Harrisburg, 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 8, which represents Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties, plus seven employees from PennDOT’s Central Office in Harrisburg, 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 Lancaster County Assistant Highway Maintenance Manager Terry L. Bradley and District 8 Transportation Planning Manager Carey R. Mullins were honored this afternoon at an awards luncheon at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg.
“Terry Bradley and Carey Mullins are outstanding employees who understand any job worth doing is worth doing well,” said PennDOT District 8 Executive Kevin Keefe. “Their strong work ethic and commitment to excellence place them among the best of the best here in District 8.”
Terry L. Bradley
Terry took on the role of training coordinator to address a gap in training for equipment operators at the Lancaster County Maintenance Organization. The county experienced many operator vacancies and had many new hires. Some operators with more than a year of experience had still not progressed from Equipment Operator A to Equipment Operator B.
A respected manager who leads by example, Terry developed processes to track the training status of both new and experienced equipment operators. This resulted in new hires being promoted to EO B more efficiently, which also helped with employee retention. He developed a spreadsheet to plan upcoming weeks work, allowing planning meetings go smoothly and efficiently. His efforts have improved productivity throughout the organization.
Terry is focused on safety. His positive attitude, reliability, and willingness to embrace change and innovation have proven to be of great value to the organization.
Terry is a resident of Mount Joy.
Carey R. Mullins
District 8 has a strong relationship with its six municipal planning organizations thanks to Carey’s stellar leadership. Through his and his staff’s involvement, regional TIPS have been updated to align available funding with initiatives for meeting performance targets with district bridge and highway assets. Carey ensures no TIP funding is lost by not being obligated within the allotted time frame.
Carey is an excellent communicator who provides timely and concise responses to MPO concerns and issues. Under his leadership, the district implemented a District Program Management Committee (PMC) process, including guidance for staff to use when project costs exceed District thresholds. This process has aided the District Executive staff in making better informed decisions with the management and allocation of project funding.
He attends planning meetings outside his normal work hours to stay on top of transportation issues at the "ground-level" before they become projects.
Carey is a resident of Mechanicsburg.
The following Central Office employees were also recognized:
AB Bannon
AB Bannon provided outstanding leadership during the launch of PennDOT’s new agency websites under the pa.gov branding. AB went above and beyond to ensure the new site was functional, accessible, and optimized for Pennsylvanians seeking critical transportation services. They led the review, editing, and formatting of over 8,300 pages migrated from SharePoint to AEM, ensuring template consistency, working links, and accessible images. AB also coordinated with vendors and subject matter experts to create nearly 50 new service pages outside PennDOT, ensuring clarity and technical accuracy.
Beyond content migration, AB introduced new user-focused features like the "Projects Near You" database. This tool allows users to find local projects using filters for district and county, with a standardized page layout for consistency. Since launch, the feature has been viewed over 6,600 times, with further enhancements in progress and planned promotion through social media.
AB is a resident of Camp Hill.
Christopher Neidig
Chris takes a proactive role addressing the engineering needs for design repairs of closed and damaged PennDOT buildings. District and county staff may know Chris for his "statewide tours" to assess the reviews and design repairs of damaged and closed salt storage buildings. Chris prioritizes safety and provides oversight to county forces in completing repairs. Chris has been involved in Facilities Management Division's most complex problems and oversees the process workflows in ECMS to ensure compliance. Chris has been heavily involved with various tasks in ECMS, facility design reviews, developing engineered drawings for county forces to make building repairs and renovations.
Chris has been involved in numerous facility emergencies that have impacted the department's operational abilities.
He played an integral role in various initiatives, special assignments and is involved in Emergency Projects such as the Cambria County Fire. In 2024, Chris responded to 15 damaged buildings that remained open and seven closed buildings, traveling more than 14,000 miles statewide for emergency response.
Chris is a resident of South Williamsport.
Jeffrey Mitchell
Jeffrey (Jeff) voluntarily took on the task of leading the transformation of the Maintenance Training Program. Jeff led the transformation of the current training for the maintenance community while developing a new strategic vision for the future that will educate employees from all over the organization on the policies, processes, and overall job knowledge of County Maintenance. This is critical for the retention and development of the departments employees to build a better future as well as maintain our assets safely and to a high-quality standard.
Jeff received a Workplace Hero award for helping a coworker suffering from a seizure and helped save his life.
Jeff has also been the lead for emergency support like damage recovery for flooding in District 6 and winter operations support in Buffalo, New York. Jeff's work with the Maintenance Training Program will yield better educated employees who will perform work safely, more efficient, and more cost effective.
Jeffrey is a resident of Loretto.
Monica Wesner
Monica has consistently demonstrated a tireless commitment to supporting PennDOT Central Office, as well as the counties and districts, particularly during disasters, incidents, and large-scale events. She stands firm in Area Command, ensuring that impacted areas receive the resources and support they need to meet their objectives.
One of Monica's most significant accomplishments is her leadership of PennDOT's Disaster Recovery program, where her efforts have saved the Commonwealth millions of dollars. By working closely with Districts and federal partners, she has secured critical funding and support, allowing PennDOT to recover effectively and efficiently after major events.
One of her many contributions was her coordination during the Solar Eclipse event, which impacted a large portion of the Commonwealth. Monica worked closely with the affected districts, ensuring they had all the resources necessary to manage the event effectively.
She played a pivotal role during Tropical Storm Debby, overseeing not only Area Command but also the subsequent Disaster Recovery efforts. She worked countless hours alongside Districts and Federal Partners to document and submit the necessary materials for a disaster declaration. Her efforts directly resulted in securing approximately $28.2 million in funding from FHWA and FEMA to support PennDOT's recovery efforts.
Monica is a resident of Dauphin.
Lauryn Goshorn
Lauryn Goshorn exemplifies exceptional customer service, leadership, professionalism, and initiative in her role. She is the 'go-to' person in the Program Center and throughout the Office of Planning for her knowledge on several administrative topics ranging from travel coordination and reimbursement to human resources support.
Lauryn is well organized, diligent, detailed oriented, quickly responds to any inquiries and always going the extra mile while always demonstrating an infectious positive attitude. One of Lauryn's major efforts has been coordination of the annual fall Planning Partners meeting from securing a venue to on-site hosting. She handled the task without any substantial involvement from her supervisor and everything was a success.
Lauryn excels at customer service and internal and external communication that fosters relationships and ideas. She demonstrates initiative and innovation by always being open to take on additional efforts outside of her core duties and to learn new skills.
Lauryn is a resident of Newport.
James Michael McLaughlin
James Michael McLaughlin, known as Mike, joined PennDOT's State Safety Oversight Office (SSOO). Mike’s position would typically involve overseeing the safety of SEPTA through relationships and coordination with their System Safety Office; however, at the time Mike started, SEPTA’s Safety Office was undergoing a transition. SEPTA’s managers and staff for capital construction, operations, event investigations, corrective action plans, etc., were all either vacant or relatively new to their roles. Having this type of transition in a safety office is not typical. Mike was not deterred by the lack of experience and institutional knowledge but rather worked closely with the PennDOT SSOO Director and team to recognize gaps in performance and compliance. Mike did an excellent job of holding SEPTA accountable for safety concerns while simultaneously developing effective relationships with the safety staff and throughout the Authority. Mike has also taken the initiative to draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to address feedback from SEPTA’s System Safety Staff regarding how to address a new safety requirement.
Mike is a resident of Philadelphia.
Patricia Stripling
Patricia Stripling exemplifies exceptional public service, significantly improving the effectiveness of the Commonwealth through her training of the Pennsylvania Driver License and Motor Vehicle Customer Call Center team.
Her contributions have had a multi-agency impact, particularly in the transition of the call center from a vendor-operated service to an internally staffed operation with Pennsylvania state employees in February 2024.
Patricia's remarkable knowledge of PennDOT's Driver License and Motor Vehicle processes, combined with her ability to explain complex procedures clearly and concisely, has been instrumental in the success of this transition. Her patience, kindness, and unwavering fairness have made her an invaluable asset to the department. Led the training for 26 call center classes, educating approximately 194 employees.
She played a crucial role in the early stages of implementing the new Online system for Motor Vehicles (MVDLS). Capable of stepping in and training various departments, not limited to the customer call center shows that Patricia Stripling has a deep understanding of multiple operational areas and can adapt her expertise to different roles within the agency.
Patricia is a resident of Harrisburg.
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.
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Top row, from left: Carey Mullins, Terry Bradley, AB Bannon, Chris Neidig, Jeffrey Mitchell
Bottom row, from left: Monica Wesner, James McLaughlin, Lauryn Goshorn, Patricia Stipling.