May 2024 Honorees

Ansonia Saunders 
Ansonia was the assigned Procurement Officer for a challenging project that had run past the expected delivery date. As she was ready to award her procurement, she realized that a crucial step had been missed. The procurement had to be canceled and restarted from the beginning. Understandably, the stakeholders were very upset with this unexpected major delay. When Ansonia’s supervisor spoke to the stakeholders and explained the situation, they stated that the only reason they were willing to accept the mistake was because of the outstanding customer service that Ansonia had provided. Ansonia was caught doing great service because even though a mistake was made, her customer service skills were so strong that she gave the stakeholder a positive impression of DGS in spite of a lengthy project delay. 

Delbert Stallings, and Tyler Kurtz 
During the first snowstorm of the year on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, the Ellicott City snow removal contractor ran into an issue keeping him from removing the snow from the parking lots at the Ellicott City MSC. Both Del and Tyler already up half the night, and after finishing their own facilities, came to the rescue. Del and Tyler drove to the Ellicott City facility and joined the other state truck to help plow the entire parking lot prior to the facilities opening for the day. This is a great example of leadership, dedication, and teamwork. Sending out a special “Thank You” to both Del and Tyler for bailing Ellicott City out!  

Jason Smith 
On May 1, 2024, Ofc. Smith was conducting a patrol check on Preston Street when he was approached by an unknown citizen and advised that there was a child in an unattended vehicle. Once the vehicle was found, Ofc. Smith witnessed the toddler walking on the back seat of the vehicle and confirmed that she was in the vehicle alone. The vehicle was not occupied by an adult, all the windows were rolled up and the engine was off. On this day, it was approximately 83 degrees and sunny. Ofc. Smith advised dispatch of the situation and had them perform a registration check, while he checked to see if the vehicle was unlocked. At that time, a male walked towards Ofc. Smith stating that the vehicle belonged to him. After gaining access to the vehicle Ofc. Smith assessed the condition of the toddler and deemed her to be safe and healthy. After some questioning, the driver was identified as the toddler’s legal guardian and subsequently placed under arrest for child neglect. Ofc. Smith did allow the suspect to contact a family member to pick up the child to minimize the negative impact on her. After the suspect’s brother arrived on scene, he was taken into custody and transported to the Baltimore City Central Booking Intake Facility. 

Joan Leazer 
Joan has been a dedicated state employee for 10 years, the last two and a half of which have been with the fiscal services division, specifically in the accounts payable unit. The Accounts Payable unit was short staffed for an extended period of time, and Joan truly stepped up to help. She helped train a new employee who was brought in to assist with the workload, while continuing to manage her own tasks. She added additional tasks to her own routine as in order to continue to get our vendors paid in a timely manner. Joan is always willing to go the extra mile to get the job done. She never gets flustered, even when the work piles up. She goes about her day and continues to produce quality work. Her bright and cheerful demeanor are always a positive influence on the entire fiscal unit. Thank you Joan, for Doing Great Service, each and every day! 

Karilynn Dunmeyer 
Karilynn Dunmeyer accepted a project for the Maryland School for the Deaf. Karilynn had to have the project designed, out to bid and funds encumbered before the end of the fiscal year. This was a huge task. After several months of construction, the playground was opened for the schools Family Education Department. COO Ann Miller stated, “We recently opened the new Family Ed Playground at the Columbia Campus for our youngest children. The kids are so excited to have a new, interactive, modern place to play. It reminded me of why all the projects that we do at MSD are so important. I know all of you have worked on projects at MSD and I want to express my gratitude for your support for our students. Not all of the projects are as fun or exciting as a playground for our youngest students, but they are all important. I appreciate your continued support of MSD.” Since coming to DGS almost two years ago she has done an excellent job managing her projects to successful ends. She is well respected not only in the office of Design Construction & Energy but also among the many agencies she supports. For this and the excellence and hard work she provides on a daily basis, we nominate Karrilynn Dunmeyer for doing great service.

Rosalie Johnson 
We warmly recognize the dedicated efforts and service of our Office of Real Estate team member, Ms. Rosalie ‘Roz’ Johnson! Recently, Roz successfully completed the Maryland Department of Assessments & Taxation’s (SDAT) State Center relocation construction project, meeting the objective of facilitating Certificates of Occupancy so that the agency was able to serve customers from their new location by April 15, 2024 (Tax Day)! Roz also continues to manage the sizable Department of Human Services’ (DHS) new “DHS Headquarters” construction project. On May 14, 2024, Roz facilitated a site tour and Acceptance of Space meeting for Part 1 (50%) of the total project, establishing partial occupancy for DHS. Simply put, Ms. Johnson is Doing Great Service as an instrumental member of a team of professionals who constructed these new Maryland facilities in the Central Business District of Baltimore, MD. Both SDAT and DHS’ facilities provide a refreshed, exciting, new work environment for state employees and new locations for customers served by the State of Maryland. Through this recognition, we acknowledge Roz’ exemplary support, organization skills, technical reviews, and punctual coordination throughout the completion of leased space fit-up so that project completion met their deadlines. Well done, Roz, we recognize and appreciate your dedicated service to the state of Maryland!