04-22-19 Regular Meeting of the La Porte City Council

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Employee of the 15t Quarter 2019 Theresa Hernandez Deputy Court Clerk Theresa joined the La Porte team initially as a part-time Court Clerk in November of 2014. The Court was sad to see her leave less than a year later to move into a full-time role at Public Works, but that just made her return to the Court in a full time capacity even sweeter in April of 2016. To say Theresa wears many hats is an understatement. Theresa has worked the majority of desks for both the La Porte and Morgan's Point Municipal Court operations. Currently, she is responsible for processing Commercial Motor Vehicle, code enforcement, and juvenile violations. Additionally she prepares summons for Judge Mitrano's review and signature and works in the courtroom during code and juvenile dockets. She displays excellent customer service skills at all times including assisting juveniles and their parents with all of the required paperwork. In the three nominations received this quarter for Theresa, a common phrase was "above and beyond." In addition to her normal duties, she has taken on several roles to aide her teammates and the Court's customers: • She has become a technical "guru" by working closely with the Judge and Incode's software support team to set up and optimize the Court's Online Record Search feature. • She has become a trusted trainer for new hires. This includes teaching them the Court's processes and modeling high levels of customer service and communication. • Always looking for ways to improve, Theresa suggested that the clerks work in four teams paring an experienced clerk with a new clerk. This idea has worked very well so far and helped in cross training and continuity of service levels. Theresa is always looking to expand her knowledge base. She attends conferences and workshops to stay current on legal requirements and technological advances. Beginning in June of 2017, she started working towards her professional Court Clerk certification. After completing 80 hours of continuing education classes and passing two rigorous exams, she is now certified as a Level II Court Clerk. The La Porte Municipal Court and community as a whole is very fortunate to have such a dedicated professional working with us. Please join me in congratulating Theresa Hernandez as the Employee of the Quarter.