Coralville Assistant City Administrator Wins Award

Habel receives young city official award

Coralville's assistant city administrator, Ellen Habel, was awarded the Rhonda Wood Smith Award at the Iowa League of Cities 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibit, Sept. 24 in Davenport.

The Rhonda Wood Smith Award was created to recognize exemplary work of young city officials and those new to city government. Award criteria includes innovation, bold leadership, commitment and sacrifice. The award was named for Rhonda Wood Smith, a single parent who served as mayor of Garner while working as a municipal consultant. She succumbed to cancer early in 1997.

Ms. Habel's career in public service, including positions with the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, Kirkwood Community College and Linn County, made her eligible for this award. As assistant city administrator for Coralville, she has worked to enhance communication with community members with a bi-weekly e-mail newsletter. She has been instrumental in 2008 flood recovery efforts.

Her work with the community also contributed to the recognition, including her service to the Community Fund, the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County, the Iowa Children's Museum Board of Directors, RAGBRAI 2006 and her work with the Rebuild Iowa Office for the benefit of Coralville and the state of Iowa.