Healdsburg searching for a new community spokesperson
The city’s longtime press information officer (PIO), Rhea Borja, recently left the city of Healdsburg to join the town of Windsor to serve as their senior management analyst and PIO.
Borja’s last day with the city of Healdsburg was June 5 and the city is working on hiring a new community spokesperson (the open application period ended on June 20).
During the recruitment and interviewing period, various city staff members will be filling in to post information on the city’s social media channels and website.
“This will be a team effort for now. Several staff people in different departments are doing their part to keep things moving. The timing is unfortunate since the drought is keeping us very busy. When in doubt, it’s fine for residents and the press to reach out to me directly,” Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay said.
Kay said he was impressed with Borja’s work well before he joined the city as the city manager.
“I was impressed with Rhea’s work well before I started in Healdsburg. I started seriously researching the organization last summer during the fires and I was immediately impressed with how a small city was able to put out frequent and high quality information to the public,” Kay said. “She has a great ability to turn bureaucratic government operations into interesting and relevant outreach to our community.”
2021 Congressional App Challenge
Earlier this month, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced the start of the 2021 Congressional App Challenge for high school students in California’s Second Congressional District.
“The Congressional App Challenge is an excellent opportunity for students in my district to build their skills in the STEM field,” Huffman said in a statement. “I’m always impressed by the apps students submit every year, including last year’s winners, Beck Lorsch and Amrit Baveja, who developed a contact tracing app to aid local schools in their pandemic response. I look forward to this year’s submissions.”
Students must register on the app challenge website and must submit their work by Nov. 1, 2021.
Apps are judged using the following criteria: quality of the idea, including creativity and originality; implementation of the idea, including user experience and design; and demonstrated excellence of coding and programming skills.
The Congressional App Challenge was established in 2013 by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Councilmember David Hagele wins award
Councilmember David Hagele, who’s also the commission chair of the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), was recently awarded the Spence Vanderlinden Public Official Award during the American Public Power Association’s National Conference.
The American Public Power Association is a national trade association comprising more than 49 million Americans served by public power utilities.
The Vanderlinden award recognizes elected or appointed local officials who have contributed to the goals of Public Power in continued support of their community.
Boy Scout breakfast
Boy Scout Troop 21 is hosting their annual Fourth of July pancake breakfast on July 4 at the Villa Chanticleer from 7 a.m. to noon.
The menu will feature all-you-can-eat pancakes with butter and Vermont maple syrup, sliced ham, eggs, fresh fruit, orange juice and coffee.
Tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for children. Tickets may be purchased from any Troop 21 Scout or at the door on July 4.
Healdsburg Troop 21 was founded in 1931.
