2008 Employees of the Year

Each year, a staff member from each of the City's full-time employment categories - General, Police, Fire-Rescue and Management - is recognized for examplary service. Employees of the Year for 2008 are:

Police Officer of the Year: Detective Andre Bruna
Detective Bruna is a ten-year veteran of the Sunrise Police Department, currently working undercover in the Vice, Intelligence and Narcotics Unit. In 2008, while assigned to the South Florida Money Laundering Strike Force, Detective Bruna led a successful investigation into a large narcotics trafficking and money laundering operation.
The investigation exposed a criminal network with operations in Florida, New York and Puerto Rico - and resulted in the seizure of over $2.4 million. This South Florida seizure was the largest sum of money intercepted in nine years, and the third-largest seizure in the history of the Strike Force. Under Detective Bruna's leadership, numerous arrests were made, and a dangerously successful drug and money laundering operation was halted.
In addition to his Strike Force success, Detective Bruna was instrumental in other key investigations in 2008. He was selected as co-recipient of the Officer of the Month award in both July (for his assistance with an attempted murder case), and in September (for his help with an attempted murder/aggravated stalking case).
A photo of Detective Bruna cannot be shown, due to the sensitive nature of his undercover assignments.

General Employee of the Year:
Idania Goldstein, Dispatcher
As an Emergency Medical Dispatcher, it's Ms. Goldstein's job to handle the unexpected. But on January 11, 2008, even she was in for a surprise. Shortly after 2:00 a.m., Dispatcher Goldstein received a 911 call from a man who was driving a pregnant woman to the hospital. However, he advised that her labor was progressing quickly, and he doubted they would arrive at the hospital in time. Dispatcher Goldstein could hear the woman yelling, and realized the man was becoming frantic.
Ms. Goldstein relayed information to the Fire Dispatcher, at the same time working to keep her caller calm and focused. She walked the caller through the birthing process and - once the baby was born - advised the man how to care for the child while medical assistance was en route. Dispatcher Goldstein repeated herself several times, making sure that the caller heard, understood and followed her directions. She remained on the phone until paramedics arrived.
As a result of Dispatcher Goldstein's assistance, the baby was safely delivered.

Firefighter of the Year:
Captain Todd Draizin
During 2008, Captain Draizin was responsible for implementing Sunrise Fire-Rescue's new electronic patient-care reporting system. This innovative system utilizes tablet computers to facilitate information updates anywhere - from the emergency room to the patient's bedside.
Under the new system, Sunrise Fire-Rescue can provide improved quality assurance, performance measurement and comparative analysis. The Department can also store and transfer data more efficiently.
Thanks in large part to Captain Draizin's efforts, Sunrise-Fire Rescue was the first agency in Broward County to submit data that meets the requirements established by the State of Florida's Emergency Medical Services Tracking and Reporting Systems (EMSTARS) program, and the federal government's National Emergency Medical Service Information System (NEMSIS) program. While other, similar projects have taken area agencies years to complete, Sunrise Fire-Rescue's system was fully operational within just six months.

Management Employee of the Year: Shirley Johnson, Ass't. MIS Director
Ms. Johnson has been an integral part of the City's MIS department since she was hired in 1984. She began her Sunrise career as a Programmer, and was ultimately promoted to the positions of Senior Programmer and Assistant Director of Data Processing. She served as the Acting Data Processing (now MIS) Director from November 1990 to July 2000, and has been Assistant MIS Director since that time.
Ms. Johnson is responsible for many of the City's recent technological improvements, including the development of and upgrades to the employee intranet; as well as the migration to NaviLine. She also manages the City's Click2Gov gateway, which enables residents and customers to do business with Sunrise online.