Last evening, the 2004 Excellence in Public Service Award winners were honored at a reception at the Wichita Art Museum. This year’s honorees are City of Wichita police officer Ramon Machain; Sedgwick County graphic designer, Tony Guiliano; and USD-259 division director, Wendy Johnson, Marketing and Communications. Each received a plaque and a monetary gift of $2500 for their extraordinary commitment to the community. The DeVore Foundation sponsors the program, now in its 17th year.
Ramon Machain, a 12-year veteran of the Wichita Police Department, is a highly motivated and respected police officer who is in constant demand for his bi-lingual skills. Frequently he has been called in to work to translate for officers and detectives. His skills and patient demeanor have assisted the Department greatly in several difficult cases.
Ramon’s dedication to the community is extraordinary. He is a moderator for the Spanish Abuse and Domestic Violence forum; he partners with KFDI and their sister stations to broadcast information in Spanish for the St. Jude’s Radiothon; and he recently joined the Spanish Crime Stoppers program. Ramon is also a DARE instructor, teaching a class of 40 fifth grade students and a recruiter for the Police Department traveling throughout the region helping the Department promote diversity. In addition, he serves as mentor for North High School where he is working with USD 259 to decrease the dropout rate of Hispanic students.
Tony Guiliano has served Sedgwick County as the graphics designer since 2002 to assist the County in "telling our stories" through visual products. This year, he took on the additional task and challenge of becoming a "video expert" when the Communications Office began a new project of video filming and editing for the County Commissioners and County departments.
Tony is also active in the community, and especially youth activities. At his church, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, he is the Senior High Youth Group Sponsor and organizes and participates in a number of activities for the youth. Tony is a girls and boys high school soccer official and encourages good sportsmanship among young athletes. He is a positive role model and friend to the youth. Tony also shares his graphics talents with his church, community organizations, including the Special Olympics annual Sports Memorabilia Auction, and serves as a mentor to students interested in graphic design through Communities in Schools. He participates in the annual Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake and has volunteered to make phones calls to gather pledges after the event.
Wendy Johnson serves as the Division Director of Marketing and Communications for Wichita Public Schools. In this position, Wendy oversees the efforts of three departments - Media Productions, the Parent and Community Support Network, and Marketing and Communications. Wendy constantly challenges herself and her staff to find new and creative ways to market a thriving district. She is currently leading a team to redesign the district’s website and she works closely with the Board of Education and district administrators on strategic communication efforts.
Wendy’s professional service includes her work as a board member of the Kansas School Public Relations Association and holding numerous offices with the Public Relations Society of America. She is also active with the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, the Wichita River Festival, and serves as a site council member and volunteer at Mueller Elementary School. She is on the University Congregational Church Board of Deacons and serves on Wichita State University’s Elliott School of Communications "Elliott Society" Board of Directors and has been an active alumni member.
The three were chosen from a pool of 111 nominations received from the community.
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