Law/Assistance Internship," a partnership that allows law students to spend 50 hours working closely with staff members in Consumer Protection. Their second Achievement Award was for the presentation, "The World of Identity Theft," which provides helpful information about this crime, including how to avoid becoming a victim; how to tell if you are a victim; and what steps to take if you are.  June 2009

Broward County Agencies Win 22 NACIO Awards Recognizing Outreach Efforts

Broward County has received 22 awards in the National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO) Awards of Excellence competition. This year's contest garnered approximately 377 entries from 22 states and 52 counties or county associations. Entries for the Awards of Excellence must have been completed by December 2008.

NACIO, an affiliate of the National Association of Counties with members from 3,066 counties, boroughs and parishes across the United States, holds the Awards of Excellence Competition each year to honor the best public information and community outreach efforts from counties nationwide. Categories included published reports and newsletters, promotional or informational brochures, writing and graphic design, photography and audio visual, special projects, community events and computer media.

Entries are classified in two segments, with county populations of less than and more than 500,000, and are ranked as superior, excellent or meritorious and best of class. Overall, Broward County won four superior, five excellent, 11 meritorious and two best of class ratings.  Winning NACIO entries.  June 2009

Transit-Housing Oriented Redevelopment Pilot Study Wins State Award

Broward County employees were among a team whose project earned a design award in the research category from the Florida Association of American Institute of Architects (AIA) in a statewide competition. The award will be presented at the annual state AIA conference on August 1 in Tampa. The winning project is the Transit-Housing Oriented Redevelopment Pilot Study for the State Road 7 and Broward Boulevard corridors.

The project examines strategies to encourage redevelopment of the corridors, increase housing options and transit use, and redirect growth from the adjacent residential neighborhoods. John Ramos, transportation planner with the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, was the project's contract administrator, and James Cromar, principal planner with Broward County Planning and Redevelopment, was the pilot project grant coordinator.

The AIA Florida awards program is an annual blind reviewed and juried awards competition. June 2009

Three County Employees are Newly Certified LEED Professionals

The Broward County Construction Management Division reports that three project managers have achieved the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional (AP) designation from the U. S. Green Building Council.  The County now has seven LEED AP certified professionals.

The LEED AP credential indicates that these professionals have the knowledge and skills to facilitate the LEED certification process. The three individuals are Jack Shim, Project Manager IV; Helena Saleta, Project Manager III; and Jamil Jalloul, Project Manager III. The Division now has seven LEED AP professionals, including Steve Hammond, County Architect; Dan Ayers, Project Manager IV; Ariadna Musarra, Project Manager IV; and Susan Goldstein, Expansion Project Administrator.  The Broward County Facilities Maintenance Division also has three LEED AP certified professionals: Ian Harvey, Steve Greco and Sari Berlin.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is designed to encourage energy and resource conservation in the construction and operation of buildings.  Additional information on the LEED Green Building Rating System and the LEED AP accreditation program can be found at http://www.usgbc.org.  May 2009

Nicki E. Grossman Named to Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Travel and Tourism Advisory Council

Nicki E. Grossman, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been named to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Travel and Tourism Advisory Council.

The Atlanta Fed developed the Travel and Tourism Advisory Council in 2008 to provide real-time, grassroots economic information to its Research Department. The council consists of approximately 12 members who are senior executives of tourism and tourism-related businesses and organizations in the Southeast, such as cruise lines, convention and visitors bureaus, entertainment companies, airports, and hotel and restaurants.

Grossman, who has spearheaded Greater Fort Lauderdale's growth into an international tourism destination attracting some 10.8 million visitors a year, was named president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1995. Her responsibilities include the administration of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the sales, marketing, promotion, advertising, and publicity arm of Broward County's convention and tourism efforts. May 2009

Quiet Waters Lifeguards Win Prestigious National Award

The Broward County Parks and Recreation Division has announced that the lifeguard staff at Splash Adventure at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach has won the 2008 Platinum International Aquatic Safety Award from Ellis & Associates International Aquatic Safety & Risk Management Consultants. The award is given for "consistently exceeding our criteria for aquatic safety certification."

The only Ellis & Associates clients to receive the award are those scoring in the top eight percent of audit criteria. This ranks the park's lifeguards among the top in their field, ensuring that visitors to Splash Adventure "are consistently being afforded… the highest degree of swimmer protection currently available for the aquatic industry," according to Ellis & Associates. For further information, call the park at 954-360-1315. April 2009

Purchasing Division Receives Two FAPPO Awards
The Broward County Purchasing Division has again achieved an Award of Excellence in Public Procurement from the Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers, Inc. (FAPPO). The award recognizes the Purchasing Division for innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity and leadership. The County is one of only eight Florida agencies to receive the Award of Excellence. Additionally, the Purchasing Division received the Best Practices Award for the Project Management Information System in the category Innovation in the Purchasing Process. April 2009

Broward County Library Selected as 2009
All STAR Library

Broward County Library was selected as one of Library Journal’s 2009 All STAR Libraries. The nationwide rankings were based on criteria including items per capita: visits, circulation, program attendance, and users of electronic services. The results were then categorized by annual expenditures.  In Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08), Broward County Library received more than 10.4 million visits from customers in its 37 library locations. Library materials including best-selling books, DVDs, music CDs, and audiobooks increased in circulation from 9,265,195 in Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) to 10,376,818 items in FY08. Library material usage in library locations also increased with 2,391,765 items used in Broward County Library locations. March 2009

Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention& Visitors Bureau Wins
Three ADDY® Awards

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) received three ADDY® Awards. The agency received two Gold awards for the Sunny.org marketing campaign “Go from coldfront to beachfront” produced by Starmark International, and for the ImmersaDome virtual reality experience featuring a three-minute high-definition video produced by LP Media. In addition, the GFLCVB received a silver ADDY® Award for its post-presidential election print ad in the main news section of The New York Times.  With an elephant and a donkey sitting on the sun-kissed beach under a beach umbrella and the headline “There’s one thing all Americans can agree on.  It’s time for a getaway.”  The timely ad was also created by Starmark International. The ADDY Awards honor excellence in advertising and cultivate the highest creative standards in the advertising industry. The competition attracts advertising agencies, in-house marketing firms and designers throughout the county and beyond. March 2009.

Cultural Division Receives Silver ADDY®  Award

Broward County  Cultural Division received a Silver ADDY® award for the Cultural Quarterly fine arts online magazine, www.culturalquarterly.org. With 60,000 entries, the ADDY® Awards are the nation’s largest advertising competition. Cultural Quarterly offers visitors and residents one of the most comprehensive cultural calendars in the Broward County. The Cultural Division is responsible for promoting local cultural events, workshops, community cultural services, grants, public art, art in education and community cultural locations. March 2009

County Receives Funds for Helping the Homeless

Broward County was the recipient of 16 project grants totaling $9,245,491 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. One new permanent housing project for homeless clients with disabilities was awarded in the amount of $493,784 and adds 21 new units of permanent supportive housing toward helping to fulfill goals set out in the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness.  Of the 16 awards, nine were for permanent housing, including 541 beds; and six for transitional housing, renewing 427 beds. One other program was for supportive services for 200 emergency housing beds. These programs will serve homeless adult and youth clients: individuals, families, veterans; those with mental, emotional, and physical disabilities; substance abuse disorders; mothers with children; pregnant women; and those who are "chronically" homeless and who have co-occurring disorders. Broward County's Homeless Continuum of Care is a "Blue Ribbon Best Practice" and has consistently ranked among the top in the nation. February 2009

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Appointed Chair of CAP Forensic Pathology Committee

Broward County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Stephen J. Cina, M.D., has been named Chair of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Forensic Pathology Committee. CAP is a medical association consisting of 17,000 physicians members throughout the world. It is the most influential medical society for pathologists around the world and sets the standards for pathology practice in the United States and abroad. January 2009