The Washington County Board of Commissioners recognized two Public Works employees Nov. 17 who have received awards from their professional organizations.

The Minnesota County Engineers Association (MCEA) named Wayne Sandberg, deputy Public Works director and county engineer, the 2019 Outstanding Minnesota County Engineer of the Year. MCEA members are county engineers from each of Minnesota’s 87 counties who work to promote their profession and uphold the engineering code of ethics. This past year, Sandberg served as the association’s president. He has been an active member serving and promoting MCEA over the years. He is active in the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, where he is frequently called on to testify at the state capitol and advocate for Minnesota transportation. Sandberg has always stepped up to help beyond the borders of his county.

Sandberg is a civil engineering graduate from the University of Minnesota and has a Master of Public Administration from Hamline University. He started at Washington County in 1999 as the traffic engineer and was appointed county engineer in 2010. Washington County Public Workers

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The Minnesota National Institute of Government Purchasing (MN NIGP) named Nicki Castro, contract specialist, 2019 Procurement Professional of the Year. MN NIGP is a professional organization dedicated to promoting professionalism in procurement and contracting for public agencies throughout Minnesota. In awarding the Procurement Professional of the Year, the association evaluates the nominee’s work in five categories: contributions to the procurement field, contributions to their organization, contributions to the MN NIGP, work toward professional certifications, and contributions to the national organization.

Castro is a certified public procurement buyer and has served on the MN NIGP Board of Directors since 2018. She has been employed by Washington County since 2014 as a contract specialist.