Goochland County honors public servants during recognition week

When a Goochland resident calls for help, applies for a permit, or waits for a road or utility issue to be handled, the people making that happen are often out of sight. County leaders used Public Service Recognition Week to put those workers in front of the public, even as they were making budget and staffing decisions that will shape service quality in the months ahead.

The Goochland County Board of Supervisors presented proclamation 6650 at its May 5 meeting at 3 p.m. in Board Meeting Room 250 at 1800 Sandy Hook Road in Goochland, recognizing May 3-9, 2026 as Public Service Recognition Week. The same meeting also marked May 2026 as Older Americans Month and May as Business Appreciation Month, tying employee recognition to a broader calendar of civic observances.

The point of the week is practical as much as ceremonial. County employees keep public safety, transportation, utilities, administration, customer service and health services moving every day, usually without drawing attention. Dispatchers answer emergency calls. Information technology staff keep county systems working. Fire and EMS employees respond when minutes matter. Administrative staff process the paperwork that lets residents access services without running from office to office. When those positions are short-staffed or turnover rises, response times, communication and service consistency can suffer.

Goochland has already been building a more formal recognition structure around that work. The county launched its Employee Recognition Program on August 25, 2025, with a resident feedback system called Celebrating Everyday Excellence and the HEART of Service Award, which is tied to the county’s core values of Honor, Empathy, Accountability, Respect and Transparency. HEART of Service winners are recognized quarterly at Board of Supervisors meetings, receive a plaque and have their names added to a permanent plaque outside the Human Resources Department in the County Administration Building. County Administrator Dr. Jeremy J. Raley also makes surprise recognition visits, and county channels post the honors publicly.

That program has already produced hard numbers. In December 2025, Goochland recognized 40 employees for a combined 370 years of service. The county’s May 5 budget discussion suggested the recognition push is not separate from operations, but part of the same effort to keep government functioning. The FY2027 budget, as described in the chair’s comments, prioritized public safety staffing, added an IT director and two dispatchers, funded three new firefighter and EMS positions, gave county employees a 3% salary increase and lowered out-of-pocket health insurance costs for employees who elect county coverage.

Public Service Recognition Week has been observed since 1985 to honor federal, state, county and local government employees. In Goochland, the week landed during a period when staffing, retention and morale were already tied directly to how well county government serves the people who depend on it.