PLACENTIA

For 13 years, Barbara Sineri has answered the phones, typed memos and worked behind the city’s scenes. As Placentia’s personnel secretary, she even typed the name of the person she thought was the winner of the Employee of the Year award. Which is why when City Administrator Robert D’Amato called Sineri’s name to receive the award at the annual Employee Christmas Luncheon earlier this week, she thought she’d made a typo. But city officials assured Sineri that she had made no mistake; they were just trying to keep her award a secret from her.

Sineri was selected from more than 40 city employees to receive the George J. Koch Employee of the Year award, a 35-year tradition in Placentia.