On Thursday, September 11, Council Member Dr.G (Dr Luis S González) presented the CITYTALK “Employee Spotlight” award to recognize Chris Rymer, a 19-year employee of the City of Colton Community Services Department. Mr. Chris leads the Early Childhood Education Program which is made up of two component parts, the School Age Program (SAP) and the Pre-School Program (CSPP).
Originally from Northern California, Chris graduate in 1992 from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development. After working several years in Oakland as Director of a private non-profit pre-school, he moved to Southern California in search of better job opportunities. In 2006 he applied and was hired as Manager of the Early Childhood Educational Program (ECE) for the City of Colton where he continues to lead a program that serves over 200 students, 120 in the CSPP and 80 in the SAP.
When asked about working for the City of Colton,”Mr. Chris,” as the students call him, responded, “I like the close-knit community vib that is found in Colton,” and went on to explain, “I feel so blessed to be here, and met my wife while working in Colton.” Chris’ wife, Lisa, was actually a parent of one of the SAP students in the program. Together they have two children, Emma and Ameer.
Chris has his office in the Hutton Center building but finds himself out and about visiting the programs which are located at various elementary schools in conjunction with the Colton Joint Unified School District. The PSP locations include Cooley Ranch, Paul J Rogers, and Wilson School, while the SAP locations include Reche Canyon and Paul J Rogers.
According to Chris, the job as Manager of the ECE has a wide-range of responsibilities and can change on a daily basis, depending on the need to oversee attendance, staffing, parents, emergencies and even the weather condition. “Its always interesting and unpredictable, but I love my job,” smiled Chris as he describes the day-to-day operations. In addition to the daily “contact” routines, his job also includes state reports, compliance, budget work and employee training. As such, the city ECE program has been successful, has a great reputation and continues to serve many families in the community.
We are certainly proud to recognize all of our employees in the City of Colton. However, time and opportunity are limited, so an “employee spotlight” allows us to recognize the individual efforts of employees who really stand out for their dedication, hard work, and long-standing service to our various departments, and the community. We sure have great employees who work hard and care about our city. They do what needs to be done, and care about our city. Thank you Mr. Chris Rymer for your dedication, hard work, and 19 years of service. Your long-standing dedication to our community is very much appreciated and you are to be congratulated on this recognition award. The CITY TALK “Employee spotlight” recognition award was established in 2020 to recognize the great efforts that employees make in service to the City, and for the benefit of our community.
For more information about CITYTALK, Council of Churches, sermon topics, Bible Briefs, Youth Council, various community groups, Colton history, the trash clean-up, the G-Team, prayer list, History Briefs, Veteran Spotlight, Church Spotlight, Business Spotlight, neighborhood meetings, U.S. Flag Watch, community projects and events, or the online live-stream programs, text Dr.G @ 909-213-3730. Dr.G is the founder of CITYTALK, a City Council Member and well-known community advocate. Questions and comments are always welcome.