2023 Awards
IT Professional of the Year
Awarded to Matthew Cook, State of Michigan
Matt deserves recognition for their forward-thinking approach in the midst of all the work he does managing several projects at the same time, with tight deadlines. Not content to follow conventional thinking that said otherwise, Matt not only met his target goals, but also increased the overall value of our teams work. He has helped the team achieve their larger goals, and is always available to jump into the fray when needed. Matt keeps the staff up to date about procedures and environment conditions and has developed SOP's & training materials to keep the skill-level high. This helps the Organization run smoother, but additionally he spends many hours providing training and one-on-one guidance that ensure staff have confidence in their abilities, and he reinforces the importance of their work.
IT Rookie of the Year
Awarded to Abbey Labrecque, Calhoun County
Abbey Labrecque (they/them) was nominated for IT Rookie of the Year due to Abbey’s ability to learn and adapt within the County’s existing Microsoft environment. Abbey has been with Calhoun County for 10 months and is new to IT; they are a former program manager for a non-profit. Since joining their team Abbey has continually worked to improve our internal processes as well as develop creative solutions for other county departments. Their accomplishments include developing a new-hire IT orientation, hosting online and in-person training sessions related to Microsoft products, developing the curriculum and holding a TechKnowledge training series, and utilizing Microsoft Forms and Power Automate to create an automated check-in experience for clients visiting the VA and Probation offices. Perhaps Abbey’s most valuable contribution has been developing the “Unboxed” app for Mail Services. Abbey developed this app using Power Apps and Power Automate. This app allows the mail courier to scan the shipping barcode and enter missing information about packages received at the Justice Center and then emails the recipient that an item is available for pickup. Packages are then held in a staging area with a tablet to be used for pickup. The pickup process has a separate app where users can select the packages that they are picking up and sign for them electronically. This has streamlined the former process where maintenance staff hand delivered packages to various department within the building. Using the existing Microsoft 365 Services infrastructure, Abbey has created many innovative solutions using Power Apps, SharePoint, Microsoft Lists, and Microsoft Forms and Flows at no additional cost to the county. It should also be said that Abbey has no prior experience with Microsoft 365 Services and is self-taught and highly motivated to teach and continue to create solutions for Calhoun County.
IT Project of the Year - Citizen Impact
Great Lakes Water Authority Public Website Enhancements - Awarded to Great Lakes Water Authority
The Great Lakes Water Authority Public site has been enhanced in the last year to improve accessibility and promote interaction with the public for the following activities: Overall ADA Website Friendliness Information related to affordability assistance available in Arabic, Bengali, and Spanish Apprenticeship/Intern Program Outreach One Water Institute Sign Up Register for Updates on Water Infrastructure Projects Request a Tour with Integrated Scheduling via a Limited Date addon. The accessibility project started in November 2022 and is complete as of Feb 16th, 2023. The ADA addon provides a consistent experience for return visitors via the ability to save their ADA profile preferences. Users are now able to select a simple icon on the website to customize their interaction with the website based on their individual accessibility needs, with the option to save these preferences for future visits. The tool also has built-in common accessibility profiles such as motor impaired, dyslexia, etc. Users can access the Gravity Forms multiple forms to submit requests for information or services. These forms enable easy data management and integrated data analytics.
Electronic Recycling Recycling Day - Awarded to City of Westland
The IT Department started twice a year electronic recycling days for the City residents. In Apirl and October, residents can drop off any electronics they have to be properly recycled. In 2022-2023 fiscal year they were able to collect over 33,755 pounds of recyclable electronics and household goods at no cost to the residents.
IT Project of the Year - Organizational Impact
Multi-Factor Rollout - Awarded to Monroe County
Monroe County implemented MFA for all VPN connections including vendor access; through this project the County VPN was configured on a default deny basis - any account not loaded into the MFA application is automatically denied authentication even if AD credentials are accurate.
For the City of Monroe, the County implemented MFA for all VPN connections as well as all City Windows workstations.
BS&A - Cityworks/ArcGIS Integration - Awarded to City of Westland
This pilot project has opened them up to be able to directly integrate Assessing, Permitting, Ordinance Enforcements and more directly into their GIS database and other GIS-centric databases. This provides more visibility and efficiencies without having to get rid of existing systems.