Manatee County Library Assistant Rich D'Alessandro named 2020 Employee of the Year
MANATEE COUNTY, FL (Dec. 7, 2020) – Rich D'Alessandro, library assistant at the Rocky Bluff Library for the past three years, has been named Manatee County's 2020 Employee of the Year. His coworkers describe him as a compassionate, personable and hard-working team player. He’s always looking for ways to support his coworkers and build them up.
“Rich is a man of service,” said Neighborhood Services Director Ava Ehde. “Throughout his career, he has always been a man of service to the community.” Rich served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War Era from 1967 to 1971. Rich lost his right arm after a seven-year battle with cancer. After recovering, he decided to apply for a position with Manatee County Public Library System and in 2015 he joined the County.
“I’d like to say thank you so very, very much,” Rich said. “Thank you especially to the leadership of the County, always supporting employees more than anything else. This County surely is blessed. I work with a fantastic team where everyone comes to work with a smile on their face and they make it a pleasure to work everyday. Thank you very much for this consideration. I never expected this at all. It’s really a team effort.”
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Rich has gone above and beyond with efforts to acknowledge and honor veterans. Last year, Rich set up a Veterans Social event where veterans could share their stories, connect with other veterans and discuss benefits with Veterans Services staff. It was a meaningful event to the attendees, which he expects to repeat in the future.
As a Library Assistant, Rich’s everyday duties include being on the front line handling face-to-face transactions with patrons and performing circulation duties like checking in and out materials, creating new accounts, handling cash, and other related tasks.
Rich is planning on staying with the county for as long as possible. He says that he has so much fun working for Manatee County Libraries and loves the customers and coworkers he gets to interact with on a daily basis.