Handshakes and a standing ovation greeted Mila Cosgrove as she received a plaque of honor from state Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, on behalf of the 32nd Alaska State Legislature at Monday night’s City and Borough of Juneau Assembly meeting.
As part of the agenda for the night’s meeting, Cosgrove received special recognition for over two decades of public service work for both the state of Alaska and the city government in Juneau.
The citation of honor — which was also signed by multiple state officials including Speaker of the House, Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and President of the Senate, Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, as well as all members of the Juneau delegation — outlined her accomplishments throughout her career of “diligent and dedicated public service” which included serving as personnel director at CBJ before moving to the position of director of human resources and risk management for both the city and the city-owned Bartlett Regional Hospital.
She also spent five years as deputy city manager until her retirement in 2021, among other accomplishments along the way.
Kiehl, who sponsored the citation that was co-sponsored by state Rep. Sara Hannan and State Rep. Andi Story, both Juneau Democrats, said this was a belated honor as her retirement began during the pandemic. He thanked Cosgrove for her work through the beginning of the pandemic, where she served as incident commander for CBJ’s Emergency Operations Center.
Kiehl, and other city officials wished her a happy retirement and thanked her for coming to the meeting.
“Cosgrove brought together vast amounts of disparate information and synthesized it to brief the public, advise policymakers, and direct emergency operations. Her abilities were the culmination of an entire career’s worth of professional development and diligence,” the citation of honor read.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
