Abigail Raymond Receives March 2024 Employee of the Month

The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is pleased to recognize Abigail Raymond, Purchasing Coordinator in the Office of Purchasing, as the March 2024 Employee of the Month. The board recognized Raymond’s selection at the March 7 BCC meeting.

Raymond joined Escambia County as Purchasing Coordinator in September 2023 and has been recognized by her team members for her outstanding commitment to excellence in her job duties. As Purchasing Coordinator, Raymond is responsible for reviewing, processing, and maintaining purchase orders, requisitions, and change orders for products and services. She ensures requisitions are properly completed and authorized, assigns numerical coding to requisitions, and classifies incoming requests.

“I’m very proud to be recognized for this achievement, and I look forward to continuing to make a positive impact working with the county,” said Raymond. “Finding joy in your role is effortless when you genuinely enjoy both the work itself and the people you work with. I am grateful for the support of my colleagues and our leadership. I’m confident we’ll continue to deliver results that elevate the Purchasing Department’s role with all the departments we work with, streamline our processes, and further enhance vendor education opportunities.”

Previous governmental procurement experience allowed Raymond to adapt seamlessly to the Purchasing Department’s policies and procedures. She quickly became an integral part of the team and a resource for other departments’ purchasing matters. Raymond processed nearly one-third of the 1,263 total purchase orders issued in the first two months of the first quarter of FY 23-24. She has also actively led 13 solicitations since joining the county. In addition, Raymond became the department’s OpenGov expert through webinars and independent research, ensuring the software’s resources were fully utilized to streamline the county’s procurement process.

Additionally, Raymond has collaborated with the Community and Media Relations Department to post a weekly “Purchasing Update” on the county’s social media channels, making information available for vendors on how to provide contracted services or providing a summary of advertised projects. These efforts allow local businesses to have the necessary tools to be competitive when responding to active solicitations.

“In less than a year in her role, Aby has proven herself to be a valuable member of the purchasing team,” said Interim Purchasing Director Lyndsey Stevens. “She collaborates with county departments and vendors to complete all projects in an efficient manner. She always brings a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude to all tasks big and small, and we are so proud to have her on our team.”

Outside of her role with Escambia County, Raymond serves as the Public Relations and Marketing Chair of the Central Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, where she oversees social media and web administration. Raymond’s efforts have boosted the chapter’s reach and helped members seek cooperation or guidance from other agencies.

The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners commends and congratulates Abigail Raymond on her selection as the March 2024 Employee of the Month.

Left to right: Kent Jensen, Purchasing Specialist; Haley Maciejewski, Purchasing Coordinator; David Miller, Interim Purchasing Manager; Lyndsey Stevens, Interim Purchasing Director; Abigail Raymond, Purchasing Coordinator, and her husband, Terrance Raymond; Buzz Roggenbuck, Purchasing Coordinator; and Wesley Hall, Assistant County Administrator.