Stacy is a Contracts Manager and is recognized for her work over 1.5 years which led to the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District achieving national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in November 2019. The goal of national accreditation is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of state and local health departments – which has proven all the more valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the project manager, Stacy led a team of Metro Health employees through frequent meetings, a lengthy documentation review and approval process, application submission, and a site visit by PHAB. Thanks to Stacy’s teamwork, commitment to communication with coworkers, and her ability to work with key community partners, Metro Health achieved this accreditation. Congratulations to Stacy and to Metro Health!

LaMar is a Recycling Coordinator and an amazing champion for the City of San Antonio’s Wellness Program. He has gone above and beyond his regular job duties in order to improve the health and welfare of his coworkers. Under his leadership, initiatives were started such as a walking group, wellness committee, wellness survey, fresh food baskets, and hosting a first-time health fair. And they had amazing results from their first BMI challenge: 32 employees lost over 70 pounds. LaMar has found creative and innovative ways to promote both physical and mental health. One coworker said, “He has changed the way we think of health.” Congrats to LaMar and the Wellness Committee for all their work!

This project team is being recognized for their work with OverDrive on two innovative ideas that will improve children’s and teens’ access to digital content! The first project is the Instant Digital Card, which allows residents in Bexar County to gain access to the Library’s digital collection by using their cell phone number. This allows immediate access to the digital collection, even if a resident may have misplaced their Library Card, or never had a Library Card, or if the Library is closed. So far, there are almost 40,000 Instant Digital Cards, and digital checkouts from this program account for more than 20% of overall digital checkouts. The second project, Public Library CONNECT, allows public school students to access both their school’s digital collection AND the San Antonio Public Library’s digital collection using their school credentials and all in the same app, SORA. This means students can access thousands of age-appropriate titles, without the requirement to get a San Antonio Public Library card. Harlandale Independent School District was the first to partner on this initiative and the program is now at 11 other districts and has begun expanding to private schools as well. This project is so innovative that David, Jennifer, and Cresencia have been interviewed a few times and David presented at the 2020 Public Library Association conference! This team is proud to bring the Library directly to students, wherever they access eBooks or eAudiobooks! David is a Senior Management Analyst, Jennifer is a Library Services Manager and Cresencia Huff is a Library Services Manager.