STANTON : Recreation Clerk Gets Top Employee Honor

A part-time clerk in the Recreation Department is the city’s Employee of the Year.

The City Council last week honored Janet Beeler, a laid-off aerospace worker, after only a year on the recreation staff.

Beeler helps residents register for classes, organizes the senior lunch program, and coordinates volunteers. The Huntington Beach resident had worked for five years as a secretary for a defense subcontractor but was laid off after her company lost work. She got the Stanton job after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper, she said.

Other workers were also honored, including Frank (Scooter) Gummeson, a city maintenance worker with 30 years of service.

Building Department secretary Karen Hicks and mechanic Ron Navarro were given 10-year service awards. Custodian Bill Almeida, management assistant Denise Archambault, maintenance worker John Hochmuth and code enforcement officer John White were all honored for five years of work for the city.

The council also gave first prize in the holiday decorating contest to John and Betty Jean Travers of the Fernwood Mobile Home Park. City employees judged the decorating contest in December, and based the award on originality, creativity and holiday spirit.

Resident Vallie Sue Wahl received a commendation for her dedication to the city and her neighborhood. Wahl, a resident since 1977, works to remove graffiti from her neighborhood, delivers meals to the elderly and belongs to school and scouting organizations.

The council also gave a commendation to Sarah Ahulani Harryman, 14, to help her compete this summer in a teen-age scholarship program.

And council members individually gave donations to Marisa Mendoza, 16, who is seeking sponsors to help her compete next month in the Miss Teen-Age California Scholarship Pageant. Mendoza told the council she wants to become an obstetrician and open a clinic in Stanton after graduating from medical school.