March 2024 Honorees

Barry Shirriell 
On February 29, 2024 at approximately 1700 hours, Sergeant Barry Shirriell was returning home in his personal vehicle when he heard on his police radio that an unknown suspicious person was entering through the back door of the State House with a weapon. Once hearing that information Sergeant Shirriell did a U-turn in his vehicle and responded to the State House assist with this incident. Once on scene, Sergeant Shirriell made contact with Annapolis Police Department and included himself with the entry team to the State House. Sergeant Shirriell along with the Annapolis entry team cleared the ground floor, first floor, as well as the second floor while state employees sheltered in place. Sergeant Shirriell actions represents the Maryland Capitol Police mission statement to protect the safety and wellbeing of Maryland State Employees and the citizens of Maryland. 

Vedas Bey
We are delighted to recognize the professionalism, dedicated efforts and service of DGS’ Office of Real Estate team member, Ms. Vedas Bey! Recently, Vedas successfully completed a trailblazing construction project for a State of Maryland agency. Simply put, Ms. Bey was observed Doing Great Service as the leading member of a team of professionals who constructed the Maryland Cannabis Administration’s Cannabis Laboratory in Baltimore, MD. The laboratory will be responsible for auditing the results from independent testing laboratories to ensure accuracy, assisting with illicit product investigations, and determining standardized testing methods for the industry. Maryland joins only a handful of other jurisdictions with a cannabis reference laboratory, and it is the first reference laboratory in the country dedicated exclusively to cannabis oversight and managed by a state cannabis regulatory agency. Through this recognition, we acknowledge Vedas’ exemplary support, technical reviews, and punctual coordination throughout the completion of leased space fit-up so that project completion met the accelerated March 1, 2024 project deadline. Well done, Vedas, we recognize and appreciate your dedicated service to the State of Maryland! 

Elizabeth Slick
Elizabeth (Liz) Slick has been with DGS’ Office of Design, Construction, & Energy (DCE) for just over a year and has already proven herself to be a valuable member of the team. Liz’s role at DCE involves supporting the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) with implementation of their master plan. She manages the day-to-day activities that are necessary to move multiple projects forward in support of MDH’s efforts to vastly improve the services they provide to the residents of Maryland. Part of her responsibilities include helping other DGS departments with projects they are involved in that also support MDH’s master planning efforts. Recently, Liz worked with DGS’ Office of Real Estate to assist with finalizing the last of the surveys necessary for transferring property located in Crownsville from MDH to Anne Arundel County. As a result of Liz’s interaction with ORE, Cat Mateer, Senior Acquisition Specialist with ORE, shared the following about Liz, “I wanted to take a minute and recognize her (Liz) for her cheerful persistence, keeping on top of things, and general doing good service”. It is awesome to be recognized by colleagues for your efforts! I personally love the phrase “cheerful persistence” that Cat used, it really speaks to how Liz approaches her role at DCE. 

Dominic Smith
Dominic Smith joined DGS less than a year ago. He manages the House of Delegates building in Annapolis. Dominic has made a tremendous impression in his short time with us. The tenants sing his praises, and his colleagues appreciate his hard work. Shortly after his arrival, he was faced with the discovery of a pipe in the House of Delegates garage that developed a serious leak.  He successfully handled that trial by fire and avoided a potentially major issue with the building. Additionally, he has recently been involved in a special project with the DGS Computerized Maintenance Management System Unit. The group has been working to catalog and audit all the major equipment in the building to ensure we can collect data on their operations. Using his remarkable wealth of knowledge he has quickly acquired about the building and its equipment, Dominic has supported the CMMS unit to resolve various issues during the project. For his overall work, skill and professionalism, Dominic Smith has been Caught Doing Great Service. Congratulations, Dominic!

Procurement Officers Tierra Ali-Said, Julissa Marcano, and Erica Wilks, Procurement
Manager, Georgina Usher, BPW Administrator, and Geoff McCammon 
Over the past several months, the incredible teams at DGS-OSP Procurement Operations and BPW Units have been entrusted with the difficult task of compiling, reviewing, and refining over 50 retroactive agenda items slated for presentation to the Board of Public Works (BPW) for official ratification. It is important to note that some of these contracts have a historical depth spanning more than a decade, underscoring the magnitude of this undertaking. This endeavor has required nothing short of Herculean efforts to meticulously research, identify, review, and scrutinize all requisite components within the retroactive agenda packages, including but not limited to MBE forms, MBE compliance, and ensuring accuracy in retroactive and proactive dates. In some instances, it necessitated delving into storage archives to retrieve and digitize paper documents. This has put us in a position to present these arduously curated items to the BPW during the BPW meeting on April 3rd, 2024. This is a testament to the dedication and unwavering commitment of Georgina Usher, Erica Wilks, Julissa Marcano, Tierra Ali-Said, and Geoff McCammon. Their steadfast dedication and tireless efforts from January 2024 through March 2024 merit commendation and we wholeheartedly nominate each of them for their exemplary service.