King of Prussia, PA – At a ceremony today, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll recognized 30 PennDOT employees for their outstanding performance with the Star of Excellence Award, PennDOT’s highest recognition. Two employees from PennDOT’s District 6, which represents Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties were among the honorees.
“Every day, I am reminded of our employees’ dedication, their excellent customer service, and in many cases, their sacrifices,” said Carroll. “The accomplishments of our Stars of Excellence exemplify PennDOT’s mission to provide the very best transportation services to Pennsylvanians every day.
Local winners Mary Ellen Culhane and Jin Park were honored this afternoon at an awards luncheon at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg.
Whether it’s taking the initiative to improve upon procedures or taking on additional responsibilities in stride, Mary and Jin are two model employees who routinely go beyond their scope of work to ensure our customers are receiving quality service,” said PennDOT District 6 Executive Din Abazi. “They’re skill sets have proven to be a tremendous asset to PennDOT and have helped save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Mary Ellen Culhane, Clerical Supervisor 1
With over 41 years of experience, Mary Ellen Culhane is known as the “Godmother of Permits” across District 6. As a Clerical Supervisor, Mary’s strong commitment to customer service, positive attitude, smile, and teamwork mentality have been a winning formula for the Permits Unit for decades.
Mary is critical in helping staff meet deadlines to deliver processed applications in a timely manner. Mary helped create various new forms and procedures to ensure that PennDOT delivers a high-speed level of service.
Mary aided with the conception and implementation of the Electronic Permitting System (EPS) to greatly improve the efficiency of the statewide permitting system and continually assists with the training of new employees with EPS operation.
Over the years, Mary frequently takes a leading role in supporting various fundraisers across the District by organizing colleagues and managing the event to ensure it’s a great success.
Jin Park, Roadway Programs Technician 2
Jin Park has an exceptional ability to analyze data and utilize available technologies to increase efficiencies and maximize the planning efforts for the District’s complex roadside program across the five-county Philadelphia region. As a Roadway Programs Technician, Jin continually goes above and beyond to accomplish any task and is frequently recognized by management staff and coworkers for his support, patience, and guidance.
Jin is always professional and courteous to ensure that the needs of stakeholders, including the public and roadside contactors, are met in a timely manner to provide the best customer service.
Jin is a great mentor to the county roadside staff and is always willing to make time to assist his colleagues. Jin ensures his peers have a solid understanding to apply new processes he develops.
The Star of Excellence Awards are presented annually to employees who represent the department’s values of service, performance, and integrity. The recipients represent a variety of organizational positions, spanning from highway maintenance and driver and vehicle services workers, to traffic control specialists, engineers and more.
Information about infrastructure in District 6, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/D6Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Brad Rudolph, bradrudolph@pa.gov
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