Charlie Rollins Named Employee of the Year 2023

Three cheers for Charlie Rollins, who was selected as Tualatin’s 2023 Employee of the Year!

The City of Tualatin employs over 150 individuals for a myriad of functions and the Employee of the Year Program recognizes those that excel in both their positions and in shared principles like teamwork, respect, customer service, problem solving, and empowerment.  

Since 2008, Charlies has served the City of Tualatin as a Fleet Technician in the Maintenance Services Division. Charlie is one half of the City’s two-person fleet team. This team oversees the City’s fleet, which consists of nearly 300 pieces of equipment (including police patrol cars, utility trucks, backhoes, trailers, and equipment used by maintenance crews). They do it all, keeping the City’s employees on the road and in the field.

A highly skilled mechanic with over 30 years of experience, Charlie continues to learn as his field evolves. He seeks out training opportunities and is involved in a network of fleet management peers. He leads vehicle replacement orders, specifications, and budgeting, as well as special projects like the installations of electric vehicle charging stations for the City’s growing electric fleet. He is the type of person that will go above and beyond - even when no one is watching. Charlie has a "do it correctly and to the best of my ability" mentality at all times. This dependability is valuable, particularly in a role like Charlie's where haste or indifference about his work could lead to potentially dire outcomes.

Charlie is an expert at internal customer service and strives to treat others how he would like to be treated; any person that drives a City vehicle would agree with this! The nominations that were submitted in support of Charlie included similar sentiments – “kindness,” “always with a smile,” “positive attitude,” “ helpful,” “dependable,” and “knowledgeable” – in describing his efforts over the past year (and in general over the past 16 years).  If you happen to wander into the fleet shop and catch Charlie building a new vehicle, he’s happy to tell you what he’s working on and explain it in a way anyone can understand. It is evident the pride Charlie takes in his work.

When the Maintenance Services Manager retired in December 2022, Charlie stepped up to be the Interim, serving in that highly responsible position for 10 months, which is a LONG time to do two jobs.  Charlie stuck through it with perseverance, motivation, and most importantly, a great attitude. He never once complained and showed up to give it his all every day.

Although his work may be considered “behind the scenes,” Charlie’s touch keeps City employees on the road and in the field, bringing essential City services to the entire Tualatin community. The next time you see a City vehicle around town, think “Nice work, Charlie” as it drives past.