Workplace Excellence - 2010 Winner

Desert Veterinary Clinic once again was the named the overall winner of the Workplace Excellence recognition program.

The clinic first earned the honor in 2005 during Workplace Excellence, an annual event that recognizes businesses nominated by employees as good places to work. On that inaugural year for the awards, the clinic also was winner in the Medium Business category.

“I'm really honored ... and a little shocked,” said Cheryl Haugo, DVM, owner of the clinic. “I know it's a great place to live and work, but there are so many others who all do such a great job.”

The award was the highlight of the annual luncheon held Wednesday at Arizona Western College. Workplace Excellence is presented each year by the Yuma Sun and Southwest Arizona Human Resources Association.

As part of this year's program, Lee Silber, an author, award-winning speaker and business owner, entertained the audience with his presentation, “Juggling Act — How to Handle Everything Even When You Are Beyond Busy.”

Silber's advice was to take care of the small things, think fast, focus on the things that mean the most to you and come up with a vision plan — and “no more excuses.”

Haugo founded Desert Veterinary Clinic in 1989. She said her goal has always been to make the business a good place to work. “I try to take care of my employees ... give them a career and not just a job. Apparently we're doing OK.”

Sometimes, she reflected, it's not easy to make a busy veterinary practice a good place to work, with long hours, hard work and “sometimes sad jobs.”

But it's all about the people, both her employees and the customers, Haugo said. “We all work together for one goal and that's to make the lives of our patients better.”

Hefting the 2010 award, she said she was going to display it prominently alongside the other awards the clinic has brought home.

Winners and runners-up for the three categories, based on the size of the businesses, also were announced during the luncheon.

After two years as a runner-up, Core Engineering Group was named the winner of the Small Business Award, presented to a business with 15 or fewer employees. Hunter Employment Services was runner-up.

In the Medium Business category with 16 to 80 employees, Humane Society of Yuma took the top honor. Allied Waste was the runner-up.

The city of Yuma was named the winner for the Large Business category, with Arizona Counseling and Treatment Services this year's runner-up.

In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Yuma Field Office was presented the award for best exemplifying the theme of this year's event: Work/Life Balance.

Doug Nicholls, owner of Core Engineering, said of winning the award: “It means a lot to me that my employees still enjoy working for the company, even with the many cutbacks and the struggles of the past year.”

Nicholls said his goal is always to remember and live by the Golden Rule — treating people the way he would want to be treated. “That's the way I run my business.”

Accepting the Large Business award on behalf of the city of Yuma, City Administrator Greg Wilkinson said he believes being nominated is a tribute to changes at City Hall during the past year. Efforts were made to empower employees and give them the flexibility to enforce necessary public safety regulations while trying to meet the needs of businesses during these tough times, he explained.

“I'm proud of the employees and the customer service they provide,” he said. “Public safety, the water department, streets people ... they're always out there 24/7 fixing things. And when you dial 911, there's always someone there.”

As for the Humane Society's recognition, executive director Shawn Smith said it was a credit to the “great staff” and their dedication. “They're all so excited about our mission. That's what gets us through the day.”

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.