By Bari Auerbach

Once again this year, City Commission meetings featured the presentation of proclamations highlighting outstanding achievements and proactive initiatives -  as well  announcements about special recognition and distinguished awards shining the spotlight on Sunny Isles Beach “winning” citizens and community leaders.  

‘City of Excellence’ & ‘Mayor of the Year’
At the Oct. 16 City Commission meeting, Comm. Roslyn Brezin read emails sent by the Florida League of Cities congratulating Sunny Isles Beach for being selected as a finalist in the “City of Excellence” awards program – and for Mayor Norman S. Edelcup also being selected as a finalist in the “Mayor of the Year” category.

“This awards program [heightens awareness] about what a wonderful city we have and how fortunate we are to have Norman Edelcup as our mayor,” Brezin said. “I know fellow Commission members and city staff join me in saying, ‘It’s true we’re nominated as finalists - but as far as we’re concerned, we are winners!’” Appreciation was also expressed to City Attorney Hans Ottinot and Alyce Hanson, Director of Administrative Services, for providing assistance with the nominating process.

Sunny Isles Beach is one of six finalists for the Florida City of Excellence Award - one of 10 awards to be presented during the Florida Cities of Excellence Awards program. Other finalists include the cities of Clearwater; Dunedin; Hallandale Beach; Orlando and Winter Park.

“The cities in this category provide exemplary service for its citizens and truly embody the qualities of a superlative city,” said Carmine Priore, Florida League of Cities president and Vice Mayor, Wellington.  “It is truly an honor and a privilege to salute such outstanding cities in this celebration of dedication, innovation and public service known as Florida Cities of Excellence!”

The Florida City of Excellence Award recognizes overall excellence in a city government.  The nominated city was judged on a number of categories including: Governance and administration; city leadership; intergovernmental cooperation; citizen outreach and involvement; technology; innovative programs and services; and fiscal management.   

Sunny Isles Beach Mayor Norman S. Edelcup is one of six finalists for the Mayor of the Year Award that will also be presented during the Florida Cities of Excellence Awards program. Other finalists include: Craig Barker, Destin; Buddy Dyer, Orlando; Mary Lou Hildreth, Keystone Heights; John Maingot, Longwood and Julio Robaina, Hialeah.

The Mayor of the Year honors a mayor for, among other things, their leadership, outstanding civic commitment, public outreach and service to his or her city during the past year. 
 
“The finalists for this category provide exemplary service for their cities and should be applauded for this phenomenal accomplishment,” Priore said. “It is truly an honor and a privilege to salute such outstanding individuals in this celebration of dedication, innovation and public service.

“Both the City of Excellence and Mayor of the Year award programs are designed to highlight all the wonderful and innovative services cities provide to improve the quality of life in Florida and to honor dedicated city leaders and cities for their excellence in public service.”

Award finalists have been invited to attend the awards luncheon Nov. 21 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, where the winners will be announced.  Winners will receive a “MUNI” award and be featured in the League’s award-winning publication, Quality Cities.
 
The Florida League of Cities, Inc. is the official organization of the municipal governments (cities, towns, villages and chartered counties) in Florida, designed and established to meet and serve the needs of Florida’s municipal officials.

‘Police Chief Honored by Vatican’
At the Oct. 16 Commission meeting, Mayor Edelcup presented a proclamation to Sunny Isles Beach Police Chief Fred Maas, honoring his distinguished service to the city and numerous awards and achievements in the field of law enforcement.

Most recently, his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI named Chief Maas a Knight of
the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester - a recognition of the highest level of the Catholic
Church and Archbishop of Miami, John Clement Favalora, conferred this distinction
upon Chief Maas on Oct. 7 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary.

“The City of Sunny Isles Beach is proud and privileged to have Fred Maas as its
Police Chief,” Edelcup said. “On behalf of the City Commission and the citizens of our community, I hereby proclaim October 16, 2008 as ‘Police Chief Fred Maas Day’ in the City of Sunny Isles Beach.”

While expressing appreciation for the proclamation, Maas thanked the Commission and stated how proud he is that Sunny Isles Beach can share in the recognition. “This is the first time this award from the Vatican has ever been presented in the United States,” he said.

Maas, a 32 year veteran of law enforcement in South Florida and a former school teacher in Miami Dade County, co-founded the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department in 1998 and was named Captain and Assistant Chief of the new agency. He was subsequently appointed Police Chief in 1999 and worked diligently to build the Department up, helping to create safer streets and establish policies and procedures substantially reducing crime. This led to his appointment to the Governor’s Violent Crime and Drug Council by Governor Jeb Bush.

“Throughout the years, Police Chief Maas has demonstrated a deep concern for
this community and has received many honors and awards for his leadership
commitment and dedication,” Mayor Edelcup said.

‘Customer Service Excellence Day’
When it comes to promoting tourism, Sunny Isles Beach has a vested interest in supporting efforts being made by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) to ensure tourism remains the number one industry in Greater Miami (generating more than $1.7 billion in economic impact and sustaining more than 100,000 jobs in Miami-Dade County).

Sunny Isles Beach contributes to the allure of South Florida and was recently named the “#1 destination in the United States” by TripAdvisor -  the world’s largest travel community - based on the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 2,500 travelers from around the world.

At the Oct. 16 City Commission meeting, Mayor Edelcup read the following proclamation declaring Thursday, October 16, 2008 as “Customer Service Excellence Day” in the City of Sunny Isles Beach in recognition of a partnership formed between the GMCVB and Miami-Dade College focusing on customer service. 

“Excellent customer service is critical to a visitor’s experience and gives
a positive impression of the community, encouraging repeat destination,” Edelcup said.

“The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, as the official sales and marketing organization for Greater Miami, has developed a customer service awareness program entitled ‘Miami Begins with Me’…Miami Dade College, as a leading educational institution in Greater Miami, has developed a Center for Service Excellence to provide
service training in various business sectors including hospitality.”

Ibis Romero, formerly a GMCVB representative, now serves as Executive Director of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association. She recently helped coordinate the city’s first Jazz Fest, garnering great notoriety for the city’s cultural, aesthetic and family-oriented amenities that create ”a great place to live, work and play.”

More ‘honors & accolades’

During 2008, Sunny Isles Beach celebrated many other special achievements and awards. Here are just some of the “honors and accolades” bestowed:

*City wins “Distinguished Budget Award”

For pioneering efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and providing an excellent example for other governments throughout North America, the City of Sunny Isles Beach recently received a “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award”- the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting bestowed by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).

*Members of the Sunny Isles Beach Public Works Department received certificates recognizing them for efficient use of city funds and supplies.

*Sunny Isles Beach Government Center recognized by Florida League of Cities for "Going Green"

*City Attorney Hans Ottinot selected as one of Florida’s top government attorneys *SIB officer brings home the Gold

“The Florida State Police Olympic competitions were recently held in Sarasota, Florida.” said Police Chief Fred Maas. “This year, one of our finest from Sunny Isles Beach, playing on the baseball team representing Dade County, experienced the ultimate as his team won the Gold Medal in Baseball. Sergeant Eddy Santiago, who played extremely well during the competition by smashing a home run in one of the games and had several key hits in other games, stood alongside his teammates as their ‘gold medals’ were presented to them.”

*SIB officer wins Rookie of the Year Award for all of Miami-Dade
“More than 650 people attended the 15th annual PBA Awards Gala on Saturday, May 17 at the Wyndham Hotel,” said Police Chief Fred Maas. “The event brings together not only law enforcement officials but many from our state legislative and local judiciary to support law enforcement efforts.

“We were thrilled when Officer Luke Plesa of our Sunny Isles Beach Police Department was named winner of the Rookie of the Year! Luke was involved in a number of incidents and good arrests in his first year on the Department with us...We are proud of all our officers who show great promise working in this city, for you.”