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March Honorees

The Design, Construction, & Energy Division takes pride in their teamwork and customer service. Two great examples of that teamwork and customer service are Jackie Koppenhaver and Lisa Brittan. They have been in State service for almost 72 years combined – Jackie has over 35yrs and Lisa has over 36yrs; DCE legend has it that they both started right out of kindergarten. For most of those years, Jackie and Lisa have had many critical roles & responsibilities for DCE – managing information in the AS 400 database, creating project numbers and folders to track accounting for each project, responding to a variety of questions from DBM and DLS relating to project and funding information, to name a few. Along with their everyday duties, Jackie and Lisa create project numbers and folders for each new project that DCE manages in our shared drive. I think everyone is aware that this year, DCE was blessed with an abundance of funding from Annapolis and this translates into more construction projects. In a normal year, there are about 160 projects. This year with additional funding, there are over 340 new projects which means that Jackie and Lisa’s workload has more than doubled and, as always, the tasks were completed with the same excellence they put in everyday. I can truly say that DCE couldn’t run efficiently without the expertise and support provided by Jackie and Lisa as they are involved with all of the DCE teams daily activities. For this and every other task they help with and do for us, we recognize Jackie and Lisa for doing great service.

Steve Billings has worked for DGS for over 23 years and has taken on many roles during his time with the Department.  Steve is a veteran of many Annapolis Government Building projects like the steam line replacement in Lawyers Mall as well as numerous projects at the Governor’s Mansion. Given Steve’s understanding of how to navigate the intricacies of working in Annapolis, he unknowingly volunteered to manage the inaugural event for our new Governor and Lieutenant Governor. This year’s inauguration was challenging like none before due to the historic nature of the day and the number of possible attendees.  Steve coordinated efforts between the Military Department and the transition team for the incoming administration to formulate the ever-changing plan, wants, needs and expectations for the event.  Steve worked long days and weekends to ensure every detail was perfect from the stage to the lighting, to the press areas, to the jumbotrons, to the seating – the list goes on. The day turned out perfect and the new administration was very pleased and passed that on to DGS.  It has been mentioned that Steve even had a hand in making sure the weather was great the day of the event. Not only does Steve get our recognition for doing great service he got a few days off to recover.

Diane Simpson has been with DGS for only a few short months in her position providing support for DGS’ HR Office. Diane was quickly asked to temporarily step into a larger role providing support to the Office of the Secretary while the agency works to hire new administrative support staff. Diane has successfully and graciously jumped into this role, being asked to do quite a bit on a daily basis in providing direct support for Secretary Chaudhry and Deputy Secretary Reichart, in addition to continuing in her regular functions supporting the HR Office. We thank Diane for stepping into these big shoes and we recognize her as Caught Doing Great Service!

Jim Bertocchio, Kurt Butler, Michael Carney, Eric Savage, Romaine Mosley, and Katie Crawford assisted DGS’ IT office with packing up and delivering old computers to DoIT for disposal (156 devices), delivering replacement equipment to Atif’s offices in Crownsville and Annapolis (6 devices), picking up our 2022 new equipment refresh order from DoIT (110 devices), and picking up equipment from the Annapolis transition office (19 devices). In addition to the tasks which they assisted Toni with during a recent massive exchange of IT equipment between DoIT and DGS, this group of DGS employees assisted while missing an Assistant Secretary, and while the position of Director was just being filled by Jeff Jones. So, amidst all of these changes, and while not missing a beat with their normal work load, they stepped up and helped at a time when Toni was (is?) preparing for the final phases of the Desktop Conversion Project and all of the dozens of other things she handles for the Department. For the great showing of teamwork, and for getting a task that was long overdue completed, we nominate the individuals above for being caught doing great service! 

On February 10, 2023, MCP Annapolis Division received a call from Judge Robert C. Wilcox who wanted to recognize Security Officer Brenda Redding on her customer service. Judge Wilcox is the presiding Judge over the District Court of Maryland, District 7. He advised that on February 10th, he required immediate assistance from human resources. Judge Wilcox required an immediate response from human resources and was not able to obtain the assistance over the phone in a timely manner. As a result, he arrived in person to the Treasury building due to the urgency of his need. Once he arrived at the Treasury building, he met with Security Officer Redding and advised her of his urgent need for assistance. Security Officer Redding went above and beyond by remaining persistent in locating a representative in the human resources department. Not only was she able to assist Judge Wilcox in locating the HR department, but she also followed up to ensure that he obtained the assistance he needed. Showing support and true comradery to her fellow coworkers and showing outstanding customer service to other employees of the state, Security Officer Redding has proven to be resourceful, reliable, and a great asset to DGS. 

Sgt. Asia Alexander and Crystal Richardson handle parking issues in Annapolis and Baltimore. Now, parking may seem like a straightforward issue. Someone wants to park, they are put on a list, and they get to park, right? But nothing is easy when it comes to parking. Who is this person? Why are they looking to park in our facilities? Is there space for them? Are they a state employee, and if so, what is their ID number? Is their badge added to the system? If they are new employees or vendors or citizens, what is their information? If they are parking at State Center, did this get relayed to the Security Officer staffing the parking garage? If the gate doesn’t open for them, what needs to be done to troubleshoot the problem? And what about those folks who want parking at the very last minute, claiming they are a VIP attending an urgent meeting? Day in and day out, Asia and Crystal handle it all without complaint. They make sure everyone who expects to park at a DGS lot or garage can do so. They are patient with the many questions they get. They explain the details of what is needed from the first steps involved with getting parking to ensuring that all issues are covered. Every day, these outstanding ladies show exceptional customer service. And they do so with quiet professionalism. That is why they have been Caught Doing Great Service.

 

 


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