[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 67 (Friday, April 25, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E743-E744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E743]]


    2008 AWARDING CAO EXCELLENCE AWARDS FOR EMPLOYERS OF THE CHIEF 
                         ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 25, 2008

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today 
to announce the recipients of the 2008 Awarding CAO Excellence, ACE 
Awards, being recognized by Dan Beard, the House Chief Administrative 
Officer, CAO, for their particular contributions to the House community 
over the past year.
  This year's award winners are Monica Bar nabae, Nicholas R. Gar ner, 
John J. Heeb III, Joseph L. Adams, Saint Juan ``Angel'' McFadden, Angel 
M. Goldsborough-Lee, Susan Marone, Andrew C. Graeub, Brent S. Conran 
and Marie Bums. Their ACE Awards acknowledge the exceptional efforts 
made by these employees to provide the highest quality service to the 
Members, Committees and offices of the House of Representatives. 
Considered the highest honors awarded to CAO staff, the foundation of 
these awards are exemplary customer service, a commitment to delivering 
solutions and the highest standards of performance excellence.
  These recipients of the 2008 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 inter nal 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 the CAO 
organization's goal of providing a quality customer experience.
  Monica Bar nabae and Nicholas Gar ner are the recipients of the 2008 
``Darrell Norman Excellence Award.'' This award is named after an 
exemplary CAO employee who died in January of 2007 and whose long-time 
career with the House exemplified the customer service standards, the 
performance excellence and the ``can do'' spirit of the CAO 
organization.
  In her role as Director of the House Child Care Center, Monica 
Bar nabae has been instrumental in directing her staff through several 
critical undertakings over the past year. She worked to address a 
number of issues vitally important to the continuing enhancement of the 
team and the work environment, creating additional professional 
development opportunities for the staff and improving their job 
satisfaction. Monica's commitment to, and communications with, both the 
staff and the parents have been instrumental in improving the Center's 
operations. Under her leadership this past year, the facility was 
awarded the revised accreditation by the National Association for 
the Education of Young Children NAEYC, making it one of the first 
programs in the country to go through this extensive re-certification 
process. The center received an 80% or better rating in each of the 
critical areas of assessment, including teaching, evaluation of child 
progress, relationships, families, health and leadership and 
management--all reflective of the attributes of the CAO's standard of 
excellence.

  Nicholas Gar ner, a Senior Office Coordinator in the CAO/AOC Joint 
Service Center in the Capitol, serves as the primary point of contact 
for coordinating major renovation projects and events for the House's 
Leadership Offices and Officers. Nick regularly goes above and beyond 
the expectations of his customers to meet the offices' needs and to 
provide a quick and complete solution. He supports a very large number 
of clients and coordinates an extensive array of customer requests, but 
yet consistently manages that workload without a hitch. Nick has built 
and continues to foster solid relationships with the Members and staff 
he serves--relationships reliant on Nick's approachability, integrity, 
trust, knowledge, experience and problem solving skills. All of these 
hallmarks are criteria for selection as a recipient of the ``Darrell 
Norman Excellence Award.''
  John Heeb III and Joseph Adams have been selected for the 2008 
``Knowledge Award.'' John Heeb of the CAO Advanced Business Solutions 
(CABS) team is recognized for his work in developing the business 
process designs for the Accounts Receivable Module as part of the 
ongoing development and configuration process of the House's new 
financial system (known as ATLAS). His work has been critical in 
addressing and mitigating potential problem areas with the required 
Treasury Reports that can be difficult to transition with financial 
system installations. John took the initiative to master a significant 
amount of new subject matter and he engaged the appropriate resources 
in developing the desired reporting capability. He developed an 
independent analytical tool and drove a meticulous and detailed 
analysis with the project team to get to the right solution, which 
included the development of the training materials.
  Joseph Adams of CAO Technology Infrastructure Solutions is being 
acknowledged with the ``Knowledge Award'' as the embodiment of one of 
the CAO organization's critical attributes: providing expertise and 
advice to customers. With his exceptional technical ability and his 
tireless work ethic, Joe seeks constant feedback from his customers by 
asking the right questions to get to the fundamental user requirements. 
He is the ``go-to'' person for House data network technical questions 
and implementation issues. Joe not only directs the day-to-day 
operations of nine senior engineers and five contractors, but he is 
responsible for reviewing and approving all network designs. He has 
directed the Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery, BC/DR, designs for 
the Alter nate Computing Facility, as well as the Capitol Visitor 
Center, and he has personally designed voice applications in response 
to the industry-wide convergence of voice and data technologies.
  Saint Juan ``Angel'' McFadden of the CAO Payroll and Benefits team is 
the recipient of the 2008 ``Simplify the Day Award.'' Angel has the 
reputation of going the extra mile for her customers, whether they are 
the staff in Member and Committee offices or her colleagues in the 
Payroll and Benefits office. When the Payroll and Benefits office 
carried out an innovations project this past April, Angel was a member 
of the Payroll ``help desk'' during the project. She was on the front 
lines of responding to customers by phone and in-person. Although not 
in a supervisory capacity, and not directed to do so, Angel took the 
initiative to create a set of procedures for her colleagues on the 
``help desk'' that resulted in considerable improvements in client 
service. Specifically, her ingenuity and persistence in identifying 
unnecessary processing steps resulted in reducing average cycle time 
for document imaging from about 39 days to 10 hours, while also 
eliminating seven unnecessary processing steps.

  Angel Goldsborough-Lee of the CAO Technology Support team is being 
recognized with this year's ``One Team Award.'' Angel consistently 
demonstrates an ability to reach across teams in support of important 
CAO and House initiatives. Charged with the oversight of the 
Escalations Team, she is responsible for managing a dynamic group of 
support engineers who assist the Technical Support Representatives, 
TSRs, in the field with identifying and resolving complex problems and 
keeping customers informed of system outages, house-wide email delays 
and system failures. Angel's ability to engage and drive team 
collaboration has been particularly evident this past year in her work 
with the Exchange 2003 migration effort, the execution of the Daylight 
Savings Time workstation software upgrade and her coordination with the 
Committee on House Administration in the delivery of the ``Working 
Smarter Series,'' which familiarizes House staff with information and 
services to enhance their day-to-day productivity.
  Susan Marone of the Resume Referral/Outplacement Services office is 
the ``Personalized Solutions'' award recipient. Susan is being 
recognized for the practical resolutions she devises in response to the 
unique and varied needs of Member and Committee offices that post their 
vacancy announcements with the CAO's Resume Referral Service. Relying 
on her extensive knowledge of Capitol Hill and her exceptional 
understanding of the day-to- day operations of a Congressional office, 
and by asking the right questions to help offices identify and 
articulate their hiring requirements and selection criteria, Susan has 
been able to tailor her standard posting processes to the needs of each 
requesting office. This has resulted in a reduction in the time for the 
requesting office to not only post, but to fill, the

[[Page E744]]

vacancy. In 2007 alone, Susan posted over 486 positions for nearly half 
of the House Member and Committee offices.
  Andrew Graeub and Brent Conran are the recipients of the 2008 ``Jay 
Eagen Dedicated Award,'' renamed by CAO Dan Beard in honor of the 
House's previous CAO, whose years of unwavering dedication to the 
organization and the House have become a standard. Andrew Graeub of the 
CAO Technology Infrastructure Solutions team is being recognized this 
year for his dedication and energy as the driving force for the 
successful design and implementation of data networks for a critical 
Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) project. Like so many 
other projects Andrew manages, this one necessitated an exhaustive 
identification of user requirements from across the House community as 
well as maintaining proficiency in current networking technologies, 
while anticipating and expertly evaluating emerging ones. As with most 
projects of this magnitude, obstacles and challenges arise. Andrew 
consistently manages and solves those challenges through his blend of 
technical know-how, customer focus, exceptional interpersonal skills 
and an infectious positive attitude--all reflective of his dedication 
to his customers throughout the House community and to his colleagues 
across the CAO organization.

  Brent Conran of CAO Information Systems Security is our second 
recipient of the ``Jay Eagen Dedicated'' award. Brent is being 
acknowledged by the CAO organization for his dedication in managing his 
team of security engineers, responsible for keeping House production 
security systems up and running,
24/7. Brent is responsible for making sure the network remains secure 
from hacker attacks, viruses and spam. By staying current with the 
latest technology and through his ability to maneuver through CAO 
systems and processes, he has implemented new firewalls, spyware 
filtering and intrusion detection upgrades that have guaranteed the 
ongoing security and integrity of House systems. Brent has an 
insatiable appetite for keeping up with the newest detection 
technologies. The House benefits from his dedication to keep the 
institution's computer network secure and his desire to constantly do 
things better and quicker, staying ahead of the newer and more creative 
technology threats.
  The CAO's final award recipient for 2008 is being acknowledged with 
the newest ACE award: the ``Green the Capitol Award.'' This new award 
recognizes an employee who exhibits a commitment to the Green the 
Capitol Initiative by seeking innovative, cutting-edge approaches to 
traditional ways of doing business, promoting resource conservation and 
supporting an environmentally-sustainable and healthier workplace.
  Marie Bur ns of the Office Supply/House Gift Shop is the recipient of 
the first CAO ``Green the Capitol Award.'' Marie is being recognized 
for her commitment to the Green the Capitol Initiative and her effort 
to promote its goals within the CAO organization and the larger House 
community. Specifically, Marie has been involved in driving the 
purchase and availability of more environmentally-friendly products in 
the Office Supply Store and the House Gift Shop. As an example, by 
selling only 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper in the Office 
Supply Store, the House is helping to save 29,400 grown trees. Marie's 
personal commitment to the goals of the Green the Capitol Initiative 
and her leadership in focusing on the sustainability of the House 
supply chain has been instrumental in raising environmental awareness 
among her colleagues and the customers she serves.
  On behalf of the entire House community, I extend congratulations to 
Monica Bar nabae, Nicholas Gar ner, John Heeb III, Joseph Adams, Angel 
McFadden, Angel Goldsborough-Lee, Susan Marone, Andrew Graeub, Brent 
Conran and Marie Bur ns for their tireless efforts and outstanding 
service to the Members and staff of the U.S. House of Representatives. 
I wish this year's group of CAO ACE Award recipients continued success 
in their endeavors and I look forward to their ongoing contributions in 
support of the vital work of ``the People's House.''

                          ____________________