They worked and retired together. Now they’re honored together with Club Retirement Plaques.

Photos by Summy Lam, Club COO

CLUB BENEFIT: The Club Retirement Plaque

A group of LADWP Retirees has been doing a lot of things together, for a very long time.

First, they’re all Club Members and have been for a long time. Second, they spent their careers in the LADWP’s Water Distribution Division working with each other  off and on as promotions sent them apart, then back again. They became friends, vacationed together, babysat each other’s children, and so many other things that friends do.

They all reunited in retirement, and they go to lunch every month.

But when Joe Powell, Joseph O’Hara, Judy Corrales and Ignacio Perez heard that the others – Kirk Broyard, Noe Pimentel, Jaime Castrellon, Douglas Land, Lorenzo Campos, Mark Lucero and Ben Cook – had already received their valuable Club Retirement Plaques, the four holdouts signed up immediately. Joe, Joseph, Judy and Ignacio received their Retirement Plaques at the most recent plaque ceremony, including lunch, and insurance seminar and a wellness speech, held Wed., Oct. 18 at the California Endowment in downtown LA.

The group is balanced once more!

Retirement Plaques: Among the Best Club Benefits

The Club Retirement Plaque is one of the most valuable, treasured and respected honors City employees can receive in their retirement. It says their many years of dedicated City service is celebrated, and the recipient is appreciated and thanked.

The unique honor is reserved exclusively for Retired Club Members in good standing with at least five consecutive years of Club Membership. The handsome plaque itself, valued at $500, is free with Club Membership.

Do you qualify? See the Registration information in this story. And register. You deserve it!

SEE PICTURES FROM THE PLAQUE PRESENTATION

Lifelong Reward

“The plaque represents accomplishments and years serving residents of the City of Los Angeles,” said group member Joe Powell.

“Receiving my plaque is a life-long acknowledgement of my accomplishment of helping the citizens of Los Angeles,” said group member Judy Corrales. “I am so proud of working for the City.”

Be rewarded. Be honored and celebrated for your lifelong achievement. Register for your Club Retirement Plaque.

REQUEST YOUR OWN RETIREMENT PLAQUE

Retirement Plaque Ceremony
Oct. 16, 2024 • California Endowment, Downtown

REQUEST YOUR OWN RETIREMENT PLAQUE

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SEE PICTURES FROM THE PLAQUE PRESENTATION

The Club’s new Employee Recognition Team focuses on honoring, thanking and celebrating Club Members for your dedication and service to public service. They go the extra mile to make sure you know you are valued. • The interview included Dulce Lopez, Claims Administrator, 1 year of Club service; Rebecca DeBolt, Customer Service Rep, 9 years; Guadalupe Lira, Club Retail Manager, 10 years; and Cesilee Castillo, Customer Service Rep, 7 years.

Meet Your Employee Recognition Team

Welcome, Recognition Team! Alive! is excited to talk to you about your focus and mission of honoring Club Members.

Guadalupe Lira: We are, too!

Excellent. What is the Employee Recognition Team all about? What is its mission?

Rebecca DeBolt: The Club’s Employee Recognition Team is to recognize all the hard work that our Members have done throughout their years of service, as well as honoring them. We do a lot of work to manage the Retirees Plaque program. It’s so important. It makes recipients feel honored. Just today, a Member called in to register for a plaque; he wanted the plaque so his kids could remember the service he did. He was with the LAPD.

Dulce Lopez: So the Employee Recognition Team is about celebrating, recognizing and acknowledging the employees and all of their hard work and dedication that they’ve done for the State, for the City, and for the County.

It’s about our gratitude for them.

Guadalupe: t’s about recognizing their hard work and celebrating it. But most importantly, it’s about thanking them for their service. Many times we’ve had recipients cry and get emotional during these Retirees Plaque presentations. These are lifetimes that they’re giving to these government agencies, so a simple thank you goes a very long way. That’s the highlight for me – celebrating them, and then expressing our gratitude for doing what they do for our communities.

Cesilee Castillo: I see us as a taskforce to put our respect and love for our Members into action. We all have Club titles; I’m a Customer Service Rep. Yet the Team gives us the opportunity to explore ways to celebrate members outside of those roles. It is exciting to me to work on projects that honor hard-working people who I believe cannot be recognized enough. I don’t just work with these Members; I also see them in my community every day!

The Team really brings that sense of celebrating them into focus.

Guadalupe: I agree with that. That’s really what we’re here for. We’re celebrating and showing thanks for their hard work and their dedication for their careers.

Recognition Programs

Do you focus on Retirees recognition, or is it all Club Members?

Rebecca: It started with Retirees. But our focus is just getting started. I expect it to grow into something bigger.

Guadalupe: We are growing. The Recognition Team started because we wanted to more directly thank and honor Retirees for their service. Some of them receive service pins from their department at service year milestones. That will be our next level, where we are introducing Club loyalty pins for our Members. We are in the development stage right now for the Club service pin program; we are working on the artwork and getting samples, so that’s to come in 2025.

What stands behind the recognition pin program, again, is a thank you, so that Club Members feel appreciated and honored, and they see that we care for them. It’s about building a sense of purpose, of pride.

The recognition program is creating more accessibility for Retirees, because we have so many employees who get stuck in a limbo once they retire, like “What’s next?” For them we are developing the Retirement Society, a social group with social benefits for these Retirees, or even for employees looking to network with people of their same interests, their same surroundings. So the Recognition Team and the programs we’re managing are growing. Slowly, but we’re growing from Retirement Plaques to Member service pins and the Retirement Society.

Tell me a little more about the Retirement Society.

Guadalupe: It’s in development right now, and Members will hear more about that, and the service pin program, in 2025.

The Retirement Society will be a way for the Club to connect with Retirees who need connection. Maybe they need someone to check on them periodically. But also it will be about creating social opportunities for them where they can meet and mingle with other Retirees. We’re looking to build resources for them, whether it’s a life coach or a career coach to help them find their purpose. But like I said, it’s a developing program. More information will come from the Employee Recognition Team next year.

Dulce: Right now the Recognition Team is brainstorming on how we can enhance the quality of their lives. For many years, the Retirees have focused mainly on their career, but after they retire, they might be asking, “Okay, what’s next?” We’re looking to see what we can create to enhance their well-being and the quality of their lives, and also build connection.

Meanwhile, of course, recognition happens every day. For myself, working in the claims department, we’re constantly thanking Members and making things easier for them. It’s our job to recognize them for doing a public service. It’s an everyday part of what I do, and what everyone at the Club does.

REQUEST YOUR OWN RETIREMENT PLAQUE

Included in Membership

And everything that you’re doing is included in Membership – unique and exceptional services and programs that come with Membership.

Rebecca: Right. I’ve talked to people not wanting to request the Retirement Plaque because they think it costs them extra money. It doesn’t. It comes as part of Club Membership. It’s nice to know that we are giving them something that they desire with their membership that I don’t think anybody has ever done.

The ‘Why’

The Retirement Plaques are beautiful, by the way.

Guadalupe: They are. Becky, earlier you mentioned the Member from LAPD who wanted to leave something behind. These plaques are becoming heirlooms where members are passing it on to their family members. I’ve even had someone request a plaque for their father’s funeral. This is becoming more common. Employees are dedicating their entire lives to the City, the State, the County, and they spend more time at work than they do at home. These plaques become a part of the family. For example, the wife helped the husband get through his employment challenges, going to meetings and helping them get past the challenges and overseeing all of that. The plaque reminds the whole family of their contributions to what the City of LA is now, or what the state of California is now, because of their contributions.

Dulce: At some of the plaque ceremonies that I’ve attended, you can see Members get teary-eyed. Many of them have worked hard. When you actually stop them, shake their hand and say “Thank you,” you can just see them break down. It’s truly impactful for them.

Guadalupe: To build a connection.

Cesilee: The Team’s goal is to put words into action. We work for these public employees; they hold a special place in our hearts because they are the motor to our infrastructure in California really. I remember growing up and seeing Crossing Guards ensuring our safety after school; Librarians providing us resources for school work; LADWP employees working in tough conditions to keep our City running … we really are not a working society without them, and that should be honored forever. We want to take time from our busy schedules to add this sweetness and sugar in their life and remind them their work does not go unnoticed.

Rebecca: What about the Custodian who washed floors for all these years and just Retired? It’s nice when they come to the Club, and we’re able to fulfill that desire of them wanting to be recognized, or make them feel special.

Guadalupe: One of the last presentations that we had at Club headquarters, he was a custodian. When he heard his name, he got teary-eyed. I got teary-eyed, too. I said, “Oh my God, don’t cry. I’m going to cry. Don’t cry!” His daughter was there too; we were all trying to brace ourselves. His family shared that, in his 30 years of working for the City of LA, nobody thanked him. He showed up for work day in, day out.

Cesilee: I love honoring and celebrating hard-working people whom I believe do not receive enough recognition everywhere. These employees are full of stories; their trajectories do not stop at retirement! I speak with a lot of Retirees all day, and many of them share stories and even advice that have helped me. They ask nothing in return really, and for me this is a way to give back to that community.

Dulce: Yes the plaque is beautiful, but I think it’s more what it symbolizes – that’s what touches them. They feel seen. They matter.

Cesilee: It is so fulfilling to see members happy to receive their plaques and react with so much enthusiasm. Whether it be tears, laughter or a firm handshake, I can see that the whole experience is rewarding to them – and to me too, really, which is just a plus!

Guadalupe: With our Retirees, I’ve been blessed to build these relationships with them. This is the smallest thing that I can do to definitely make their day. Paying attention to them makes me feel good.

A Passion for Connection

What do you love about what you do?

Rebecca: I love that I’m able to help members, and they’re satisfied with the attention that we give them. I love that we’re able to build connections with our Members individually, and offer them any type of support that they may need. So that’s what I love.

Cesilee: I like being able to add a touch of myself to this work. I am not confined by robotic answers; I can be myself and I love people, so that helps!

Dulce: In the claims department, we get a lot of members who are dealing with a lot of tough situations in their lives. What drives me – I love just being able to make things easier for them. If someone’s dealing with a disability, with the death of a family member, whatever it is, I will do everything I can to make their life easier. I get a lot of thank you’s in return, and that’s just so fulfilling for me. I will do anything in my power to make their life easier.

Your advocacy of their situation is important.

Dulce: One hundred percent. Especially during uncertain times in their life that are challenging – sometimes it’s hard to think straight. So just having somebody there who’s going to hold your hand and guide you and make it easier for you. The policies can be complicated in the wording. It’s my job to be able to simplify it for them. At the end of the day, they’re making decisions, but I want to make things easier for them.

Guadalupe: It’s the personal connections. I’ve worked at the Club for 10 years. Starting at the old Club Store, and going onto the field with Mobile Team, I’ve had an opportunity to connect with all kinds of City employees, and build those relationships. A perfect example: Last week I was at City Hall with Mobile Team. Many of our regulars were there, and I was glad to see them again. I began to think, if some of these people pass away, I won’t know until I read it in Alive! I’ve learned about their families, their favorite tickets, what trips they’re planning, and I take that to heart. We’re lucky to be the Employees Club – we’re known for the positivity that we give to City employees and our celebration of them, whether through insurance, claims, tickets. We’re building a society for public employees. To be able to be a part of that in so many different aspects, I love it. I love my job because of that.

Thanks for the great things you’re doing. Good catching up with you.

Dulce: Thanks!

Guadalupe: You too.

Cesilee: Let us know how we’re doing. Feedback is always appreciated!

Rebecca: Bye!. •

BEHIND THE SCENES Club COO Summy Lam photographs LADWP Retiree Plaque recipients at the recent plaque ceremony.

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