George Evans accepts the NCDA&CS 2016 Employee of the Year from Commissioner Troxler.
George Evans could be the living definition of a strong work ethic. His dedication to getting the job done earned Evans recognition as the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Employee of the Year.
Evans is a forest fire equipment operator with the N.C. Forest Service. In that role he is responsible for maintenance and operation of the Edgecombe County forest fire control tractor-plow unit and its road tractor and trailer. He keeps the equipment ready to roll out at a moment’s notice in the event of a fire or another emergency dispatch.
For about four months, Evans did his normal work duties while also assuming the duties of the county ranger, who retired, and the assistant county ranger, who left for another job.
Evans coordinated forest management requests and set up field visits between the assistant district forester and clients. He handled all tree planning duties, including tree planting quality control inspections and acreage measurements. He coordinated information and educational programs, helped organize the Edgecombe County Forest Landowners meeting and a CREP tour for the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation, and conducted business with the county government. In addition to being on call for his own duties, George also picked up extra on-call shifts to cover those vacant positions. This included responding to more than a dozen fire calls. Essentially, he was on-call for about four months.
“I always tell people I have the best employees in state government,” Commissioner Troxler said. “George is an asset to the state, his community and his coworkers in the N.C. Forest Service. We are lucky to have such a dedicated public servant.”
The Employee of the Year is chosen from the pool of employees honored as Employee of the Month during the year. Evans was honored as Employee of the Month in May 2016.