PennDOT presents Star of Excellence Awards to two District 3 employees
Montoursville, Pa. — On Sept. 25, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll recognized 30 employees with the department's highest recognition, the Star of Excellence Award.
Two employees from District 3, which represents Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union counties were among the award recipients.
"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."
District 3's Mike Kelley and Cheryl Graham were among those honored at an awards luncheon at the AACA Museum in Hershey.
"PennDOT's District 3 is successful because of the extraordinary efforts our employees put forth each day," said Eric High, District Executive for District 3. "I congratulate Mike and Cheryl on their well-earned Star of Excellence award. They not only exemplify this extraordinary service but have gone above and beyond by adapting to changing circumstances and emergency situations, ensuring critical needs are met, lending aid to co-workers, and providing excellent customer service with a positive attitude."
Mike Kelley, diesel construction and equipment mechanic, began his career with PennDOT 12 years ago. As a diesel construction and equipment mechanic, Mike is tasked with maintaining equipment, including the completion of preventative maintenance, state inspections, and repairs on various pieces of equipment including heavy trucks and crew cabs.
While working in Lycoming County Maintenance, he displayed a positive attitude, excellent work ethic, and always acted in a professional and safe manner, making him an excellent team member.
In 2023, Mike volunteered to provide garage support in Sullivan County due to staffing shortages and ultimately decided to work there permanently. He ensures that the county equipment is maintained, which includes working overtime as needed and assisting on the opposite shift to ensure plow trucks and equipment were ready for winter operations.
He also assisted Lycoming County Maintenance in completing upgrades for the Auto Vehicle Locator components on their fleet.
In addition to the daily demands of being a mechanic for PennDOT, Mike took time to mentor a student intern who worked in the Sullivan County garage. As a result of his mentoring, the student returned to the Department as a diesel construction and equipment mechanic trainee upon graduation from high school.
Cheryl Graham is the fiscal unit purchasing agent for the district. In this position, she is responsible for purchasing materials and services, including preparing bid packages and coordinating and preparing contracts and purchase orders. She also provides procurement guidance on county purchases within the district.
In addition to her knowledge of procurement policy, Cheryl is well organized and makes efficient use of existing resources. She every customer feel confident that the services she provides will be completed on time and correctly.
She coordinates the procurement of several critical needs for the district such as tree trimming, herbicide spray, and interstate mowing services.
With her "can do" attitude, Cheryl is always willing to take on new challenges and adapts well to changing conditions and polices. She has a strong work ethic and a positive attitude, which has been acknowledged through multiple letters and emails from co-workers and customers who appreciate her timely and accurate results.
Cheryl began her career in District 3 as the receptionist and switchboard operator in 2019, where she greeted visitors as well as business partners who visited the District 3 office building.
During her time in this position, she took on additional responsibilities such as assembling the New Employee Orientation Program books and reviewing documents to ensure they adhered to the most current policy and updating as needed. Cheryl also supported human resources with payroll, leave, purging files, logging placement files, shredding, assembling various books, and she trained with the training coordinator.
Cheryl is a team player who has always been willing to take on additional work outside of her required duties. She is always willing to learn new skills and approaches every job with a positive attitude. She is polite, kind, and helpful to everyone.
The Star of Excellence Awards are presented annually to employees who represent PennDOT'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, communications staff, and design and engineering specialists.
