City of Havre de Grace Honors Laurie Dawson

Have you seen the new guide to Havre de Grace?

It's called Welcome Home! and on Monday, the city thanked the employee who created it.

For the past two years, Laurie Dawson has been an employee of the Department of Public Works, where "she has spent every spare moment creating and producing the Welcome Home! resource guide," Havre de Grace Mayor Wayne Dougherty said at the Oct. 21 City Council meeting.

He described the 32-page guide as a "compilation of contact information of services offered by the city and of other agencies."

It offers answers to everything from who to call if you see an abandoned vehicle to when elections are held in the city. It's available at City Hall and the Visitor Center.

"It's got some valuable information," John Q. posted on Patch, where he recommended the guide to others. "It reads well and...now I know the times of the Farmers Market and who to call if a dog gets out of hand."

In addition to the guide, Dawson has put together several editions of the city's seasonal newsletter Citizen Connection; handled the Department of Public Works emergency notification system; produced educational materials on water and sewer and single-stream recycling; and her latest project deals with flood plains, Dougherty said.

"She does a heck of a job," Director of Public Works Larry Parks said.

"Everybody that comes in the office just loves her. She not only is courteous, but she’s reliable," Parks said. "She gets things done, and she gets them done quickly. When she doesn't have something to do, she finds things to do. She’s invented a number of things that have proven to be very useful.”

Dawson's recognition was billed as a "special presentation" on the agenda so she would be surprised.

As a show of appreciation for her exemplariness, the city presented Dawson with a gift certificate to the Laurrapin Grille, which Dougherty said was her favorite restaurant.