“I’ve talked to visitors, family, friends about what they found here [at Wrightsville Beach], how it looked, how the people were,” Wrightsville Beach Mayor Pro Tem Darryl Mills told the gathering of town employees during their annual holiday lunch at the Holiday Inn Resort. “It makes you feel good to be a part of this, and it’s you guys that do it, so I thank you very much.”
While the approximately 83 employees from various departments are usually scattered around the island, most of them donned Christmas sweaters and Santa hats to gather in the Lumina Ballroom at noon Dec. 4. They sat around tables, laughing together and dining on lunch provided by Oceans Restaurant.
“There’s a great camaraderie between the guys and between the departments here,” human resources officer Sheila Mallard said.
As employees finished eating, town manager Tim Owens handed out several service awards. Police officer Rebecca Bannerman and utility systems operator Alva “Gray” Wike were honored for five years of service. Ocean rescue director David Baker and Sean Gales from fleet maintenance were recognized for 10 and 15 years of service, respectively.
Mallard said that kind of loyalty is typical of town employees.
“There’s not a vast amount of turnover,” she said. “Many of them have that longevity.”
Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House also recognized Sergeant Joseph Newberry for receiving his advanced certificate for law enforcement. House said it can take an officer anywhere between eight and 20 years to earn the certificate, which is awarded based on an educational component, a training component and years of service.
“We really push this program to get our people trained and encourage their education,” he said.
Few of the employees left empty-handed, as Mallard raffled off around 40 doors prizes. The event concluded with an entertaining round of holiday trivia. A dozen employees formed two teams to compare their knowledge of holiday song lyrics and other random Christmas facts.
As one purpose of the event was to honor town loyalty and service, a special acknowledgement was given to Nancy Faye Craig.
“Everything that goes on in Town Hall, this lady is behind it,” Mallard said, hugging Craig. “I just want to recognize all the hard work that you do.”
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