The FASTER Customer Hall of Fame is a new addition to the CCG Systems, Inc. website. As we progress over time, the past Hall of Fame recipients will appear here.
Faith Bradley, Fleet Data Manager, City of Cleveland, Ohio. Faith was nominated and honored in a very special way; it was a coworker who recognized the ongoing contributions Faith has made to this operation and the City for more than five years. She is passionate about the utilization of FASTER to improve the services to fleet's customers and she is instrumental in every aspect of how information is used throughout the organization. She led the move from a manual system to automated systems, not only for FASTER but also for the fuel system. No matter how many economic and political situations she faces, she perseveres in "getting the job done." All of us at CCG were delighted to be a part of recognizing Faith as a hero because, indeed, she is
Tina Carden, Fleet Management Analyst for the City of Durham, North Carolina is a hero in so many ways. She always creatively uses FASTER to meet the growing needs of the Durham fleet operation. This past year she was instrumental in working with the City's new enterprise system to ensure an interface process that is smoother than any other department in the City. Tina strives for perfection in all that she does, including the training all of new employees on FASTER and working effectively with all the various systems fleet utilizes. In the words of Kent Cash, the fleet manager who nominated her, "I can sum up Tina's commitment in two words "she cares." We at CCG can attest to how that caring translates into running an information system at its highest level.
Mike Royer, Warranty Manager, City of Everett. Mike's results in dollar savings to the City tell the story of why he is such a deserving FASTER Hero. Through his efforts, the City was reimbursed more than $641,000 over a three-year period (2003-2005) on warranty repairs. Mike creatively worked with CCG staff in devising a report that verifies credits issued to work orders and he is actively involved in about 150 warranty claims (which includes equipment, parts, accidents and involvement with the City's legal department) on an ongoing basis. His ability to work effectively with vendors, fellow staff members and those from other departments earn the respect of all who interact with him. As Bill DeRousse reports in his nomination, "Mike is a self starter and needs very little supervision to do his job." We find that self-starter characteristic universally true of all our FASTER Heroes.
Angie Macomber, Billing Manager, City of Everett. Angie's efforts to continuously use FASTER to ensure accountability for all billing and cost identification and recapture have evolved ever since she began using the software in 1999. When the decision was made to direct bill, it was Angie that made sure every invoice was correct and every cost tracked so that the billing rates they utilized were accurate and fair. Through her efforts, fraud in the parts area was found and the perpetrators prosecuted. Angie diligently compares what is billed in FASTER and through the City's financial system and accounts for and corrects any inconsistencies. In addition, she has taken advantage of any early payment discount options given by vendors and this has resulted in savings of thousands of dollars for the City. She is a FASTER Hero of the first order.
Kevin Hickey, Assistant Fleet Superintendent, City of Farmers Branch, Texas. One of our most memorable moments at CCG will be the fact that Don Moore, Kevin's boss and the person who nominated him, flew into Norfolk exclusively to attend the session that honored Kevin as a FASTER Hero for 2006. Making that kind of effort speaks volumes about both Don and the difference Kevin has made for his City. Kevin is so proactive in many areas, including insourcing fleet repairs for a nearby city, providing assistance to the building maintenance department of Farmers Branch and continually working in a collaborative way with all departments within the city. The result is satisfied customers, an outstanding operation and much deserved recognition.
Rick Longobart, Fleet Services Superintendent, City of Inglewood, California. Rick was nominated by an individual at another city, quite an accolade in itself. What is particularly impressive about Rick is that he is not only the most innovative and effective fleet manager the City of Inglewood has ever had, he shares, as president of a fleet association, all that he learns and does with anyone who is interested. As David Cole, the man who nominated him said, "Rick is continuously looking into and providing process improvement in the areas of mechanical maintenance, technology, fueling, and overall management style." Anyone that visited the Inglewood operation prior to Rick's arrival less than three years ago need only stop by once again to see how dramatic and effective the changes are. Even more impressive is that most of it was accomplished with sheer ingenuity, hard work and dollars derived from grants and other creative sources.
Gert Paraskevin, Director, Information Technology, City of Troy, Michigan. It's not often that we have a fleet leader appreciate and recognize the efforts of IT but it was our pleasure to recognize this proactive department as a FASTER Hero for 2006. This proactive department has made sure that fleet has state-of-the-art technology at their fingertips. Recently, they installed a wireless router throughout the repair facility to allow the use of diagnostic hardware and software from major manufacturers. In addition, they have implemented a helpline to assist all departments throughout the City of Troy on a 24/7 availability. They are relentless in assisting with any problems that arise, making the efforts of the fleet department (and throughout the City) provide the highest return possible.
Roy Hasuko, Equipment Tech 5 Analyst, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, Washington. Possibly the most impressive fact about Roy is his willingness and ability to learn new things. When he joined the organization, he had virtually no computer or database experience, but he took the initiative (another one of those self-starters!) to learn programming and data mining skills. He is now an invaluable member of the DNR team, utilizing the information in FASTER to enhance many areas of their operation, particularly in making better equipment replacement decisions. In addition, he has developed many customized reports that assist the organization in meeting their performance objectives. Roy is another of those "quiet" FASTER heroes so deserving of receiving this recognition.
Kathy Wellik, Administrative Specialist at Transportation Services, Iowa State University, Iowa. In the one and a half years that Kathy has been with the Iowa State Motor Pool operation, she has completely redesigned and implemented a pool dispatch, return, quality check and accurate billing process. Now, instead of an arduous and often inaccurate end-of-month review of all dispatches (700 to 1,000 are made monthly at the University), which often resulted in late billing, each dispatch and return is quickly reviewed by an account clerk and any necessary changes made prior to closing the trip. Billing is done on a timely basis resulting in improved customer satisfaction and a workload that is now more evenly distributed throughout the month. David Strom, the Manager of Transportation Services for the University, describes Kathy as "the type of person that is always happy and genuinely cares about the people she works with. She is always willing to pitch in and help in any area of the operation (except maybe doing an oil change) to take care of the customer and to help the staff." Kathy certainly possesses the attributes of a FASTER Hero.
Vicki Allen, Fleet Manager, Montgomery County Sheriff's, Conroe, Texas. What Vicki has accomplished in just the two years she has utilized FASTER is, indeed, remarkable. She is literally relentless in trying to save her organization time and money while also providing timely, accurate information to her customers. PM compliance has greatly improved because accurate, timely fuel readings, once almost non-existent, are now SOP. She has spent countless hours educating the deputies she and her staff serve, and she has extended this education to other departments that initially did not utilize the information available but now are recognizing the benefits possible by doing so. In nominating Vicki, Captain Peggy Frankhouser summed up her lengthy description of the contributions of Vicki by writing, "I believe Ms. Allen is deserving of this award because of her determination to learn and implement this software to facilitate cost savings and provide valuable information, not just to our department but to other departments as well. Ms. Allen has taken valuable time from her schedule to train and encourage other departments' personnel to use the system and that determination shows the extra mile Ms. Allen is willing to take to improve Montgomery County's effectiveness and efficiency." Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Vicki knows just how true these remarks are and how deserving she is of the FASTER Hero Award.
Phil Williams, Mechanic Supervisor and Dayle Gibson, Parts Manager, for the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Both of these individuals are recognized as heroes because they have worked together to ensure a smooth, efficient operation even though they accomplished much of their outstanding work without a fleet manager and inadequate staffing. They maintain high PM compliance, quick turnaround and are particularly adept in serving both the police and fire departments with their special needs. Though they do not have the titles (with the corresponding salaries), they took personal pride in utilizing only six staff members (they are included in that total) to manage more than 300 vehicles and a $1.02 million budget.
Rick Malesko, Fleet Applications Specialist, City of Westminster, Colorado. Rick was instrumental in devising a system mandated by the state that resulted in resource typing of all disaster/emergency related equipment. This system was implemented in FASTER and he also identified equipment that had been entered into the statewide system that could possibly be utilized by the City if needed. In addition, he cross referenced the City's public works equipment to the resource type templates being developed by the State so that consistency of typing and use are ensured. Rick is particularly deserving of this hero award because he is always willing to listen to new ideas, make changes and continually improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the fleet operation. His positive attitude and ability to implement change through better utilization of FASTER make him a hero to many.