Welders Richard “Bud” Bracken and Joshua “Josh” DeVault are the employees of the month for October and administrative assistant Wanda Benitez is the employee of the month for November.

All three City of St. Cloud Public Services employees were recognized for their extraordinary efforts during a regular council meeting Dec. 13 at City Hall.

“Bud and Josh recently climbed 125 feet to the top of the city’s elevated water storage tank number two to install a telemetry antenna for a pilot program associated with automated meter reading,” said Public Services Administrator Veronica Miller. “Proposals to install this antenna exceeded $6000, but Bud and Josh volunteered to perform this dangerous work to save the City money. With safety first in mind, courage, and a professional attitude, they completed the work in short order and the program is now in full swing. Their willingness to perform this difficult task, coupled with the savings their efforts have provided, is very deserving of this award.”

Benitez also displayed a spirit of cooperation toward city goals by taking on several additional tasks to avoid what could have become a big effect in the day-to-day operations of the Public Services department, according to a city press release.

“Wanda volunteered to temporarily relocate to be centrally located to assist all of the department’s divisions and management when we experienced the temporary loss of two of three administrative assistants,” said Miller. “She came in early, stayed late, and came in during her time off to ensure our department continued functioning effectively while we were short-handed. Without her commitment and excellent completion of many tasks, we could have seen a big impact on our exceptional internal and external customer service.”

Bracken has been a city employee for more than eight years, DeVault has been a city employee for more than six years, and Benitez has been a city employee for more than five years. Their outstanding efforts in going above and beyond their regular duties are recognized and appreciated.