The city of Waterloo recently recognized the achievements and hard work of several outstanding city employees.
During the Dec. 19 city council meeting, Waterloo police officer Cassy Herkelman Jakoubek was honored by the city council for being recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2022 wrestling tournament. The Battle of Waterloo is an annual wrestling event that takes place with boys and girls teams from across the state and is considered one of the top events in the sport.
The mayor thanked fire chief Pat Trelor, who is stepping into retirement. The mayor recalled Pat’s unbiased, strong, and directed decision-making ability during the COVID-19 pandemic that kept the city running and people safe. Trelor has worked for the city for about 25 years and will be sorely missed. Pat thanked the council and the mayor for the recognition.
“I’ve enjoyed this council. I’ve enjoyed a number of different councils over the years. Thanks to what you do, sometimes it’s not a thankful job,” Trelor said to the council. “The department heads: the fire department couldn’t do what we do without the help of public works. We’ve got a great relationship with PD. The Finance Department pays our bills and pays our salaries. So a lot of times it seems like police and fire get all the accolades, but a lot of other departments, we couldn’t do a job without them. Any accomplishments I’ve had has been through the help of the staff at the fire department. So I’ve been lucky to work with a number of talented people over the last 11 years or so since I’ve been chief.”
The Mayor and the council also thanked Sandie Greco for 54 years of service in the city’s public works department. Greco was on vacation and was not able to attend the city council meeting, but the city was able to honor her at the state of the city before she left.
