See past WIZ Award recipients here.
Congratulations to our WIZ (Working in the Zone) Award Recipients for the second quarter of 2024!
We received 59 nominations for excellent work by PCCLD employees from co-workers, managers and patrons. Kudos to our PCCLD employees! Out of all the nominations received, the Steering Committee selected 4 individuals and 1 team to receive the WIZ Award for this quarter. We asked each of the recipients some questions in order to get to know them a little better.
Please take a few minutes to read each WIZ Award spotlight and to congratulate each of the WIZ Award recipients!
Valerie Sanchez
Valerie has served at the library district for over 18 years as a Customer Service Representative! Valarie is recognized for her generous and unwavering support for her coworkers. She is nominated for always having positive words for her coworkers and encouraging them in every way while supporting their efforts. Her coworkers appreciate her support so much that they have said that Val is a role model for engaging patrons and even makes the Lucero library a magical place for the patrons visits during the summer! Valarie is recognized for Celebrating Others leading to increased Library Visits and Program Attendance.
Congratulations Valerie!
What do you like best about working at the Library District?
The best part of working for PCCLD and Lucero library is working with my Coworkers.
What book do you really connect with, or what book are you reading right now?
The book I am reading is All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers.
What is one of your favorite local Pueblo places to eat (we love to discover new places!)?
My favorite place to eat is The Shamrock.
Who is one of your favorite bands or musical artists?
My favorite musical artist is James Taylor.
If a genie gave you a wish what would you wish for?
If a Genie would give me a wish I would wish for "World Peace" Ha Ha!
What is one of your favorite sweet treats?
My favorite sweet treat is Almond Chocolate Biscotti!
What book should not have been made into a movie and why?
The movie “The Shining.”
What is one of your favorite hobbies?
One of my favorite hobbies is Gardening.
If you could wake up tomorrow with a brand new skill, what would it be?
A new skill I would love to have is to be able to speak Spanish fluently.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I learned to ski when I was 49 years old.
Mike Montez
Mike joined PCCLD as Courier first as a temporary employee in 2023, then as a regular PCCLD employee in February of this year. Mike is being nominated for his helpfulness. Branch members would like to recognize Mike for always being very helpful with branch collections and helping in any way he can. Mike is recognized for Celebrating Others leading to increased Circulation.
Congratulations Mike!
What is one of your favorite hobbies?
I’d say one of my personal hobbies/something people don’t know about me is I make music on my downtime with my friends.
Jessica Blaha
Jessica has served as Program and Outreach Specialist at the Lucero library since June of 2019. Jessica is consistently nominated for a WIZ Award from patrons and coworkers alike. Jessica is known for always volunteering to help her coworkers cover the desk, set up programs, programming ideas and for having a positive attitude. Jessica is nominated for Engaging Customer, Empowering Innovation, and Embracing Feedback all leading to increased Program Attendance.
Congratulations Jessica!
Photo: One of my favorite places in Denver, Dandy Lion Coffee.
What is one of your favorite local Pueblo places to eat (we love to discover new places!)?
Pass Key
Who is one of your favorite bands or musical artists?
Green Day
What is one of your favorite sweet treats?
Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut
Thea Martinez
Thea worked at PCCLD from January of 2015 through July of 2018 as a Customer Service Representative in the Youth Services department. Thea stayed on with the district as a substitute for the next few years while she earned her Master’s degree in Library Science and also worked for another library district. We are so glad that Thea returned to PCCLD in December of 2022 as Early Literacy Librarian in the Youth Services department! Thea is recognized for creating the Pride Storytime and for attending the event at other library branches to offer support. Thea is acknowledged for Story Power leading to increased Program Attendance.
Congratulations Thea!
What do you like best about working at the Library District?
What I like best about working for this library district is our patrons. The people of Pueblo are some of the most welcoming people I have met and I love our community - especially all the kids I get to work with every day.
What book do you really connect with, or what book are you reading right now?
The book I really connect with is Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Though my name isn't so long it scarcely fits on a name tag, as a child with a more unique name compared to my peers, it really helped me to come to love my name and my differences.
What is one of your favorite local Pueblo places to eat (we love to discover new places!)?
I'm a big fan of Blue Ocean. We even ate there on my wedding day!
Who is one of your favorite bands or musical artists?
My favorite band is Jiluka.
If a genie gave you a wish what would you wish for?
To win a large jackpot! You know money can't buy happiness, but it can buy things that make me happy lol
What is one of your favorite sweet treats?
My favorite sweet treat is cannolis.
What book should not have been made into a movie and why?
A Wrinkle in Time. I feel like all iterations of it fail to capture how magical that book felt reading it in the elementary school library as a child.
What is one of your favorite hobbies?
One of my favorite hobbies is playing video games.
If you could wake up tomorrow with a brand new skill, what would it be?
I would want to wake up able to understand and speak all the languages.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I was a professional ballerina when I was 18 - 21 years old.
IT Team
The IT is a hard-working department who has been busily involved in supporting all facets of the library district this year. Thomas Defrates, IT Director, Josh Vicknair, Systems Engineer, Eric Tiffany, Systems Administrator, Javier Razo, IT Helpdesk Lead, and Jose Beltran, IT Helpdesk Specialist all work together to support Library IT operations across the district. This hard working team is being acknowledged for being the “most functional and responsive IT department that I have ever had the pleasure of working with in my career” from a PCCLD employee! Very high praise. Nominated for Embracing Feedback leading to improved Digital Use, the IT department is being celebrated this quarter. Congratulations IT Team!