City of Durango employees were celebrated last week after the city received a Sterling Best Practices Award from the Florida Sterling Council for “visionary leadership that drives customer excellence.”
City Manager José Madrigal invited former councilor and two-time mayor Melissa Youssef to present the award before City Council at a regular meeting on June 2.
“What makes this so meaningful is that it’s not just a single program or initiative that we’re honoring. But it is truly a reflection of who the city of Durango is as an organization and as a community,” Youssef said.
The Florida Sterling Council describes the Best Practices Award as a recognition of performance excellence following an assessment process that is “dedicated to sharing best practices to assist organizations in benchmarking role models as well as others who demonstrate excellence in specific processes.”
Youssef said the award is the result of a team of examiners from the country – representing sectors such as banking, healthcare, government and manufacturing – examining the city’s practices. That included extensive interviews with staff without leadership and a comprehensive site visit.
“It’s not simply the award itself, but is the rigor behind this award that we received,” she said.
She said the award belongs to city employees who contribute to the culture the city is building around “service, innovation, teamwork and professionalism.”
The award also represents nonprofit and business partners with the city “who continually push the city to raise the bar.”
She said city culture has been a priority for Madrigal since he began with the city at the tail end of 2020, and his hiring was “pivotal” to advancing the culture with the city.
That is not the first recognition Madrigal has received for his focus on reshaping work culture within the city of Durango.
Last year, he was recognized by Government Business Review as one of the Top 10 City Managers in the country for 2025.
“Tonight we acknowledge not just an award, which is amazing, but we honor the hard work, the values and the commitment that made it all possible,” Youssef said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
