Gov. Ernie Fletcher receives Unbridled Spirit IT Visionary award
The Best of Kentucky Technology Awards were presented for the first time at the April 25th Kentucky Digital Government Summit in Lexington, Kentucky. The peer-nominated awards were given by the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) and Government Technology magazine in recognition of the work, vision and drive of the state's brightest public officials and IT professionals.
Prior to the ceremony, 50 nominations were received for awards in the categories of: Leadership; Excellence in Project Management; Best Application Serving a Public Organization’s Business Needs; Best Application Serving the Public; Best IT Collaboration; Most Innovative Use of Technology; and the highest honor, the Unbridled Spirit IT Visionary Award. The nominations were received through an online application hosted by Government Technology magazine.
The winners were determined by a judge’s panel of nine IT professionals from state and local government and the private sector. Winners were chosen for their efforts to improve the lives of Kentucky’s citizens and businesses through technology.
Tom Ferree, executive director of COT’s Office of Enterprise Policy and Project Management, presented the awards. In his opening remarks, Ferree commented, “the quality of the nominees was outstanding across the board. The recipients are representative of Kentucky’s dedication to improving people’s lives and opportunities through technological advancements that keep the commonwealth at the leading edge of change.”
The highest honor of the ceremony, the Unbridled Spirit IT Visionary Award, was presented to Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher following his keynote address. The award was given in recognition of the governor’s support of technology initiatives, his visionary leadership in the use of technology and his passion for serving the public.
Leadership awards were presented to Education Secretary Virginia Fox for uniting Kentucky’s educational agencies for the first time and securing $69.3 million in funding for an education data network and other innovative virtual learning projects; Secretary of State (SOS) Trey Grayson for his improvements to the SOS Web site, which include access for the handicapped and non-English speaking persons, and the addition of online services that were never before available; Louisville Metro CIO Beth Niblock for successfully merging the IT departments of the City of Louisville and Jefferson County; and Commerce Secretary George Ward for his infusion of technology into the state parks system and his leadership in bringing the 2010 World Equestrian Games to Kentucky.
An Excellence in Project Management Award was presented to COT’s Tax Modernization Team for their success in addressing the 2005 Kentucky General Assembly’s tax reform, the most extensive tax changes in more than half a century.
Three applications won awards for Best Application Serving a Public Organization’s Business Needs: the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet’s Online Web Enrollment Application, which empowered state employees to choose their health insurance elections online for the first time; the Point of Sale Application, which was transitioned to an IP-based module that will save the commonwealth more than $1 million over the next five years; and COT’s ITIL program, key in the IT Transformation project, which is expected to save the commonwealth more than $30 million.
There were also three winners for Best Application Serving the Public: the Kentucky Department of Revenue’s Electronic Filing Application, which allows more than one million tax returns to be processed by only three employees; the Kentucky Telehealth Network Program, which provides medical care through interactive videoconferencing and peripheral medical devices at 70 healthcare facilities in rural areas across the commonwealth; and the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry, which was recently enhanced to allow direct and immediate access to public alerts and offender information at the national level through a single query.
The awards for Best IT Collaboration were presented to the Kentucky Wireless Information Network (K-WIN), a joint effort between the Center for Rural Development, the Kentucky State Police and COT that transmits information to 8,000 law enforcement officers in real time; and the Course Management System (CMS), which will standardize online classroom environments. The CMS is being developed by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, public and private colleges and universities, the Center for Rural Development and Kentucky schools.
There were two awards in the category for Most Innovative Use of Technology, one was presented to the Kentucky Geography Network for KYRaster and KYVector – 187 layers of geological data housed at one point within the enterprise; and Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ eKASPER, the commonwealth’s prescription drug monitoring program.
Astronaut Rick Searfoss delivered a keynote address immediately following the presentation of the awards. His address, entitled “Apogee” – Taking Teams to the Top!, described how the model of teamwork required in space missions is relevant to information technology.
More Photos from the 2006 Best of Kentucky Technology Awards
Beth Niblock (center), CIO of Louisville Metro
Government, accepts a Best of Kentucky Leadership
Award.
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George Ward (center), secretary of the Commerce
Cabinet, accepts a Best of Kentucky Leadership Award.
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Glenn Thomas, (second from left) and Jesse Jordan (second from right), division directors in COT's Office of
Application Development, accept the award for Excellence
In Project Management.
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Wayne Harmon, deputy secretary of the Personnel
Cabinet (second from left), and Christine Wilcoxson,
commissioner of Employee Benefits (second from
right), receive the award for Best Application Serving a
Public Organization's Business Needs.
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Vibhas Chandrachood, executive director of COT's Office
of Application Development (middle left) and Roy
Mundy (middle right), commissioner of Vehicle
Regulation, receive the Award for Best Application Serving
a Public Organization for Point of Sale.
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Mark Rutledge, COT deputy commissioner (center)
receives the Best Application Serving a Public
Organization's Business Needs award on behalf of the
COT ITIL program.
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Vibhas Chandrachood, James Koontz, a development
branch manager in COT's Office of Application
Development, and Marian Davis, deputy commissioner
of Revenue, receive the award for Best Application
Serving the Public on behalf of the Electronic Filing
application.
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Rob Sprang, director of the Kentucky TeleCare Network
and Dr. Kim Williams of the TeleHealth Board receive a
Best Application Serving the Public Award for the Kentucky
Telehealth Network.
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Deputy Commissioner Mark Rutledge and Commissioner
Mark Miller, KSP, receive the award for Best Application
Serving the Public on behalf of the Kentucky Sex
Offender Registry.
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The Best IT Collaboration Award for KWIN is received by
(from left) Deputy Commissioner Mark Rutledge, Charley
Simpson, CIO of the Center for Rural Development, Mark
Miller, commissioner of KSP and Cleve Gambill, deputy
secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
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Ann Riggs, Education Cabinet CIO and Secretary Virginia
Fox receive the Best IT Collaboration Award for the
Course Management System.
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Gary Harp, director of COT's Division of Geographic
Information and Deputy Commissioner Mark Rutledge
receive the award for Most Innovative Use of Technology
for the Kentucky Geography Network.
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Mike Burnside, Health and Family Services
Undersecretary, Lorna Jones, CHFS CIO and Robert
Benvenuti, CHFS Inspector General, receive the award for
Most Innovative Use of Technology.
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