Rewards & Recognition ceremony salutes TTC’s best-of-the-best

Yesterday (Feb. 26) at the fourth annual Rewards and Recognition dinner, it was my privilege to share the evening with many of the TTC’s most outstanding people. 

The Executive Team and I were honoured to present awards to employees in recognition of their brilliant performance in the areas of: safety, leadership, customer service, teamwork, innovation and creativity and safe service in 2018.

Among them were Bruce Abbott and John Colangelo. These two Operators were applauded for achieving for more than 35 years of impeccable driving without an at-fault collision. It was a personal honour to thank them for their safe service.

Rewards & Recognition Ceremony 2019 winners

As it was to say thank you to: Bill Black, Tony Bosco, Enzo Copelli, Frank Cosentino and Joe Danisi, Carlo Filice, Edward Gordon, Elio Panaro, Richard Phillips, Aslam Quraishi, Frank Rizzo, Tony Santangeli and Aldo Viteritti, our safe workers with more than 35 years of service without a lost-time injury. Incredible!

Top honours went to Overhead Linepersons: Vincent Balfour, Peter Benerowski, Sean Bryce, Clancy Friel, Milan Novakovic and Thomas Reilly. This Overhead crew earned the Employees of the Year Award. Last May, they witnessed a serious and gruesome hit-and-run and without hesitation dropped what they were doing and sprang into action. They displayed tenacity, bravery and teamwork – and likely saved the life of the victim.

The CEO Special Award, as selected by CEO Rick Leary, went to Fort Monaco, our new Chief Engineering and Infrastructure Officer. His knowledge and understanding of the complexities related to track safety, maintenance and repair and all of our subway assets is greatly admired and appreciated.

The Leadership Award went to Steven Cuschieri from Bus Maintenance and Shops. He leads by example and his ideas have made improvements to bus maintenance.

OTC’s Maria Kapovsky took home the Safety Award. As Curriculum Specialist, she personifies safety culture change and has developed several critical track-level safety programs.

Richard Brettell, of Rail Cars and Shops, earned the Innovation and Creativity Award for his brilliant and creative solutions that keep Line 3 Scarborough rolling well beyond its years.

Customer Service Award winners were: Rishu Chadha, Matthew Di Taranto, Terri Hay, Hovig Kerkezian, Kevin McAnea and Ronald Sly. Representing the Customer Service Centre and Transit Control, this team delivered exceptional customer engagement throughout the year, which garnered compliments inside the TTC as well as from the banking, telecommunications and insurance fields.

Congratulations to all our finalists. All were deserving of a very special evening celebrating their excellence. The TTC is filled with many more great people and stories that should be heard so please take the time to submit a candidate that you know is deserving of a little applause.

Don’t hesitate. Nominate!

Kirsten Watson
Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Operations
February 27, 2019

News Release

TTC recognizes employee excellence, names 2018 Employee of the Year

At an event this evening to celebrate employee excellence, the TTC honoured the members of the Streetcar Overhead Team as its Employees of the Year for 2018.

Last May, Vincent Balfour, Peter Benerowski, Sean Bryce, Milan Novakovic, Clancy Friel and Thomas Reilly were waiting at an intersection when they witnessed a dump truck strike a woman, leaving her critically injured. The driver then fled the scene.

Two of the crew members jumped out of their truck and started to perform first aid with radio communication to other crew members who followed the dump truck. The team’s swift action led to the apprehension and arrest of the driver, and likely saved the woman’s life.

The Rewards and Recognition program celebrates TTC employees’ demonstrated diligence and dedication to the organization, honouring top performers in the areas of Leadership, Creativity & Innovation, Safety, Customer Service and Teamwork. A key focus of the TTC’s Corporate Plan is to recognize staff for the contributions they make every day and to share stories of TTC employees who exemplify The TTC Way.

“The recipients of these awards make me and the entire organization proud,” said TTC Deputy CEO Kirsten Watson. “These employees represent the best of the best of our nearly 15,000 employees who work diligently day in and day out to deliver safe, reliable service to our customers.”

2018 Award Recipients

Employees of the Year
Vincent Balfour, Peter Benerowski, Sean Bryce, Milan Novakovic, Overhead Linespeople, Streetcar Maintenance and Infrastructure
Clancy Friel, Thomas Reilly, Apprentice Overhead Linespeople, Streetcar Maintenance and Infrastructure

Leadership
Steven Cuschieri, Bus Maintenance Manager, Bus Maintenance and Shops

Creativity & Innovation 
Richard Brettell, Engineering Technologist, Rail Cars and Shops

Safety
Maria Kapovsky, Curriculum Development Specialist, Operations Training Centre

Customer Service
Rishu Chadha, Terri Hay, Hovig Kerkezian, Kevin McAnena, Senior Customer Service Representatives, Customer Service Centre
Matthew Di Taranto, Dispatcher, Transit Control
Ronald Sly, Customer Service Supervisor, Customer Service Centre

Teamwork
Vincent Balfour, Peter Benerowski, Sean Bryce, Milan Novakovic, Overhead Linespeople, Streetcar Maintenance and Infrastructure
Clancy Friel, Thomas Reilly, Apprentice Overhead Linesperson, Streetcar Maintenance and Infrastructure

CEO Special Award
Fort Monaco, Chief Infrastructure and Engineering Officer

News release issued February 27, 2019