We’ve all known co-workers (and if you haven’t, poor you) whose lightbulb smiles and infectious laughter make everyone around them feel good. Three such employees in the New Mexico Department of Transportation were recently recognized for their generous natures and for donating significant amounts of time fundraising and organizing employee events. The State Highway Employees Association — graphic designer Kristy Sena, information technology support person Lorinda Romero and budget analyst Mauricia Chavarria-Quam — was named section of the quarter in the agency’s General Office.

• • •

Robert Sandoval, a materials engineering technician in the Transportation Department’s State Materials Bureau, was honored as General Office employee of the quarter. Sandoval was recognized for stepping into a temporary supervisory position and exhibiting “great leadership qualities.”

• • •

The agency’s Web team, composed of Brian Gutierrez, James Gomez and Alfred Lopez, received the General Office section of the year award for 2012. The team completely overhauled and improved the agency’s internal and external websites. “Their accomplishments, forward thinking and goal-oriented drive brought the NMDOT up to par within the web industry,” nominators said.

• • •

General Office 2012 employee of the year was Nancy Romero, administrator for the State Maintenance Bureau. Known as “extremely knowledgeable and … always willing to assist others,” according to her nominators, Romero stays on top of a “vital job with many varied and complex tasks.”

• • •

Top employees for 2012 from the department’s District 5 (based in Santa Fe) were also recently honored. Kenny Gallegos, highway maintenance manager for districtwide crews, was selected as supervisor of the year. With a staffing shortage for most of the year, Gallegos oversaw maintenance patrols for Dulce, Bloomfield, Farmington and Shiprock, along with his regular supervisory duties. He is a “shining star in our department,” his nominators said.

• • •

District 5’s crew of the year was the Construction Audit Section, consisting of supervisor Darren Casados and employees Ricky Quinones, Marlene Perea, Maria Goldberg, Joe Brown and Chris Ortiz. The team was singled out for its “hard work, dedication and expertise” in successfully auditing $212 million in construction contracts during the past year.

• • •

Thomas Sandoval, a Santa Fe native and civil engineer technician-advanced in the Design Unit, rose to the top as the district’s 2012 employee of the year. Sandoval earned the award for an innovative design system that superimposes photos onto computer-aided drawings to provide engineers and contractors a better visual concept of construction plans.

• • •

Top District 5 employees for the fourth quarter of 2012 were District 5 Lab Supervisor Rick Fernandez; Annette Trujillo, assistant supervisor for the Pojoaque Project Office; and the Accounting Section, Mallery Martinez, Bernadette Sandoval, Renee Mendiola, Victoria Mora and Karmela Vigil.

If you have news about a public employee, contact Gussie Fauntleroy at gussie7@fairpoint.net