The Calvert County Commissioners recognized Phillip Long Sr. as county government’s Employee of the Month for October. Long works at the North Beach Senior Center (NBSC) and his primary responsibility is custodial work. However, as the commissioners and others attending the board’s Dec. 20 meeting learned, Long provides so much more to the seniors who frequent the center.
“He’s always outside the box,” said Employee Recognition Committee (ERC) Member Mark Willis, who presented the nominee to the commissioners. “Phillip has a tendency to glue people together.”
In the nomination submitted to the ERC, Calvert Office on Aging Division Chief Susan Justice and NBSC Program Specialist Ricca Baker chronicled some of Long’s extra services. “During all of last summer, Phil provided the seniors with free vegetables,” Justice and Baker stated. “Every day at 12:30 p.m., he volunteers part of his lunch hour to call bingo for the seniors, which they love. He has a great bingo-calling voice and his referee skills provide a calm atmosphere that keeps them all smiling.”
Commissioner Pat Nutter [R] noted that on his visits to NBSC he has learned that the seniors think Long “is not only man of the year but man of the century.”
Long was also highly praised for his meticulous custodial work. “That center’s floors are spotless,” said Office on Aging Program Manager Keri Lipperini, who added, “he [Long] makes everyone feel special.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
