EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
Table of Contents Editor’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Employee Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Strategic Planning Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Roger Bollman Recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Holiday Parade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Holiday Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Shop With A Cop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Police Academy Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Renee Pierce Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Communications/Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Recipe: Sweet & Spicy BBQ Pork Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Cover Photo by Nick Johnson, Town Planner (Current)
PHOTO CONTEST!
Submit your photo and win a
$25 gift card!
Submit your best photo to gmueller@eastonmd. gov for a chance to win a $25 gift card. The winning photo each month will be featured on the next cover of the Town of Easton Employee Newsletter. Please submit high quality jpg, png, or tiff files, no later than the 15th of each month. Employees can submit multiple photos. Only 1 photo/winner will be chosen per month. Photos do not need to be of the Town of Easton, but photos featuring the Town will be given some priority in the voting process.
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
BEGIN AGAIN January always feels like a natural pause point. The holiday season gives us so many moments to gather, celebrate, and serve, and this month’s newsletter captures a lot of what makes that time of year in Easton so special. Inside this edition, you’ll see highlights from our Tree Lighting and Holiday Parade — events that don’t just happen on their own, but come together because of the planning, coordination, and long hours put in by staff across departments. You’ll also read about our recent strategic planning session, where teams stepped back from day-to-day work to think intentionally about where we’re headed and how we can continue to improve how we serve our community. This issue also reflects the heart of this organization. From our Holiday Party, where we had the chance to relax and enjoy one another’s company, to Shop With a Cop, which continues to remind us how powerful simple acts of kindness can be, these moments highlight the care and commitment our employees bring to their work. We also take time this month to recognize a milestone: the retirement of Renee Pierce. Renee’s service and dedication have left a lasting mark, and we are grateful for the years she has given to the Town and the many people she has worked alongside. We wish her all the best in this next chapter. As we begin a new year, I want to thank each of you for the energy, professionalism, and pride you bring to your roles every day. I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter and take a moment to appreciate the many ways your work shows up in the life of our town.
Employee Spotlight
Megan Cook
JOEY FAULKNER | IT NETWORK SPECIALIST
Meet Joey Faulkner! Joey works with the IT Department as a Network Specialist. He has worked with the Town of Easton for ten years now. Joey is an essential part of the IT team, helping to diagnose and solve technical issues as well as maintaining the software and hardware that allows for Town operations to function. In addition to his technical duties, Joey has also taken on the role of a team leader, helping to implement new policies and changes under the direction and guidance of the IT Director, Scott Messick. Click HERE to see Joey’s video interview!
In his free time, Joey likes to spend time with family and friends, preferably while out on his boat! Joey also likes to golf when he is able, and enjoys detailing cars on the side when not at work.
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
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Strategic Planning
PLANNING AHEAD
Town of Easton Leadership evaluates 2025 performance, sets goals for 2026 On December 9, Town leadership all came together to meet at the Tidewater Inn for a Strategic Planning Session. Hosted by Town Manager Andy Kitzrow, the meeting served to help bridge the gap between departments, and to create a clear vision for the Town’s future.
ing successes, challenges, and things to look forward to in 2026 for each department.
The leadership training series will contonue in 2026, with a leadership training summit scheduled later this month, hosted by Nick Kittle, a visionary leader in innovation, recAlternating between discussion points, and thought pro- ognized for his transformative approaches to public servoking exercises, the session also allowed for department vice and organizational development. ToE will be joined heads to provide updates on peformance in 2025, detail- by Easton Utilities leadership for this event.
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
Tree Board
Pictured (left to right): Sarah Hilderbrand, Public Works Maintenance Division Manager Billy Murdoch, Roger Bollman, Matt Pluta, Chloe Pitard, Leslie Cario, and Director of Public Works Mike Dickerson.
PLANTING A SEED Roger Bollman recognized for Tree Board Service
In Spring of 2025, The Town of Easton unveiled a tree in honor of former Tree Board Chair Roger Bollman at North Easton Park. A red oak tree was planted by the Town to commemorate his 17 years of service. Unfortunately Mr. Bollman was unable to attend the initial unveiling, but we were happy to be able to catch up with him in December to cele-
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
brate the tree and its new plaque in his honor. Mr. Bollman stepped down as Chair Person of the Easton Tree Board earlier in 2025. Through his 17 years with the Tree Board, Mr. Bollman saw over 1,700 trees planted in Town! Thank you Mr. Bollman for your service to this Town, and thank you for all the beautiful trees!
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Holiday PAGE 6
JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
y Parade SCENES FROM THE
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
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Town Events
PARTY TIME
ToE Holiday party brings smiles, games, and prizes
We had such a great time at our Holiday event: Dawn Hutchison, Andy Kitzrow, Party at the Easton Volunteer Fire Dept. Mark Turner, Colin Jones, Rick Farr, MD firehouse! Christy Spindler, and Josh Maxwell. Their hard work and planning brought a At the end of each year, our teams get lot of smiles and joy to our team. together to show appreciation and celebrate our accomplishments with delicious With a great staff like this, there’s a lot to food, great company, and fun games. celebrate and look forward to. We are so thankful for everyone on this team, and A huge thank you to our Party Planning we can’t wait to see all that we can accomCommittee for putting on this awesome plish together in 2026!
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Employee Milestones: Joey Faulkner - 10 years Rick Van Emburgh - 10 years Joey Schinault - 10 years Chris Westerfield - 10 Years Bev Williamson - 10 years Lorraine Gould - 20 years Jill Sherwood - 20 years Andre Magee - 20 years Mike Dickerson - 40 years
JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
Easton Police
SHOP WITH A COP Easton Police Department, Talbot County Sheriff ’s Office join forces for Talbot Optimist Club’s ‘Shop with a Cop’ event
On Saturday, December 6th, Easton Police Department and the Talbot County Sheriff ’s Office came together for the Talbot Optimist Club’s annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ event. This event sees police officers pairing up with local youths from Talbot Mentors to assist them on a shopping spree for holiday gifts for the youths and their families.
these kids, and to see first-hand how much joy it brings... it’s a great feeling.”
The children participating came out to the Waterfowl Building off of S. Harrison St., where they were paired with their chaperoning officers. After they were welcomed by the officers, the children ventured out to the squad cars to “It’s a really special event for our officers,” said Easton head over to the Easton Walmart. The squad cars all ran Police Chief Alan Lowrey. “It always means a lot to be able lights and sirens in a procession for a fun ride over for the to help our community, but to be able to spend the day with participants.
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
“
It always means a lot to be able to help our community, but to be able to spend the day with these kids, and to see first-hand how much joy it brings... it’s a great feeling.” Alan Lowrey, Chief of Police
Talbot Optimist Club fundraising allowed for a $125 allowance for each child, and Walmart of Easton added an additional $20 dollars for a total of $145 for gifts. While a few children went slightly over, the chaperoning officers were kind enough to pay the remainder out of their own pockets. Once they arrived at Walmart, the children excitedly made their way around the store, working with the officers to pick out gifts for themselves and their loved ones. Debbie Henckel, event coordinator and member of the Talbot Optimist Club has been working the event for almost 17 years. Henckel said, “It’s a wonderful event, and it means a lot to both the officers and the kids. I know some of the officers return each year to be here, and I know of some of them who still keep in contact with their kids from 16 years ago.” After all of the shopping was completed, the group came back to the Waterfowl Building to get wrapping. Tape, wrapping paper, bows, and bags were all deployed as the officers and their companions took all the gifts and got to work on making everything ready for under the tree. Once completed, the officers and children enjoyed pizza and snacks together, before wrapping up the day and heading home. Henckel added, “For these kids, the opportunity to hang out with these police officers for the day is a wonderful thing. They’re at an impressionable age and it’s important for them to know our local police are here to help them.”
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Easton Police
OFFICER ON DUTY Alex Saldana graduates from Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy
On Thursday, December 11, Easton Police Department welcomed a new officer to their team following his graduation from Wor-Wic Community College’s Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy. Officer Alex Saldana was recognized and sworn in to serve Easton by Mayor Megan Cook following the academy graduation ceremony, held at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, MD.
Following graduation, Saldana must successfully complete a three-month Field Training program with Easton Police Department to satisfy the requirements for full certification as a Maryland law enforcement officer.
After the graduation ceremony, Easton Chief of Police Alan Lowrey said, “We’re always happy to see young people step up to serve their community as police officers — especially people like Officer Saldana that The academy has a six-month long curriculum that have already dedicated their time to serving their trains officers on many aspects of police operations, country. Having an officer with his professionalism and has testing requirements for physical fitness, aca- and his bi-lingual proficiency is a big help to a diverse demics, and marksmanship with a pistol. community like Easton. We’re grateful to have him.”
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
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Retirements
A JOB WELL DONE Renee Pierce retires after 17 years with the Town of Easton
Today we celebrate Renee Pierce’s final day with us as she heads into retirement after 17 years of service with the Town of Easton.
Cook presented Renee with a plaque to commemorate her 17 years of service and retirement with the Town of Easton. Afterwards, staff congratulated Renee and wished her the best on her well-earned next adventure in life.
Renee has served as an Administrative Specialist with the front offices/Finance Department, and as a Records Clerk, and has been an integral part of our team during her tenure. Renee’s institutional knowledge, hard work, and sense of humor will be missed by all of us here. Congratulations on your retireAfter a celebratory luncheon and a delicious cake, Mayor Megan ment, Renee!
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
In The News Rick Van Emburgh discusses Complete Streets with The Talbot Spy:
Miguel Salinas talks The East End Small Area Plan with WBOC:
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
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Communications/PR
WE HAVE A
WINNER! Congratulations to Megan Coxon for winning the Employee Newsletter Cover Photo Contest!
Megan now has a $25 gift card to Doc’s Downtown Grille for her submission that landed on the December cover of the Town of Easton Employee Newsletter.
ARE YOU CONNECTED? Follow us on social media:
@townofeastonmd
You could be the next winner by submitting your potential cover photos to gmueller@ eastonmd.gov. If your submission is chosen, you too will win a $25 gift card!
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JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON
Employee Benefits
Human Resources Birthdays JANUARY
Alex Saldana-Jaime Brandon Miles Catelin Vanderlinden Trams Colin Jones Dorothy Meekins Garey Fike Heather Hanson Jacob Towers Mark Turner Megan Coxon Michael Whitby Nicholas Johnson Samantha Smith Tyrone Perry
Anniversaries JANUARY
Andrew Hubbard - 2 years Craig Tatum - 2 years Joseph Mayer - 7 years Kathy Ruf - 35 years Michael Thume - 4 years Richard Farr - 4 years Timothy Tarrant - 5 years
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2026
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Recipe
PULLED PORK SANDWICHES Recipe courtesy of The Adventure Bite Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 hours Servings: 9-10
4 1/2 pounds pork shoulder or Boston butt 26 o unces sweet and spicy barbecue sauce 1/2 tablespoon garlic 1/2 t ablespoon fresh cracked black pepper fresh sandwich buns Dandy Celery, cut and pickled jalapenos coleslaw (optional) potato salad (optional) baked beans (optional) Place pork in slow cooker. Mix barbecue sauce, garlic and pepper. Pour over pork shoulder. Cook on low 8 1/2-10 hours or high 6-7 hours. Shred meat and serve on buns with pickled celery and jalapenos. Top with coleslaw, if desired. Serve with potato salad or baked beans, if desired.
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SPICY BITES
Easy, savory sammies perfect for the big game (Family Features) Whether you’re tailgating with friends or hosting a watch party at home, every football fan needs a game plan to crunch, dip and cheer their way through opening kickoff, halftime and right down to the final play of the game.
fresh coleslaw topper and zesty pickled celery and jalapenos on the side.
The winning play is to use crisp, fresh celery for the best flavors and a satisfying crunch with every bite. Since celery is 95% water and high in fiber, it leaves Pulled pork, a tailgating treasure, gets fans feeling comfortably full and ready an instant upgrade with the crunch of a to root for their favorite team.
JANUARY 2026 | THE TOWN OF EASTON