September Honorees

Chris Hobbs is a soft-spoken, results-driven individual who quietly takes on all kinds of tasks and performs each to the highest quality. He brings years of experience in the electrical field and his high standard of workmanship is evident.

With the FOM State Office Complex for two years, Chris regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty. Recently, he single-handedly retrofitted all of the exterior lighting around the entire State Office Complex with energy-efficient LED fixtures and bulbs.

Chris worked with his supervisor to select the proper output fixtures and bulbs to provide the best energy savings and highest output. Thanks to his hard work and dedication, the exterior areas of the complex are brightly illuminated, which enhances safety.

Police Officer First Class (PFC) Vincent Kurek has been with the Maryland Capitol Police for nearly 26 years. He is assigned to the Baltimore Detachment – evening shift. Committed to providing the highest level of service to employees and visitors, he is typically on the work site an hour before his shift starts. He spends that time getting information from the outgoing shift to help him patrol more effectively and catching up on paperwork.

He also leads the Detachment in enforcement activity and is always willing to assist fellow officers in preparing reports. He doesn’t hesitate to volunteer for additional assignments and special details.

PFC Kurek always presents a professional image and conducts himself in a manner consistent with the mission of the department: to “provide a safe environment for all visitors, employees and government leaders at our facilities and state office centers.”

Mark Schneidman, Sr. Project Manager with the Capital Projects Division of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction, can usually be found managing large capital design and construction projects in Annapolis or from his Baltimore office. On August 17, however, you might have caught a glimpse of him on the State House lawn in the middle of the night.

Mark managed the removal of the Taney Statue, a high-profile and fast-paced project. He shifted all of his priorities to make it happen. He figured out the detailed logistics, determined how to get a crane to the site and coordinated site access and road closures with FOM and the Capitol Police. He received this compliment from Tim Baker, the State Archivist. “I commend you [Mark] and the DGS team for the well-executed plan last night.  Good job…as always.”

Mark has 24 years with DGS. He maintains a full load of projects, in addition to managing a team of project managers and helping to keep their projects on track. Professional and knowledgeable, he keeps all of the details straight and makes sure the projects are properly executed.

Erica Wilks, an A/E Procurement Officer II for six years, provides extraordinary value to the Procurement & Logistics team. Her work ethic, reliability and resilience helps the office keep pace with the state’s A/E needs

Erica fosters strong morale and a positive workplace culture through her willingness to support her colleagues. She excels as a hands-on procurement officer, personally handling four design projects valued at $3.8 million during fiscal year 2017. Here are more of her success stories:

• Spearheaded high profile standalone RFPs for design projects in FY17 & FY18.
• Led procurement activities for design project to construct a new Animal Health Laboratory in Salisbury. The contract was valued at $1.4M.
• Led procurement activities for design project to renovate and restore the Historic Post Office in Annapolis. The contract was valued at $725k.
• Provided exemplary procurement training on different procurement methods and tasks.