FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 29, 2002

MAYOR ANNOUNCES CHANGE AT DEPARTMENT OF FACILITY MAINTENANCE

Mayor Jeremy Harris today announced the appointment of Larry J. Leopardi to head the City’s Department of Facility Maintenance (DFM) on August 1, 2002. Mr. Leopardi replaces Ross Sasamura who will return to the private sector to accept a promotion in the company that he was with prior to joining the City.

Mayor Harris said, “Ross has done a superb job in leading one of our largest and most complex departments. He has made a major contribution to our city and is respected for his professionalism by his peers and, more important, by those on the line within DFM. We wish him well, but he will be missed.

“Larry Leopardi is well equipped to take the department’s reins,” the Mayor continued. “For the past three years he has headed DFM’s Division of Road Maintenance with nearly 500 employees. Larry understands the department’s operations, and he will hit the ground running. I have every confidence that DFM will remain in good hands.”

Both men are professional engineers. Sasamura came to the City from HT&T, a kamaaina company that is the local dealer for Peterbilt, Volvo, Autocar and GMC trucks. Prior to that, he was a senior design engineer for Peterbilt. He will return to HT&T as Vice President for Sales.

Prior to joining the City, Leopardi was an engineering program manager for the State’s Department of Transportation. He is a Civil Engineer and earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii.

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Thursday, October 17, 2002