COT Presents 'Best of Kentucky' Awards at Digital Government Summit

Lorna Jones, center, CIO of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services receives the IT Visionary Award from Jack Mortimer, left, of the Center for Digital Government and Steve Dooley, right, interim commissioner of the Commonwealth Office of Technology.

Tim Ferguson, center, CIO of Northern Kentucky University, receives the IT Visionary award from Jack Mortimer and Steve Dooley.

Jack Mortimer, left, and Steve Dooley look over the list of recipients before announcing the Best of Kentucky award winners.       A Best of Kentucky technology award is held by one of the recipients during this year's presentation ceremony.

The Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) presented the third annual Best of Kentucky awards at the 2008 Kentucky Digital Summit, April 22, at the Embassy Suites in Lexington.

The summit, co-sponsored each year by COT and Government Technology Magazine, recognizes outstanding individuals and programs that have made information technology contributions to the public sector. Each of the following peer-nominated award winners was chosen from almost 50 nominees: 

• Visionary Award (tie)
  Lorna S. Jones, CIO for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
  Timothy C. Ferguson, CIO for Northern Kentucky University.
• Best Application Serving a Public Organization's Business Needs
  Career Opportunities System; Carla Hawkins and Barbara Barnes, Kentucky Personnel Cabinet.
• Best Application Serving the Public (tie)
  e3.ky.gov; Ann Riggs and Gail Hiley, Education Cabinet; Stuart Johnson, Sharon Buchanan and Jill Thompson, Council on Post Secondary Education.
  Telecheck; David Bruce and Chip Quarles, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.
• Best IT Collaboration Among Organizations
  RegWatch; Craig Kelly, Economic Development; Steve Dooley, COT and numerous other state agencies, boards and commissions.
• Most Innovative Use of Technology in Government
  Kentucky Vital Events Tracking System (KVETS); Kathy Frye, Gargi Chatterjee and Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
• Most Innovative Use of Technology in Education
  Kentucky Internet2 Initiative; Allen E. Lind and Miko Pattie, Council on Postsecondary Education; Doyle Friskney, University of Kentucky; Priscilla Hancock and Tom Sawyer, University of Louisville; Ann Riggs, Education Cabinet; David Couch, Department of Education; Rene True, ConnectKentucky; Brian Kiser, COT; Mike Clark, Kentucky Educational Television; Vince Marletta, Windstream; and Sheri Rose, AT&T.
• Most Innovative Use of Technology in Local Government
  Wireless Mesh Network; Brent Graden, City of Prestonsburg and René True, ConnectKentucky.
• Best Online Services
  Kentucky Mine Mapping; Marvin Terry, Bryan Bunch, Tony Sturgill, Steve Pigg, John Hiett and Tom Schubert, Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.
• Best Security Initiative
  Cabinet for Health and Family Services; Sandeep Kapoor, Richard Chapman and Melba Story, Office of Information Technology.

“This year's Best of Kentucky award winners exemplify what technology in Kentucky is all about,” said COT Commissioner Steve Dooley. “These individuals and projects highlight the leadership and innovation that are helping Kentucky excel in its digital government efforts.”

The highest honor of the day, the IT Visionary Award, was presented to two individuals who have similar responsibilities for different organizations in different parts of the state. Lorna S. Jones, CIO of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Timothy C. Ferguson, CIO of Northern Kentucky University, shared the award for visionary leadership of IT in their respective organizations. 

More Photos from the 2008 Best of Kentucky Technology Awards         

Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, second from left, Gargi Chatterjee, center, and Kathy Frye of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services receive a Best of Kentucky award for their Kentucky Vital Events Tracking System (KVETS). (Photo by Robert Martin)		Brent Graden, second from left, of the City of Prestonsburg and René True of ConnectKentucky receive the 'Most Innovative Use of Technology in Local Government' award for Prestonsburg's Wireless Mesh Network.
Sandeep Kapoor, second from left, Richard Chapman, center, and Melba Story, of the CHFS Office of Information Technology receive the award for 'Best Security Initiative.'		David Bruce, left center, and Chip Quarles, right center, of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, accept the Best of Kentucky award for 'Best Application Serving the Public.'  (Photo by Brian E. Kiser)

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are by the Kentucky Office of Creative Services.  Unfortunately, photos of other award winners are not available due to a technical problem.  COT apologizes to the award winners whose photos are not available.

For more information on the Best of Kentucky awards, please visit the Best of Kentucky Awards Web site.