Nanci Sandoval, City of Umatilla

2021 Recorder of the Year

The 2021 Recorder of the Year Award was presented to Nanci Sandoval, City of Umatilla. The guidelines for Recorder of the Year state any OAMR member, City Manager, or Mayor may submit a confidential nomination to acknowledge recorders and recognize their excellence and professional accomplishments. The nominee must have made an outstanding contribution or performed outstanding service to OAMR, to the profession of Municipal Recorder, or to an individual city during the Association fiscal year. This award recognizes outstanding service and performance over and above the person’s job description. Some possible strengths might include areas such as public relations, records management, legislative or council procedures, or even a special project.

Nanci is a relatively new member of OAMR. A quote from the nomination submitted by her City Manager stated, “As every organization can attest, the past year was a trying and difficult year. As our State and Country were necessarily required to transition to remote services, gaps in how services were delivered and how we were able to ensure that the public was informed, engaged, and active in their community became ever more prevalent. Our City was no exception. What was an exception, however, are the incredible achievements lead by our city recorder during this time to strengthen public relations and our new integrated technology systems.”

A few of her other accomplishments this past year include:

• Incorporated new technology projects for the city.
• Oversaw the installation of cameras in the council chambers, to allow recording and livestreaming of all council meetings.
• Managed the installation of a new digital phone system for the City to combine four systems into one, providing direct connectivity to all departments.
• Implemented a new public relations philosophy and policy.
• Created and manages her City’s social media accounts, a new electronic newsletter, and uploads of recorded meetings to the City website for increased access to and transparency to the community.
• Became one of the City’s official translators taking on the task of translating all of her city’s social media posts, newsletters, and other media materials into the Spanish language.

Nanci’s City Manager closed his nomination letter by saying, “At a time when the world was experiencing a pandemic that has caused measurable and immeasurable hardship, she was not only dealing with that, but also two of the worst tragedies a family should never experience in their lifetime. Rather than retreat into a much deserved and understandable secluded shelter, she found solace in her dedication to our community and thrived in implementing enhancements in public relations, technology, and transparency. I stand amazed and count myself privileged to have Nanci on our staff. The City of Umatilla is beyond lucky to have her.”