October Honorees

Michael Rose is a quiet champion in our department who goes above and beyond his job every day without a lot of fanfare, drama, or recognition. He has a varied background with strengths in many trades such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing and carpentry. He is a problem solver who has had numerous successes fixing challenges in some of DGS’s oldest buildings. Mike has helped to restore power after outages, repaired broken pipes, prepared our snow removal equipment for the season, and actually participated in snow removal – whatever is necessary to keep our State buildings open and running smoothly. Mr. Rose oversees contractors and the comprehensive maintenance contract at the Nancy S. Grasmick building. He coordinates schedules to complete work orders in his own building and in addition, he helps out at other buildings as necessary; he assists with managing the DGS building at 2100 Guildford Avenue, our unoccupied building, to ensure the safe keeping of that building. He has strong customer service skills; he is adept at conversing on a professional level with both interior and exterior customers – coordinating efforts of contractors and addressing concerns of State of Maryland tenant agencies. And oh, did I mention? Mike Rose also assists with flag duty at William Donald Shaeffer Tower which is no small task. The United States flag and the Maryland State Flag on top of the William Donald Schaefer Tower are beautiful landmarks, but also a point of reference in the Baltimore City skyline; they can be seen on the nightly news, during Orioles baseball games or Ravens’ home games. Although the flags may appear to be normal size from a distance, the U.S. flags is 20’ x 30’ and the Maryland flag is 12’ x 18’. In addition, the flags are 36 stories off the ground or 493 feet from the ground to the top of the pole. Raising and lowering the flags for incoming foul weather or to honor dignitaries (and our everyday fallen heroes) is a challenging effort, which can be hazardous and scary when the winds on the flag deck can be three times as strong as on the ground. Mike is part of a team that handles this part of the job nearly every week. Mike Rose gets the job done. His skillset, attention to detail and work ethic is inspirational. That is why he is Baltimore’s nomination for Caught DGSing.

April Wiemer, Jason Winings, Chris Hautala, Andrea Simmons, and the entire IT and Professional Services Procurement Operations Unit have worked diligently to establish a program for assisting agency procurement officers with drafting solicitations and conducting procurements for IT and professional services, combining the duties previously performed by the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) before moving all of procurement under DGS.  The volume of procurements and contracts that April’s team deals with on a daily, weekly and monthly basis is phenomenal.  The customer service providing internally and externally to make sure everyone understands the processes required by law and regulation for procurement is exceptional.  Working evenings and weekends is a regular occurrence just to keep everything moving smoothly through the procurement process.  Additionally, April has new staff that she and her supervisors are training on OSP processes while conducting the day to day business transactions.  Having April at the helm of this fast moving ship, is a great asset to not only DGS, but the entire State of Maryland.  Her and her team’s hard work, customer service and dedication deserve this recognition.

On Wednesday October 13, 2021, at approximately 1800 hours, Sergeant Bryant Stewart was working as patrol supervisor when he responded to a call for service; to assist a state employee with a with vehicle that wouldn’t start, battery was dead.  He quickly responded to this call for service and went above and beyond duty, as he assisted in getting her vehicle started.  Here is an email that Mrs. Churchill sent to his supervisor; “Can you please thank Sergeant Stewart on my behalf for his assistance this evening when my car battery was completely dead. He not only jumpstarted my car, but he also cleaned the corrosion off the battery. The secretary pulled up during this…just when I was all set to replace him. 😉 Officer Stewart was my hero tonight!” I would like to personally thank Sgt. Stewart for his outstanding customer service.  His dedication to the department and willingness to provide such great customer service reflects positively on himself and the department!  Thank You! Great Work!