Governor Perdue Named One of GOVERNING Magazine’s Public Officials of the Year

Governor Perdue only governor recognized by national magazine

GOVERNING Magazine today announced that Governor Sonny Perdue is among a group of eight state and local government officials from around the country who are being honored for leadership and excellence as GOVERNING’s 2010 Public Officials of the Year. In its 17th year, the annual awards program recognizes leaders from state, city and county government for outstanding accomplishment in their department/agency, community or state.

“These dynamic state, city and county public officials faced both economic and political challenges,” said GOVERNING Publisher Fred Kuhn. “Through their collective vision, these eight stellar leaders worked to better not only their communities but set an example for future leaders to follow.”

“I am honored that this respected magazine has recognized our efforts to make Georgia one the best managed states in the nation,” Governor Perdue said. “This recognition has truly been earned by the agency leaders, state employees and others who have worked with us to give Georgians an effective, efficient state government.”

In announcing the honorees, GOVERNING issued this statement about Governor Perdue: “Sonny Perdue, Governor, State of Georgia, used his business-savvy leadership skills to turn Georgia into one of the best managed states in the country and confronted two of the most difficult challenges facing Georgia – shepherding landmark transportation funding and water conservation bills through the legislature—while keeping the state’s fiscal house in order.”

In March 2008, The Pew Center on the States and GOVERNING ranked Georgia among the best managed states in the nation in the Grading the States 2008 report. Georgia’s overall grade of B+ is the highest awarded to any state in the Southeast. Only three states received a higher grade than Georgia's B+, and four other states received the same grade as Georgia. The national average among the 50 states was an overall grade of B-. Thirteen states earned grades above the national average and 19 states were below the national average.

The 2008 report emphasized the value and impact of improvements made by the Governor’s Commission for a New Georgia, an initiative Governor Perdue launched shortly after being sworn-in as Governor in 2003. The commission is made up of private sector business and community leaders who offer a fresh perspective on how to make government more efficient and effective.

“In 2003, when Governor Sonny Perdue decided to set up his Commission for a New Georgia, it sounded like a recipe for one more unread manifesto doomed to gather more dust than interest. But the Governor meant business,” said the report. “He ultimately pressed into service more than 300 private-sector representatives, promising to do everything possible to implement their recommendations. And since its creation, the commission has been slowly, quietly and deliberately infiltrating Georgia state government with best practices from private industry.”

Governor Perdue was the only governor honored as a Public Official of the Year by GOVERNING. The other recipients include: Mick Cornett, Mayor, Oklahoma City; J. Wm. Covington, Superintendent, Kansas City, Missouri Public Schools; J. Stephen Fletcher, Chief Information Officer, State of Utah; Ana Gelabert-Sanchez, former Planning Director, City of Miami, Florida; Rep. Diana S. Urban, State of Connecticut; and Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Jerry A. Madden, State of Texas.

Public Officials of the Year are selected from nominations submitted by readers, experts in the public and private sectors and the GOVERNING editorial team. Among the qualities recognized are leadership, courage, innovation, creativity and good management. Award winners are profiled in the November issue of the magazine and on governing.com. They will also be honored at a dinner at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C. on November 18. The event is hosted by GOVERNING and sponsored by Citrix, Motorola and Oracle.

Visit http://www.governing.com/poy/ ..

About GOVERNING
More than 75,000 public officials turn to GOVERNING for the trusted information they can’t find anywhere else. GOVERNING covers state and local government politics, policies and programs essential to this audience. GOVERNING is a division of e.Republic, a national publishing, event and research company focused on smart media for public sector innovation.

Governor Perdue Announces Fourth-Annual Customer Service Awards

Governor Sonny Perdue today announced the winners of state government’s fourth-annual Governor’s Customer Service Awards for 2010. Seven individuals and nine teams were recognized today by Governor Perdue.

“Part of making Georgia the best managed state is improving customer service and recognizing those employees who provide it,” said Governor Perdue. “These awards highlight exemplary employees and their commitment to changing processes and attitudes to provide faster, friendlier and easier service for the citizens of Georgia. Those recognized here represent scores of others who have found ways to produce and measure results.”

Winners in the fourth year of the Governor’s Customer Service Awards were selected from among more than 580 nominations from 42 different agencies across Georgia. Nominees demonstrate “above and beyond” service that is helpful, courteous and knowledgeable. Team winners dramatically shortened process times or responded quickly to customers. Awards were also given for Employee of the Year, Team of the Year, Contact Center Excellence, Leadership and Agency of the Year. Employees of state agencies and the University System of Georgia are eligible. Nominees were judged by a blue-ribbon panel of leaders from the business community and the public sector.

LIST OF AWARD WINNERS

Individual Excellence in Customer Service

This award recognizes those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to the citizens of Georgia over the last year. Their actions reflect all five of the state’s customer service commitments: HELPFUL, COURTEOUS, ACCESSIBLE, RESPONSIVE and KNOWLEDGEABLE.
Carleton F. Coleman, Aging Services Coordinator, Dept. of Human Services, Columbus
Jenna Miley, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Bainbridge College, University System of Georgia, Bainbridge
Bob Satterfield, Assistant Director of Maintenance, Georgia Building Authority, Atlanta
Eric Sellers, Warden, Burruss CTC, Georgia Dept. of Corrections, Forsyth

Customer Service Employee of the Year

This award is given to the individual who represents the most exceptional example of customer service in the state of Georgia.

· Dan Chan, Meteorologist, Georgia Forestry Commission, Macon

Team Excellence in Customer Service

This award recognizes those teams who have demonstrated outstanding service to the customers of the state of Georgia over the last year.

· Computerized Criminal History/Identification Team, Georgia Bureau of Investigation
· Financial Reporting Team, State Accounting Office
· Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Milledgeville, Dept. of Veterans Service, Milledgeville
· Hearing Examiners, State Board of Pardons and Paroles

Customer Service Team of the Year

This award is presented to the team which is the most exceptional example of customer service in the state of Georgia.

· Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism, Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs

Contact Center Excellence
The contact center excellence award is given to one call center based on outstanding performance and improvement in customer service.

· Motor Vehicle Citizens Help Desk Contact Center, Georgia Dept. of Revenue

Outstanding Process Improvement

The process improvement award is given to a division or program that has designed and implemented a planned process improvement or initiative that has resulted in a significant positive impact on their customers over the last year.

· Probation Reporting Contact Center, Georgia Dept. of Corrections, Atlanta

Customer Service Champion of the Year

This award recognizes the Champion who has successfully guided customer service improvements throughout his or her organization resulting in a significant, positive impact on customer service over the last year.

· Lisa Maier, Georgia Dept. of Public Safety, Atlanta

Outstanding Customer Service Leadership

The Customer Service Leadership Award recognizes a leader in an agency, division, institution or program who, through his or her leadership in customer service, has made a significant, positive impact on customer service to the citizens of the state of Georgia over the last year.

· Holly Robinson, Commissioner, Bright From the Start: Georgia Dept. of Early Care and Learning, Atlanta

Most Improved Customer Service Organization

This award recognizes the state organization or program that has demonstrated the greatest overall improvement in customer service during the previous year.

· Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources

Customer Service Agency/Institution of the Year

This award is given to the state agency or institution that has shown the highest commitment, the highest performance levels and the most improvement in customer service across the organization over the last year. · University System of Georgia

Georgia Governor Issues Commendation Recognizing InVasc Founder and Board Member, Dr. Bobby V. Khan

(BUSINESS WIRE)--InVasc Therapeutics, Inc. yesterday announced that in a ceremony held at the Georgia State Capital, Governor Sonny Perdue, presented a Commendation to Dr. Bobby V. Khan, a cardiologist, founder and member of the Board of Directors of InVasc. The Commendation states: “WHEREAS: Dr. Khan is a great asset for our state and has worked tirelessly in his duties as a physician, researcher and educator. The citizens of Georgia are thankful for his ongoing contributions to the health and betterment of our state; now THEREFORE: I, Sonny Perdue, Governor of the state of Georgia, do hereby commend Bobby V. Khan.”

William Johnston, Ph.D., the chief executive officer of InVasc stated: “Dr. Khan, a Fulbright Scholar, who also chairs our Clinical Advisory Board, has and continues to make significant contributions for his patients, medical research and the business community and is an acknowledged leader in the field of cardiometabolic medicine. As a Company, we join with the Governor in this recognition and acknowledge Dr. Khan’s ongoing leadership within InVasc and the medical community.”

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Governor Gives Extraordinary Service Award to Health Agencies

Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that employees of Georgia’s health and human services agencies have been awarded the “Governor’s Award for Extraordinary Service to Georgians” in recognition of their outstanding work during the reorganization of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Community Health.

“This is only the second time we have given out this recognition and I hope it stands as a real testament to those who worked hard for the benefit of Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Governor Perdue. “Thanks to the work of over 200 state employees the reorganization of Georgia’s health and human service agencies has been completed successfully less than five months after it began with no disruption in services to constituents.”

The employees not only completed the transition without a break in customer service, they also helped move thousands of staff members physically and administratively to new agencies and new functions and maintained support for partner vendors without disruption, all while continuing to do their regular jobs.

“If you compare this to the corporate world, what we have accomplished is a simultaneous divestiture, merger, startup, and reorganization involving a company with 20,000 employees – in less than five months. That is unheard of,” said Jim Lientz, Chief Operating Officer for the State of Georgia.

The health and human services reorganization was initiated by Governor Sonny Perdue and approved by the Georgia General Assembly in its 2009 session as a way to bring greater focus to the state’s behavioral health services and to better align the state’s programs promoting public health.

The reorganization created a new agency called the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities with 8,600 employees from the former Department of Human Resources (DHR). At the same time, DHR’s Division of Public Health and Office of Regulatory Services, representing a total of 1,240 employees, were divested and transferred to the Department of Community Health. The remaining functions of DHR, including Family and Children Services, Aging, and Child Support Services, were reorganized to form the new Department of Human Services.
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