Putting its people first. People's Choice award winners recognized at 2025 holiday party. Portland Webworks, Inc. celebrated a successful 2025 along with the 12th annual People's Choice awards during its holiday party on December 12 at Via Vecchia in Portland, Maine. The following team members were nominated for Most Valuable Player, Grace Under Pressure, Most Versatile, Mentor Star, and Top Innovator. The six winners received plaques and gift cards and the praise of their peers and managers. Many other employees got nominations and accolades during the voting process that will be shared in weekly traffic meetings during the year to come. Congratulations to the following People's Choice award winners! MVP: karyl hazard. The MVP goes to the employee who has been most essential to the company's mission over the past year. "This person has only been here a year, but from the start she came in with utmost professionalism, grace under pressure, and versatility, everything we are talking about tonight," said Alison Schestopol, Director of Project Management and Quality Assurance. "Karyl embodies all of these things and brings them to her teams." Grace Under Pressure: Brett kana. The GUP award goes to the employee who is best known to be unflappable, demonstrates tact, consistent productivity, and exceptional grace when under pressure. "Someone who is graceful has a very assuring presence," said Sarah Crossman, Director of User Experience. "It means we can all exhale when Brett is in the room." Most Versatile: chris makrides. This award goes to the employee who stands out for the willingness to step up when needed, no matter what the need is, and go above and beyond to get the job done. "Chris has a great attitude which we all appreciate," said Alison. "He's someone who is willing to take on a lot of different things, and wear a lot of different hats. He doesn't complain about issues with the project, he just says, give me what you've got." Mentor Star: David read. Mentorship is one of the key ways Portland Webworks, Inc. achieve high standards at Portland Webworks by providing opportunities for employees to learn and gain new skills. This award goes to the person who consistently steps up to support team members in this goal. "There was one name that kept coming up and that was David and his efforts to learn all there is about online accessibility and how we can implement it on our projects," said Alison. "It's very important to our organization and our users and everybody around us." Top Innovator: Adam kempler. This award goes to the person who frequently demonstrates a commitment to solving challenges creatively and delivering cutting-edge solutions. "Adam has been instrumental in leading our AI Lab," wrote Kevin Ferguson, Director of Development. "The AI Lab needs to connect with the people in our organization, and Adam's hard work has done just that." Service recognition: Sarah Crossman. Sarah was also recognized during the awards portion of the evening for her service at Portland Webworks over the past 10 years. She will be missed with her departure at the end of this year, and Portland Webworks, Inc. hope she will be back! President Justin Davis said, "Sarah has done all of the above at this organization in the 10 years she has been with us." Justin went on to note that, "We are very grateful to Sarah for building a great team and doing an amazing job filling shoes that were very big to fill with all of the talent and ambition that she brings." Learn more. * 2025 Year in Review: A quarter century of digital services for public and private sector clients * Management Team Spotlight: Meet the Portland Webworks management team * GovWebworks Team Spotlights: Meet its Creative, Quality Assurance, Drupal, Software Development, and Project Management teams