May Caught DGS

Allegra Daye has been with Procurement & Logistics for 19 years. Her wealth of knowledge and willingness to assist others makes her a valued member and established leader on P&L’s commodities team. Recently, her regular support, advice and sound feedback made her new supervisor’s transition into his role at DGS as seamless as possible.

On an annual basis, she facilitates the $1,000,000 procurement of vehicles for all state agencies. This includes conducting vehicle specification meetings with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), fleet managers, manufacturers and dealers to review, revise and ultimately get DBM approval of all specifications.

Last month, Allegra completed the bid process and award for multi-agency procurement requisitions for an array of products, including boats, wheelchair buses, scientific equipment and bucket trucks. These commodities had an aggregate value of nearly $500,000.

John Lawlah has been the maintenance supervisor at the Hyattsville DC/MSC for four and a half years. While that might not be a long time, John immediately proved himself to be an invaluable member of the team.

Here’s a recent example: During the two-week period when the state suffered a cold snap and freezing wind chills plummeted temperatures, a pipe froze at the Hyattsville DC/MSC. An emergency call was made to John Lawlah, maintenance supervisor at the facility, who responded immediately. He was on site to assess the damage, start clean-up and evaluate if a restoration company would have to be called in. By the time I arrived, a detailed plan had been developed.

PBI Restoration was in-route. A number of potentially dangerous electrical systems in the sub-basement below the leak had been covered in plastic. Computers, file cabinets, office furniture, tools and other items that the leak could have damaged had all been protected.

If it were not for John’s commitment, professionalism and quick response to this emergency, there would have been a tremendous cost in damages to the Hyattsville facility. John made several other trips into the facility the same weekend to continue to work through the emergency.

As the facility manager for the Hyattsville DC/MSC, I am very grateful to have an employee like John. He has a smooth, level-headed and professional demeanor that serves DGS well. He is an asset to the Hyattsville DC/MSC and can be counted on in any situation. He definitely makes my job easier. Thank you, John.

Michael Cain

Officers Derrick Layton and Ron Chadwick have been with the Maryland Capitol Police Baltimore Detachment for just one year. It didn’t take long, however, for them to demonstrate knowledge and professionalism gained from years of commitment to police work.

Previously, Officer Layton served Baltimore City Police for 26 years, and Officer Chadwick served the Baltimore City Sherriff’s office for 16 years. With this kind of experience, it was a perfect fit to have them assigned to the Baltimore Detachment mid-shift patrol to assist with the Governor’s initiative for state law enforcement in Baltimore City to help reduce crime.

Since their assignment, they have made numerous traffic stops resulting in over 30 “must appear” citations being issued and four traffic-related arrests. They have made several on-view arrests, including one of a subject armed with a knife, and have assisted Baltimore City Police with several arrests of violent offenders, including chasing an armed robbery suspect at Lexington & Howard streets.

More recently, on the evening of May 8 at approximately 6:25 PM, Officers Layton and Chadwick responded to the front entrance of the William Donald Shaffer Tower in reference to a fight in progress. Upon arrival, they determined that an altercation over money had occurred between the suspect and the victim. The suspect became agitated and made aggressive movements toward the officers, followed by a refusal to comply with their lawful orders and violent behavior. The officers used a department-issued taser to control the suspect, whom they arrested and transported to a local hospital for treatment and mental evaluation. Neither the officers nor by-standers were injured during the incident.

For their quick-thinking and professionalism throughout a tense and potentially harmful altercation, Officers Layton and Chadwick are nominated for “Caught Doing Great Service” for the Month of May.

Duane Lincoln, a Building Construction Inspector III in FPDC for 10 years, has been an exemplary employee from Day 1. As he manages the construction projects assigned to him, he does so with the utmost professionalism and the highest of standards.

Duane recently began finalizing the extensive number construction projects at 100 Community Place, a state office building that went from nearly empty to full occupancy. Making this possible required many construction projects, ranging from office fit-outs to mechanical upgrades. Duane was able to work with multiple general contractors, subcontractors, and using agencies to bring each project to successful completion and provide the state agency tenants with office space that meets their needs.