DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney, Cabinet members, and the business community on Thursday celebrated Public Service Recognition Week by applauding the extraordinary work of Delaware’s public servants and recognizing state employees that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to their work. Awards presented to employees include Team Excellence, Excellence & Commitment in State Service, and Heroism.

New to this year’s ceremony was the presentation of the GEAR-P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award. This award, made possible through the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) launched by Governor Carney in 2017 and a Public-Private Partnership (P3) between the State of Delaware and the Delaware business community, recognizes State employees with the highest levels of performance excellence. Founding sponsors of the GEAR-P3 Award include Bank of America, Delmarva Power, The Precisionists, and WSFS Bank.

“I encourage all Delawareans to join me in thanking our State employees for their dedication and commitment to public service,” said Governor Carney. “I’m thrilled to join with the State’s business community this year in giving special recognition to employee teams that implement innovative, cost saving initiatives that yield sustainable results for our citizens. Thank you to our founding sponsors for partnering with the State to honor these employees.”

Governor’s Team Excellence Awards

This awards category includes the GEAR-P3 Innovation & Efficiency Award; Champions Award; and Commitment Award. The Governor’s Team Excellence Awards, presented annually to a team of six to 20 state employees, encourages teamwork by recognizing groups of state employees for their efforts to use continuous quality improvement tools to excel in leadership, team dynamics and communication to produce superior customer service and tangible results.

GEAR-P3 Innovation & Efficiency Award

This top award is a cooperative initiative between the State of Delaware and the business community.  It honors teams that not only use continuous quality tools to achieve outstanding outcomes but also develop innovative designs and process, establish best practices, and produce verifiable results that are sustainable, scalable, and adaptable to other areas of government. These teams serve as clear role models for other organizations. Recipients of this year’s award are:

• iVote Security Remediation Team, Department of Technology and Information and the Department of Elections
• Delaware Drug Monitoring Initiative Team, Department of Health and Social Services and Department of Safety and Homeland Security/Delaware State Police

Champions Award

This award recognizes teams that demonstrate a superior knowledge of continuous quality improvement techniques, produced tangible results, and increased efficiencies, customer satisfaction, or cost savings. Recipients of this year’s award are:

• Criminal History Unit Team, Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
• Southern Health Services 3rd Annual Drive-Thru Influenza POD Leadership Planning Team, Department of Health and Social Services

Commitment Award

This award recognizes teams that demonstrate a commitment to developing and applying quality improvement tools and techniques and achieving results that lead to continuous improvement in their organization. Recipients of this year’s award are:

• Transit Mobile App and Fare System Modernization Team, Department of Transportation/Delaware Transit Corporation

• Rehoboth Outfall Permitting Project Team, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
• Jury Improvement Innovation Team, Superior Court, Judicial Information Center and the Department of Technology and Information

Excellence and Commitment in State Service Award

This award, established in 1990, is given to five State of Delaware employees, or groups of employees, who exemplify the highest standards of excellence and commitment in state service. Recipients of the 2019 award are:

• Kesha Braunskill, Department of Agriculture
• Kenneth P. Creedon, Superior Court
• James Dowling, Department of Health and Social Services
• Christopher Gore, Robert Greybill and William Kirsch, Department of Transportation
• Ivelisse Torres, Department of Health and Social Services

Delaware Award for Heroism

Established in 2013, this award recognizes state employees for acts of heroism and courage. The 2019 recipients are:

• Robby Brown, Department of Transportation
• Genevieve Haller, Kelly Katz, and Robby Brown, Department of Transportation
• Chelsea Chillas, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
• Chantel Collie, Department of Health and Social Services
• Richard Nichols and Robert Stevens, Department of Transportation
• Department of Correction, Sussex Correctional Institute employees: Joseph Adkins, Richard Donahue, Scott Illian, Travis Lowe, Charles Moorefield, Zachary Pettyjohn, Adam Smith, Joshua Wall, and Scott Workman
• Department of Correction, Baylor Women’s Correctional Institute employees: Marlowe Rhock, Hodle Dorcin, De’Quan Hickson, Mali Lebron, Kelly Lewis, Denise Massey, Ryan Stanard, and Syrita Williams

“State employees are incredibly driven and committed to serving the people of Delaware,” said Saundra Ross Johnson, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Human Resources. “It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to recognize those who have gone above and beyond their usual level of excellence.”

Detailed information about the award recipients can be found on the State of Delaware’s Employee Recognition webpage: https://dhr.delaware.gov/training/award/

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