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MDA Honors Employees with Long Service Awards; Employee of the Year and Employee of the Quarter Honored

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Ralph Heard (center) honored for 45 years of service with MDA’s Mosquito Control Section.

ANNAPOLIS, MD The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) today honored 57 employees for their years of dedicated service to the department and to the state. Special recognition was bestowed on John Heard of St. Mary’s County for his 45 years in the Mosquito Control Section. Of the 57 employees being honored – 16 have 30 or more years service with the state. All together, these 57 employees represent 1,145 years of public service and more than 2.3 million hours worked and almost 30,000 paychecks.

In addition to recognizing long-time employees, MDA also presented its Employee of the Year Award to Shawn Smith, MDA Office of Resource Conservation; and Employee of the 4th Quarter to Jessica Koontz, MDA Office of Plant Industries and Pest Management.

“MDA and the agriculture community are fortunate to have such a dedicated and knowledgeable corps of employees working to strengthen the State of Maryland and this agency each and every day,” said MDA Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “Since its inception, MDA has been protecting consumers and the environment and ensuring fairness in the marketplace. It is a true testament to the value of our work that many of the employees honored this year have been with department since its earliest years.”

Shawn Smith, Soil Conservation Planner III, was recognized as Employee of the Year for his leadership in making significant improvements to the records management and continuity for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Maryland Animal Feeding Operations. Shawn is credited with creating a tool that standardized Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans, allowing reviewing parties or agencies to find reference data in the same place in every plan.

Jessica Koontz, Office Supervisor for Pesticide Regulation Section, was named Employee of the Quarter for overseeing several administrative changes within the section while short staffed. Jessica was instrumental in working with the MDA’s IT Department, Maryland Department of Information Technology, Towson University and others to develop an online system that allows pest control businesses, public agencies, private applicators and restricted use pesticide dealers to renew their licenses, permits and certificates online.

The following is a listing by county of the MDA employees who were recognized with long-service awards. Click here for photos from the event.

 Allegany County

  • Biff Thompson, Forest Pest, 25 years

Anne Arundel County

  • Brenda Alexander, Central Services, 30 years
  • Donna Crouch, Plant Protection, 30 years
  • Laura Smith, Animal Health, 30 years
  • Louise Lawrence, Resource Conservation, 30 years
  • Barbara Smallman, Turf and Seed, 25 years
  • Carrie DeBoy, Information Technology Services, 20 years
  • Donna Birdsong, Turf and Seed, 20 years
  • Lynn McNally, Central Services, 20 years
  • Amy Eichelman, State Chemist, 15 years
  • Tonya Kendrick, State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, 15 years
  • Genesis Parker, Turf and Seed, 10 years
  • Stephen Hurst, Turf and Seed, 10 years
  • Vanessa Orlando, Executive Direction, 10 years

Baltimore City

  • Mary Martin, IT Services, 30 years
  • Karen Wick, State Chemist, 25 years
  • Jessica Koontz, Pesticide Regulation, 10 years
  • Venus Torbit, State Chemist, 10 years
  • Susan Payne, Resource Conservation, 10 years

 Baltimore County

  • Hazel Day, Human Resources, 25 years
  • Rowland Agbede, Resource Conservation, 25 years

Calvert County

  • Cindy White, State Chemist, 25 years

Caroline County

  • Elaine Friel, Resource Conservation, 30 years
  • Deborah Hayes, Plant Protection, 30 years
  • Colin Jones, Resource Conservation, 15 years

Carroll County                         

  • Jason Watt, Resource Conservation, 15 years
  • William Rawlings, Food Quality, 10 years

Dorchester County

  • Charles Coleman, Weights and Measures, 30 years
  • Merry McNeil, Fiscal Services, 30 years
  • David Wilson, Resource Conservation, 20 years

Frederick County

  • Kenneth Favorite, Resource Conservation, 25 years
  • Holly Boyer, Resource Conservation, 10 years

Garrett County

  • Roger Kitzmiller, Resource Conservation, 15 years

Harford County

  • Christopher Prigge, Resource Conservation, 10 years

Howard County

  • Wendy Lloyd, Resource Conservation, 10 years

Kent County

  • Robert Hofstetter, Pesticide Regulation, 15 years
  • Robert Myers, Resource Conservation, 15 years

Montgomery

  • Philip Davidson, State Chemist, 15 years

Prince George’s County

  • Gaye Williams, Plant Protection, 35 years
  • Pegeen Morgan, Vet Board, 35 years

Somerset County

  • Glenda Mrohs, Resource Conservation, 25 years
  • Mark Carey, Resource Conservation, 10 years

St. Mary’s County

  • John Heard, Mosquito Control, 45 years
  • Parran Russell, Resource Conservation, 15 years

Talbot County

  • Daniel Schwaninger, Nutrient Management, 15 years
  • Kimberly Rice, Plant Protection, 15 years
  • Peter Councell, Pesticide Regulation, 15 years

Washington County

  • Lane Heimer, Weed Control, 30 years
  • Christopher Herbert, Resource Conservation, 15 years

Wicomico County

  • Richard Glasgow, Resource Conservation, 30 years
  • Dawn Bradley, MACS Program, 15 years
  • Thomas Phillips, Resource Conservation, 15 years
  • John Hughes, Resource Conservation, 10 years
  • Ina Ingraham, Resource Conservation, 30 years

Other

  • Laura Iacona, Food Quality, 15 years, Delaware
  • Jay Duell, Resource Conservation, 30 years, Pennsylvania
  • Bryce Miller, Food Quality Assurance, 15 years, Pennsylvania
  • Andrew Thomas, Resource Conservation, 10 years, Pennsylvania

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Note to Editors: Photos of award presentations are available on MDA’s Flickr Account.

 

 


Contact Information

If you have any questions, need additional information or would like to arrange an interview, please contact:
Jessica Hackett
Director of Communications
Telephone: 410-841-5888

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