DOVER –Governor Jack Markell recognized and celebrated the efforts of the 2016 recipients of the Delaware Award for Excellence and Commitment in State Service, winner and finalists of the Governor’s Team Excellence Award and winners of the Governor’s Award for Heroism. The award winners and nominees were recognized for their exemplary efforts in service to the State of Delaware at a ceremony held May 5.
“These individuals and teams have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to their work and exemplify the best of what it means to provide public service,” said Governor Markell. “Their accomplishments remind us of the contributions our state employees are making to ensure a responsive government that improves the quality of life for all Delawareans, and I thank them for the work they do every day.”

Delaware Award for Excellence and Commitment in State Service
The 2016 recipients are:

• Dan Bent, Adam Gaskill, John Reh, Greg Phillips and Cliff Strickland – These OMB Fleet Services staff members devoted extra effort to replace over 1,500 GPS units in state vehicles.
• Michael “Ben” Coverdale – Mr. Coverdale, an Environmental Scientist with the Department of Agriculture, has volunteered his free time baling containers for the Pesticide Container Recycling Program even during periods of extreme conditions, thereby helping to keep the program operating effectively.
• Nicholas Dean and Scott Walls – Mr. Dean and Mr. Walls of the Delaware Department of Transportation presented the concepts of bridge engineering to over 1,110 local students, providing inspiration for them to become leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
• Karen Garrison – Ms. Garrison, an Administrative Officer with DNREC secured grant funding that provided training to over 500 Administrative Professionals. Ms. Garrison also developed an innovative solution to improve the Division’s document scanning capabilities and to meet a community outreach need.
• Kathy Revel – Ms. Revel, a Tax Audit Supervisor for the Department of Finance developed innovative tools for detecting fraud, identifying 1,333 fraudulent returns that resulted in a savings of over $2 million.

Governor’s Team Excellence Award

This year’s recipient of the Governor’s Team Excellence Award is the Delaware Bayshore Initiative Team. This team from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control worked with DelDOT and the Delaware Economic Development Office to develop, enhance, and promote Thousand Acre Marsh and Augustine Wildlife Area as important areas for conservation, recreation, and community engagement in the Delaware Bayshore region.
This team has accomplished several important milestones over the last year:
• Securing a competitive federal grant of $1.4 million to purchase 142 acres on Thousand Acre Marsh, including raising more than $55,000 in match funding from conservation partners.
• Increasing recreational and educational opportunities by constructing an entrance road and gravel parking area and installing new signs to support hunting and wildlife-viewing access.
• Developing a new wildlife-viewing area including ADA-accessible parking, access trail, viewing platform and interpretive signs.
• Developing restoration plans and securing a grant to restore the Lang Impoundment dike and water control.
• Partnering with DelDOT’s Byway Program, DEDO’s Downtown Delaware Program, and community leaders to create a brand for the Delaware Bayshore to enhance the region as an eco-tourism destination.

In addition to the award recipients, three other teams were recognized as finalists:
Pedestrian Accessibility Standards Development Team – Department of Transportation
This team of transportation project experts developed a design and construction manual for pedestrian accessibility that will benefit pedestrian mobility projects for decades to come.

Delaware Libraries Emerging Technologies Team – Department of State
The Division of Delaware Libraries Emerging Technologies Team explores new technologies that would strengthen Delaware’s libraries and provides tools and training to allow public library staff to incorporate those technologies into the services they provide.

DHSS Modernization Team – Department of Health and Social Services
The Modernization Team is a collaborative group of staff from the Divisions of Management Services, Social Services, and Medicaid & Medical Assistance tasked with upgrading and integrating several department systems. This improvement will ensure that client benefits are issued timely and accurately, expand access to services for the Medicaid population, enhance security, and improve quality control. It will also reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in the system.

Governor’s Award for Heroism
The 2016 recipients are:

• Bruce Furry & Keith Rogers – From DelDOT, for helping to rescue an 87 year-old woman who had fallen in water while fishing.
• Alisha Lambert – From DelDOT, for helping to save a DART driver in their facility yard having a medical emergency.
• Jordan Porter – From DelDOT, for responding to an individual having chest pains.
• Daniel Wood and Matthew Higgins – From DNREC, for performing CPR and using an AED on a driver they witnessed crash his car while having a medical emergency.
• Rene Flores, Sr. and Cody Clogg – From the Judiciary, for witnessing an accident involving a school bus, managing the scene and comforting children until help arrived.
• James Spencer – From DelDOT, for caring for a teenager he saw on I-95 who was walking to a relative’s home because of bullying at school.
• Cpl. Ewonnu Campbell – From the Department of Correction, for removing passengers from an overturned car he witnessed flipping over and calling police.
• John Sebastian, Matthew Welch, Dennis Desilet, Joseph Manno, Laura Faenlli, and Deyka Alamo-Amaya – From the Department of Correction, for responding to a driver having a medical emergency, and maintaining crowd control.
• Justin King, Justin Smeltzer, Carlo Green and Peter Malinky – From the Office of Management and Budget, for keeping a fire at bay and rescuing historical artwork from Legislative Hall.
• Lester Bristow, Jordan Champlin, Ronald Griffith, Jeffrey Hertzog, Carlo Rodriguez-Reyes and David Taulbee – From DelDOT, for saving a man pinned between a DMV inspection wall and his 20,000 lb. RV.

Detailed information on this year’s award winners can be found at: http://hrm.omb.delaware.gov/awards/emprec/index.shtml

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