Bly is Columbia County employee of year

As a government budget analyst, Danika Bly essentially serves as a money cop for Columbia County taxpayers.

//

"I help ... with the budget process," said the 38-year-old Evans resident. "I make sure no one is over budget and spending what they're supposed to be spending."

For her efforts, Columbia County commissioners last month named Bly the county's Employee of the Year.

"She watches the budget and lets me know of anything strange going on," county Financial Services Director Leanne DeLoach said of Bly. "She's even caught things that would have cost us money."

Recently, Bly discovered that a state agency partially supported by the county had unintentionally included a furloughed work day as part of a payroll collection. Bly caught the error before the payment was processed.

"She monitors what's going on and makes sure we spend it in the appropriate places," DeLoach said.

But Bly was honored for more than just her tenacity at crunching numbers, said DeLoach.

"Everybody loves her," she said. "She always has a smile on her face; a very pleasant personality and cheerful attitude."

One of the reasons Bly is so well loved is her willingness to help others whenever possible.

"I like that I get to deal with a lot of people and that my job involves a lot of different things," Bly said. "When my phone rings, I never know what it's for. I just know they need help and I can do that."

In October, Bly won Employee of the Month, which qualified her for Employee of the Year, based on the recommendation of someone she had helped.

"Every time that I have contacted her for assistance, whether for something to do with my department's budgets or something with my direct deposit, she truly goes above and beyond," county Fleet Services Manager Clayton Galloway wrote about Bly on an Employee of the Month nomination form.

"As I try to instill great customer service to Fleet's internal customers in my employees, I frequently use Danika as an excellent example of how to treat our customers."

Bly came to Columbia County about six years ago when her husband, U.S. Army Master Sgt. LaCount Bly Jr., was transferred to Fort Gordon. Her son, LaCount Bly III, is a sophomore at Evans High School and her daughter, Jaya, is in pre-kindergarten.

Though she calls Kansas City, Mo., her hometown, Bly and her family have lived all over the country and were in Washington state before moving to the South.

"When we moved to Georgia, to Columbia County, we really liked it," she said.

"Everyone was much more polite."