The Third Annual Michigan Digital Government Summit concluded on Thursday, October 13, having brought together more than 400 technology leaders from state and local government for a two-day conference. In the spirit of collaboration and teamwork, technology leaders from the state, county, city and township levels of government met to discuss the future role of technology in government and to share opportunities for partnership, all with the goal of improving government service to Michigan citizens through technology.

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm attended the event to acknowledge and thank those at the conference for their contributions to Michigan's current #1 ranking in the nation in digital government, as ranked by the Center for Digital Government in California. The Governor congratulated conference attendees on their commitment to collaboration, commenting on the importance of teamwork as we move Michigan forward through technology. First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern shared remarks on the second day of the conference, recognizing the group for their hard work and dedication and acknowledging the critical role information technology will play in moving Michigan toward economic recovery.

"This is the best Summit to date," commented Teri Takai, Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology. "There a lot of exciting things going on in government technology, things that continue to improve life for our citizens. I am particularly excited about those that received awards at the conference."

This year's Summit had a new twist, featuring the first-ever statewide Michigan Excellence in Technology Awards Program, established to salute Michigan's technology professionals and managers for outstanding achievement. Agency heads throughout the state submitted award nominations, with a formal Nomination Committee reviewing each submission and selecting a winner in each category.

Awards were presented as follows:

Demonstrated Leadership in Management of Information Technology

David Behen, Director of IT, Washtenaw County
Recognized for leading a dramatic restructuring of IT in Wastenaw County which included reducing IT staffing by 20%, improving customer sastifcation to above 90%, and delivering 95% ogf projects on time and on budget.
Contact: David Behen, behend@ewashtenaw.org 734-222-6512
cc: Andy Brush 734.222.6517 brusha@ewashtenaw.org

Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management

Aparna Agrawal, Technical Services, Michigan Department of Information Technology
Recognized for consolidating the state's GroupWise e-mail system reducing 330 servers statewide to just 70 servers.
Contact: Aparna Agrawal, AgrawalA@michigan.gov
More Information: Dan Conlin, conlind@michigan.gov, 517 636 0577

Louis G. Burgess, Grants Coordination & Administration, Michigan Department of Education
Recognized for leading the MEGS system project which today supports more than 30 grant programs distributing more than $1 billion to Michigan organizations.
Contact: Louis Burgess (517) 335-3672 burgessl@michigan.gov
More information: Rick Floria, FloriaR@michigan.gov, 517-373-1967

Visionary Award

L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Executive
Recognized for leading Oakland County into a time of unprecedented and robust economic growth, using technology as a primiary tool to the way Oakland County provides government services.
Contact: Brooks Patterson, 248-858-0484
More Information: Phil Bertolini 248-858-0815 bertolinip@co.oakland.mi.us

Frank Cambria, Washtenaw Deputy County Administrator
Recognized for championing the Washtenaw County's e-goverment initiatves, implementing technology befitting of world class public service.
Contact: Frank Cambria 734-222-6748 Cambriaf@ewashtenaw.org
More Information: Andy Brush 734.222.6517 brusha@ewashtenaw.org

Ms. Viji Murali, CIO, Western Michigan University
Recognized for instituting technology that brought Western Michigan University into the limelight as the first campus to go wireless in 2002. Western Michigan University is ranked as the 8th "Most Unwired Campus" in the country.
Contact: Viji Murali 269.387.5456 viji.murali@wmich.edu
More Information: Kathy Beauregard 269.387.3067 yvonne.rumery@wmich.edu

Best Application Serving a Public Organization's Business