Commissioners voice appreciation of services

SUPERIOR – When Roni Phillips went to the Mineral County Courthouse Friday, she thought she would meet her daughter for lunch. But when she entered the County Commissioner’s meeting room, she found her coworkers gathered to show appreciation for her 20 years of service to the county.

Members of the various courthouse departments had come together to thank Phillips for her service as a dispatcher and detention officer for Mineral County. The festivities were organized as a potluck and featured a wide variety of dishes provided by many of the attendees.

Before lunch was served, Roman Zylawy, commissioner for the county’s east end, presented Phillips with a letter of appreciation, signed by the commissioners and on commissioner letterhead. She was also given a plaque to accompany the letter, complete with a sheriff’s office dispatcher’s badge.

While she was aware of how much time had passed, Phillips was completely surprised by the party thrown for her. She said she had no expectations of a formal acknowledgement of the date, let alone what was arranged for her.

“This was great,” said Phillips. “This was absolutely great.”

Over the last 20 years, Phillips has worked mainly in dispatch for the county’s law enforcement and emergency services. However, before the new sheriff’s office and jail were built in the 90s, dispatchers were also detention officers.

Phillips recalled how she had to feed any inmates in the jail along with her dispatch duties. Her role as a detention officer came to a close when the offices moved into the new facility and full-time detention officers were hired.

Phillips has also seen several changes to the way the county offices go about business. One thing she mentioned was how dispatch calls used to be made with an actual phone call to the person or their department, as opposed to a general call through a dispatch radio. She said there had been many changes to the way everything was done.

“There’s been so many changes,” said Phillips. “I’m not even sure where to start, my brain is kind of fried today.”

While all the pomp and circumstance made the day complete, the recognition of the anniversary did not start out as a big event.

The event started small. According to Zylawy, his original plan for the idea was to present Phillips with the letter. It was not until he brought the idea to Cindy Grimm, the commissioner’s secretary, when the idea of a potluck came up.

“[Cindy] said ‘oh, we should do a potluck,’” said Zylawy. “Because we’ll do this for birthdays and special events.”

Grimm went around the various departments to coordinate the lunch and get a plan set up. It was left to Phillips’ daughter to get her mom to come to the courthouse, since Friday was her day off. When Zylawy met Phillips in the hall, he invited her and her daughter to join the potluck in the meeting room, rather than go out to eat. The entire time, she had no idea the potluck was in her honor.

“It started as an idea for a letter signed by the commissioners, on commissioner letterhead, for 20 years of service,” said Zylawy. “It evolved into the potluck and then evolved even more into, why don’t we get a plaque to accommodate the letter.”

Zylawy did not know how word of the party was kept from Phillips, as it can be difficult to keep secrets in a small town. However, everything seemed to go smoothly and the party was enjoyed by everyone, especially the guest of honor. Zylawy was pleased everything went well as the occasion was a special one.

“I think 20 years of service is a real milestone for anybody, whether they work in public service or the private sector,” said Zylawy. “Especially in public service, when someone is as dedicated as Roni, it’s important to give that recognition.”

Phillips said she enjoyed the surprise. She compared her coworkers at the county to a second family – everyone has little fights or disagreements, but are still great people and a fun group to work with. She said everyone has always been very supportive of each other and she could not ask for a better group to work with.

Phillips expects to be around for at least another 10 years. She said she loves her job and the people she works with.

“I love doing dispatch stuff,” said Phillips. “I love being around people. The last 20 years have been a learning experience that I would not change for anything in the world.”