[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 56 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E698-E699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   2007 EXCELLENCE AWARDS FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE 
                                OFFICER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2007

  Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to announce the recipients of 
the 2007 Achieving Excellence Awards (ACE) for the Office of the Chief 
Administrative Officer.
  This year's award winners are Darrell Norman, Liz McBride-Chambers, 
Scott Hood, Wanda Jackson, Cari Knowles, Traci Beaubian, Patricia 
Nuzzo, Jim Caskey, Dave Woodburn and Christine Stewart. Their ACE 
Awards acknowledge the exceptional efforts made by these employees to 
provide quality service to the Members, Committees and offices of the 
House of Representatives.
  The recipients of the 2007 CAO ACE Awards represent many areas of the 
CAO organization, perform a variety of jobs, and provide a wide range 
of services to the House community. Whether working directly with 
Members or staff, supporting CAO internal operations, or ensuring the 
technical infrastructure is operational, each serves as an exemplary 
role model for the entire CAO community. Collectively and individually 
they deliver solutions that fulfill our goal of providing a quality 
customer experience.
  Employees nominated for an award must be in a full-time status and 
have a current excellent performance rating. Nominations for the awards 
are submitted by managers or supervisors within the organization. The 
nominations are then reviewed by a committee comprised of the CAO's 
leadership team with final award recommendations submitted to the Chief 
Administrative Officer for approval.

[[Page E699]]

  Darrell Norman, a CAO employee who died this past January, is being 
honored posthumously as one of the recipients of the ``CAO Excellence'' 
award. As a long-time employee of the CAO Technical Support team, 
Darrell exemplified the customer service standards of the CAO 
organization, the consultative approach to working with Members and 
staff to identify practical solutions, and a great attitude that 
resonated with all whom he worked with and served.
  Starting this year, the CAO Excellence award will be formally re-
named the ``Darrell Norman Excellence Award'' as an ongoing tribute to 
Darrell's many years of exemplary service to the House, in recognition 
of the tremendous role model he was for his CAO colleagues, and to 
acknowledge his ``can-do'' attitude and his infectious spirit.
  Liz McBride-Chambers and Edward (Scott) Hood were selected as 
additional recipients of the ``Darrell Norman Excellence Award.'' In 
her role as a member of the Office of Employee Assistance and the Human 
Capital Solutions team, Liz is a critical member of the CAO team. She 
embodies the mission, vision and values of the organization and 
provides her exceptional consultative skills and excellent customer 
service to the entire House community. She brings passion, integrity 
and an unwavering commitment to the ``people'' of the CAO organization 
and the House in everything that she does, whether providing employee 
assistance services to an individual House employee, consulting with a 
Member's Chief of Staff to identify a team development solution, or 
conducting a training program for a specific work group.

  Scott Hood, as a supervisor in the Joint Capitol Service Center, 
inspires and motivates his staff and others to deliver quality services 
and solutions to many problems for the offices located in the Capitol. 
Scott has also been a key contributor to our efforts to enhance 
customer satisfaction and to work across the organization and with a 
variety of service partners to deliver solutions that exceed the 
expectations and needs of their customers. He has been particularly 
effective in bringing his change management and leadership skills to 
bear in developing an effective partnership with the Architect of the 
Capitol to deliver seamless solutions to House Leadership Offices.
  Wanda Jackson is the 2007 recipient of the ``Simplify the Day'' 
award. As a Telephone Systems Consultant, Wanda is committed to going 
the extra mile for her customers and her colleagues. This past year, 
she stepped in to fill the void left by the departure of a senior 
telecommunications administrator in the midst of the Congressional 
transition, and she took on the support of sixty Member offices 
throughout the transition, including the coordination of the 
installation of voice and data services in the District offices of 
several freshman Members. Wanda worked tirelessly on behalf of one 
particular District office to troubleshoot their problem with the local 
telephone company and to manage the set-up process to the point of 
resolution and the complete satisfaction of the office.
  Cari Knowles is being recognized with the ``Personalized Solutions'' 
award. In her role of providing graphics-related support services to 
Members, Committees, and House support offices, Cari has contributed 
significantly to raising customer expectations for the Graphics office 
through the excellence of her work, her ability to build relationships 
of trust with her customers, and her commitment to personalize a 
variety of graphics solutions for each customer. By carefully listening 
to her customers, she brings them a particular value through her 
ability to take ownership for their project by helping them define 
their requirements and identify the most appropriate solution to their 
unique graphics production needs.
  Traci Beaubian and Patricia Nuzzo have been selected to share the 
2007 ``Dedicated'' award. Traci Beaubian's persistence in getting the 
new payroll system stabilized after a challenging conversion process is 
reflective of her dedication to the House, to her colleagues, and to 
the House workforce. She looks beyond the surface to identify existing 
and potential challenges, works with her team to develop practical and 
innovative solutions, and accepts responsibility for the work of her 
team in carrying the solution forward. This past year she developed a 
successful audit technique to identify unusual variances in salary 
amounts which produced measurable results that were recorded on the 
CAO's financial statements. Patricia (Trish) Nuzzo, as a senior member 
of the CAO Advanced Business Solutions team, has responsibility for 
support of the payroll system covering day-to-day operations, audit 
management and long-term project support. Her ability to balance short-
term and long-term objectives, her positive attitude, and her 
collaborative approach to resolving problems helps diffuse difficult 
situations. Trish has been particularly effective as a facilitator in 
bringing diverse teams together to develop and arrive at workable 
solutions by matching the right people to the situation, issue or 
challenge. Her dedication to her work and her ability to recognize and 
harness the talents of multiple team members has earned her the respect 
of her colleagues and her customers.

  James (Jim) Caskey and Charles (Dave) Woodburn are each being 
recognized with the ``Knowledge'' award. In his role as a Senior 
Procurement Specialist, Jim Caskey's knowledge and skills in 
negotiation have saved the House tens of thousands of dollars annually 
through the effective procurement of professional services and software 
licenses and maintenance agreements. Jim consistently provides the 
House community, his procurement colleagues, and the program offices he 
supports with his expert advice, his extensive experience and his 
service-minded attitude. His knowledge is particularly evident in the 
mentoring relationships he has with other procurement personnel and in 
his creativity in finding innovative and effective solutions to 
procurement and purchasing issues.
  Dave Woodburn's knowledge and contribution to the CAO organization 
and the House far exceeds his immediate responsibilities in the Central 
Receiving and Warehousing Department, and makes him a ``go-to'' 
resource for his co-workers, vendors and contractors alike. In addition 
to having a firm understanding of the needs of the Members, Committees 
and staffs that he serves, Dave has brought added value to the 
organization by applying his knowledge of services and processes to 
meet challenges enthusiastically, while using his excellent people 
skills to build solid relationships with House offices and vendors and 
to resolve issues with staff and internal customers in an amenable 
fashion.
  Christine Stewart is the 2007 recipient of the ``One Team'' award. 
Her dedication, professionalism, outstanding customer service skills, 
and knowledge of procurement management and the House environment have 
made Christine a valuable team member to the CAO Procurement team and 
the offices she supports throughout the procurement and purchasing 
processes. There is never a task that she is not willing to take on, 
regardless of the level of effort required or the urgency of the 
procurement need. This was particularly evident this past year during 
the Congressional transition when, in response to an urgent procurement 
requirement, she secured inventory services within 6 days while saving 
the House over $70,000.
  On behalf of the entire House community, I extend congratulations to 
the family and colleagues of Darrell Norman, and to Liz McBride-
Chambers, Scott Hood, Wanda Jackson, Cari Knowles, Traci Beaubian, 
Trish Nuzzo, Jim Caskey, Dave Woodburn, and Christine Stewart for their 
tireless efforts and outstanding contributions to the U.S. House of 
Representatives. I extend my condolences to Darrell's family, and I 
wish his CAO colleagues and this year's CAO ACE Award recipients 
continued success in their endeavors and contributions to the House 
community.

                          ____________________