Good morning, everyone.

Welcome to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners quarterly awards and recognition ceremony.

Um, one note of business, uh, Chair Hagen is out today.

He is helping his daughter move.

Um, Commissioner Myers is going to give the indication and pledge.

Commissioner, you're recognized.

Okay.

Let us stand, please.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Heavenly Father, I come to you thanking you for another day.

I ask that you would bless our quarterly award recipients in the various departments, employees, and volunteers who give their time, their talent to help our constituents here in Hillsburg County.

Bless us as we continue to move forward.

Next quarter, let us have more employees who would be recognized, the departments and volunteers to join you.

Today's ceremony celebrates the employees and volunteers whose work and accomplishments help make Hillsboro County a great place to live, work, and play.

Out of respect for all those being recognized today, I ask that all of our attendees remain until the conclusion of the ceremony if you are able to do so.

Commissioner Cohen will present our first two recognitions.

Commissioner, you're recognized.

With the following individuals from the Social Services Department, please join me at the podium.

Community Action Month recognizes these agencies, most notably the Hillsborough County Community Action Board, whose steadfast dedication and hard work has helped improve quality of life for our residents.

The CAB, as it is known, is instrumental in ensuring the proper disbursement of community services block grants and other sources of funds for programs that provide assistance to residents facing economic distress.

Consisting of representatives from the Hillsburg County Board of County Commissioners and the cities of Tampa, Plant City, and Temple Terrace, the Community Action Board has been exemplary in working alongside members who advocate on behalf of low-income residents, as well as representatives of organizations interested in providing social services.

I am happy to present this proclamation to Mr.

Quita declaring May 2026 as community action month.

And I am going to read from the proclamation.

Whereas the Hillsburg County Community Action Board guides the development implementation and evaluation of community services block grant funds and programs that serve residents and communities in need.

And whereas the Hillsburg County Community Action Board meets regularly and serves as a fiduciary advisory board that makes recommendations based on input from residents as a guide to voice the needs of their communities.

And whereas the support of its community action board, Hillsbrook County promotes economic prosperity by providing opportunities for residents in need.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Board of County Commissioners of Hillsbrook County, Florida, does hereby declare May 2026 as community action month in Hillsboro County and urges all residents to recognize the Hillsburg County Community Actions Board's efforts to improve quality of life and enhance economic opportunities for the region's most vulnerable residents executed this 22nd day of November 2026.

Mr.

Quita.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Would you like to say a few words?

Today we want to take this honor opportunity to uh thank the Board of County Commissioners, our Community Action Board members that are here with us today, and the social services staff that is also here with us today for supporting for their support and dedication to anti-poverty efforts.

We also want to raise the visibility of our programs and showcase successes in removing barriers and connecting motivated individuals and families to greater opportunities.

The Hillsburg County Social Services Department receives funding through the Community Service Block Grant, a federal program dedicated to helping individuals and families move towards financial independence and stability.

Guiding this mission is a 21-person member board represented by the public, private, and low-income individuals.

The education empowerment and the family empowerment program.

The education empowerment program helps individuals achieve academic success through tuition, books, fee assistance, GED preparation and testing support, as well as adult continuing education and higher education scholarships.

During the 2025 grant year, we were able to assist over 60 eligible students achieve their academic goals.

I wasn't gonna say anything today, but um thank you all for recognizing this month or next month, May as Community Action Month.

Um with the current economic situation, things are getting worse for the residents we serve.

What we've seen is an uptick in people seeking crisis intervention services so that they're not evicted, so that um they may be facing um foreclosure of their homes, can't afford gas to get to work, so our efforts to help people out of poverty have become yet again more difficult.

So it's really nice that you all recognize the achievement of the department of the grant and those people who are working so hard towards being uh economically self-sufficient.

So thank you, Commissioner Cohen, for championing us again this year.

Thank you for having me.

Okay, there we go.

All right.

Okay.

I want to make sure I don't drop this.

Uh would Sunshine Line Director Jerry Stickney and Manager of Operations, Leslie McNeil please come to the podium.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

In just four years in the transportation industry, Leslie has proven herself to be a bold, effective, and visionary leader.

Her impact on Sunshine Line has been incredible, making her not only a driving force behind the department's recent successes, but also an inspiring example of the next generation of transportation leadership in Florida.

Under her leadership as Sunshine Line's manager of operations, Ms.

McNeil spearheaded aggressive recruitment and retention strategies that brought her team to ninety-five percent driver capacity.

Additionally, Sunshine Line trips increased by twenty-three percent, totaling just over five hundred and thirty thousand door to door and bus trips in twenty twenty-four.

Client enrollment rose by twenty-four percent.

Further, on-time performance was maintained at a stellar ninety-three point four percent.

The envy of every major airline in America.

Ms.

McNeil has also demonstrated exceptional leadership through three hurricanes, two of which were major.

As one of the lead coordinators for evacuation transportation in Hillsburg County, she ensured the safe, organized, and timely evacuation of vulnerable populations.

Her calm command under pressure, strategic coordination with emergency management, and tireless commitment to public safety exemplify her strength as a crisis leader and her dedication to serving the community when it matters most.

What makes Ms.

McNeil an exceptional candidate is not just her results, it's also her mindset.

She leads with a passion for public service, and every decision she makes is rooted in improving lives, removing transportation barriers, and ensuring that residents reach their destinations with dignity, safety, and reliability.

Her hard work and dedication are the embodiment of the University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research's new voice in transportation award.

This award recognizes a professional who is making a difference in transportation planning, policy, engineering, or technology in Florida, and who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and innovation in their work.

It is my pleasure to present the 2025 new voice in transportation award to Leslie McNeil, a vital member of Hillsburg County Sunshine Line.

Leslie, congratulations.

Just a quick update.

And I could thank our department for that.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right, should we move there?

Oh, come on up.

Commissioner Myers and I both served as chair of the Transportation Disadvantage Coordinating Board at various different points.

So we know very much what your own doing.

Congratulations again.

Um, our next recognition will be presented by Commissioner Cameron Cepeda.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Would Michael Galenus, visual design and brand identity manager with communications and digital media, and Julissa Vasquez, computer graphics designer for CDM.

Please join me at the podium.

Good morning.

Good morning.

A third member of this talented team, David Williams, is unable to attend today.

Mr.

Galanis and his graphics team do a phenomenal job designing colorful and highly informative flyers, graphics, and other materials for Hillsborough County departments, programs, and events.

One client in particular is the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, which has quickly become a hugely popular popular destination.

This graphics team produced an IP two thousand twenty-five twenty-six season booklet for the Performing Arts Center that attracted national attention during graphic design USA's sixty-second American Graphic Design Awards program.

Graphic Design USA is a premier source of news and information for graphic designers and broader creative community.

This organization's award program is open to the entire creative community and recognizes excellence in two dozen categories.

More than six thousand entries were submitted, and only a few hundred were honored.

Less than ten percent, including some of the most recognizable brands and companies throughout the world.

And this is the season booklet.

It is absolutely amazing.

It's uh what an amazing wow.

So beautiful.

I just wanted to see you can see some of that there.

Awesome.

Awesome work.

Awesome.

And um, so Michael, congratulations to you and your creative team for being recognized for such outstanding work and the value this work brings to the county.

This is a tribute to your team's excellence and high standards.

And this is for you.

Congratulations.

And would you like to say a few words?

Sure.

So weird to be on this side of the podium.

We usually would take pictures on that side.

Um, thank you, Commissioner Cepeda.

Thank you, Commissioners, for recognizing creativity in uh public service.

Uh thank you to our CDM team and our CDM leadership for their support.

More importantly, thank you for the New Tampa Performing Arts Center for the collaboration and their input and bringing this um booklet to life.

Graphic design is not only about eyeesthetics, in my opinion, it's also about helping and informing and connecting our residents, and we are truly honored to be part of that process.

Uh thank you very much.

Congratulations.

Absolutely awesome.

Congratulations.

And um, we'll take some pictures up there.

One, two, three.

Our next recognition will be presented by Commissioner Bowles.

Please proceed.

Good morning.

Can I have Joe Flack, President of the Kings Point Amateur Radio Club?

Aries Races, coordinator, Skip Argo, Aries Races, lead member Bill Williams and Fire Inspector Myesha Johnson join me up here, please.

Doing all right.

Okay.

Joe.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Put my glasses on here.

Good morning, everybody.

Um we're here to recognize these fine individuals, and it's always good to kind of feel like I'm back in the fire service a little bit, kind of get that little touch of the base there.

Um, but the next series of awards goes to the Hillsborough County's Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services, also known as Races, a volunteer team that provides auxiliary communications for Hillsborough County's Office of Emergency Management.

Hillsborough Races coordinates operations with local clubs and amateur radio operators.

Ham radio operators, also known as Hams, are federally licensed and internationally recognized to use short and long-range radio frequencies, enabling them to communicate not only locally but around the world.

This is important to prepare for emergency operations.

The Hams take many of the same courses as the OEM staff, and they participate in local and state national exercises.

One such national exercise is the American Radio Relay League's 24-hour field day exercise.

Field day is designed to practice operating in less than ideal situations, such as a disaster, and we've had our fair share in the last few years.

The scoring for the field day is based on a number of contacts made and logged around the United States.

Two of the racist teams from Hillsborough County that participated in the field day, Aries Races and Kings Point Amateur Radio Clubs scored at such a high level, they were recognized in QST, the National Amateur Radio publication.

Both teams operated as they were on emergency power using different antennas, emergency power, or other non-standard configurations.

The core team at the County EOC operated as if they were on emergency power and used minimal operators.

The Kings Point team operated using one of the Hillsboro County County's new solar charging trailers.

Because of the efforts of the organizers and operators to contact as many stations as possible and identify opportunities to maximize multipliers.

Each team was able to improve its overall score.

The County Core Racist team scored first place in the state and third place nationally, while the Kings Point team achieved second in the state and twelfth nationally.

To put the standings in perspective, there were 2500 stations operating in the F class, otherwise known as the EOC class.

The results indicate that Hillsborough County's capability of Hams to support our residents in first responders during emergency are exemplary.

Congratulations to all of you on a job well done, and thank you for your service.

That that is really amazing that you guys were able to score that high and uh to do such a fantastic job.

And um, I can't recall what the how far Hams radio goes back, and maybe one of you all could do that, you know.

But it's so important for us to have the those emergency operations as alternative communications that I think that's it's fantastic that you all are keeping that going and um you're available to us.

So congratulations on that.

And we have a number of awards.

I'm not sure how we would be giving one.

There you go.

All right, a lot of awards to give out for those that outstanding accomplishment.

Would either would anybody like to make a few comments about it?

You sure would you would you want to come up?

Come on up.

Thank you.

Uh thank you very much.

Um, we really appreciate the recognition that uh Hillsburg County Fire Rescue Office of Emergency Management Um has extended to our efforts and um and that it is uh recognized um on such a stage.

We're really honored to to have the opportunity to accept these awards uh from the commissioner.

Um, and I would just like to say that we are already hard at work planning for this year's field day.

Um this is our opportunity to uh to practice and exercise, utilize equipment, uh, try new methods to make sure that um that we are ready to go, we can identify weaknesses and be able to get get ourselves ready to provide the the highest level of service to Hillsburg County.

Thank you.

Absolutely, absolutely it's it's a pleasure to be part of the uh community and the enthusiasm we have in preparedness for emergencies.

Uh, one thing I'd like to say about our ham radio hobby, which is the backbone of our system, it's hard to compete with cell phones, and it's hard to attract young people.

Uh so we don't have a good way to get our word out of how ham radio is still thriving today.

We're still growing in numbers, but that cell phone is a big competition for us.

During Milton cell phone system went down.

We didn't have it for about a week, some places two weeks.

And during that time, we really relied on our radio systems.

And so that's one of the things that we pride ourselves on in being able to serve the community.

Thank you so much for the award and recognition.

This concludes our ceremony for this morning.

I want to thank all of you for being here today and thank our award recipients for their valuable work that they do to help make Hillsborough County the greatest county in the nation.