Wortman named Employee of the Year
Courtesy photo
By Anita L. Sherman
Culpeper Times Staff Writer
Town manager Jeff Muzzy read off the official wording during last Tuesday's Town Council meeting. As he did so, many of the heads in the room nodded in agreement as Lisa Wortman was officially named as the Town of Culpeper's Employee of the Year for 2009. Wortman was praised for her work in "cutting over to the new software" for utility billing and training customer service reps. She did all this in addition to her regular work load. "She delegates well," read Muzzy, "and has worked late on evenings, weekends and holidays" in an extraordinary effort to make everything happen.
“I was stunned,” Wortman recalled when presented earlier with the plaque from Town Treasurer Ron Mabry recognizing her service. Wortman thought she was on to give a report but instead was surprised when she was presented with the award from her peers. “It was a relief that I didn’t have to give a report,” she said.
Wortman, 44, is the town’s Utility Billing Administrator. Since being hired in January 2008, she has shown her dedication to the town by working long hours to ensure that the town's databases and information for the new computer system are accurate as they make the conversion.
Wortman also must ensure that service orders for water, sewer or electric service are handled promptly and verify the accuracy of the readings downloaded from hand-held devices carried by the meter readers.
“Lisa is very reliable, and is very dedicated to her job and the customers,” said Deputy Town Treasurer Jennifer Landreth. “She has that can-do attitude.”
“Lisa has taken on the role of coordinating and managing the switch-over in the utility billing software,” said Mabry. “The amount of work and detail needed to make this conversion and cut over is tremendous, and Lisa has taken on a significant increase in additional work, while maintaining her regular duties.”
Wortman remains excited about being recognized by her peers, but she also admits that her award is really the result of a team effort by all employees in the office. She particularly thanked co-worker Teresa Jenkins, with whom she wished she could share the recognition. “Teresa has been there every step of the way and should share it,” said Wortman.
Wortman isn’t all work though. She loves minor league baseball. She and her husband Walter, who have been married 28 years and live in Lake of the Woods, plan their vacations around visiting places with minor league baseball teams. The mother of two grown sons, Christopher and Tim, Wortman is also an avid West Virginia football fan. She'll need to find room on her wall for her new plaque among the football memorabilia.
Congratulations Lisa!