Governor's Award for Quality and Performance
Braille Transcription Project
Department of Corrections, Department of Printing, School for the Blind, Tacoma Community College

Demand for Braille products far outstrips the available transcription resources in the School for the Blind, and in the community. The Department of Corrections, Department of Printing, and the School for the Blind piloted and then adopted a transcription program that uses inmate labor at Purdy to transcribe materials into Braille. Using inmates has allowed the state to leverage the transcription dollars available - as a result, the number of pages being transcribed has grown by 2000%. Women inmates in the program have an infraction rate of zero compared with the inmate average of .6 per month, and some who have been released and are now gainfully employed in their own transcription businesses. In addition, by using inmates for the routine items, the professional transcribers are freed up to tackle more complicated documents.

Team Members:

Catherine Golding
Kelly Kerr
Colleen Lines
Kandi Lukowski
George Morton
Larry Richardson
Judi Sorter
Dr. Dean O. Stenehjem
Belinda Stewart
Mary Trukositz
Hisami Yoshida

Governor's Award for Quality and Performance
Convenience Camping Initiative
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission

Washington State Parks continues to seek entrepreneurial opportunities to increase access to recreational experiences for all citizens. The Convenience Camping Initiative began as a pilot project in which a few yurts and cabins were installed in campgrounds to attract nontraditional campers and extend the camping season into the inclement "shoulder season." The concept was thoroughly "vetted" by the use of benchmarking and a solid business plan. The pilot structures were then designed and built by rangers on site, with high sensitivity to scenic and traditional landscapes; they were funded with lease-purchase funds repaid from the project revenues. Customer surveys and usage data on the pilots provided "proof of concept" sufficient to expand the project into other parks. The demand for the pilot structures continues to grow, providing a revenue stream of $7500 per unit per annum. In addition, they enable more citizens of diverse ability (including persons with disabilities, senior citizens and single-parent families) to enjoy an overnight in a state park.

Team Members:

Shawn Bristol
Richard Brown
Larry Chapman
Jim Ellis
Larry Fairleigh
Gus Gustafson
Brian Hovis
Rob Kirkwood
Doug Mackey
Paul Malmberg
Susan Mayer
Lynn Nordloh
Tom Oliva
Erik Plunkett
Don Powell
Jim Presser


Governor's Award for Public Benefit
Corridor Safety Program
Department of Transportation, Washington Traffic Safety Commission, and Washington State Patrol

The Department of Transportation and Washington Traffic Safety Commission started the Corridor project as a pilot several years ago. In this project, they identified the stretches of highway with the highest accident and fatality rates ("worst first"). Once a corridor was identified, they collaborated with local law enforcement agencies, substance abuse organizations, and other leadership in the local community to identify the most common causes of accidents and fatalities - and then to design appropriate interventions. The efforts have reduced disabling injuries on seven representative corridors by 45%, and alcohol related collisions by 40%. The program has demonstrated its sustainability and is being replicated not only in WA but also in other states.

Team Members:

Matthew Enders
Marv Ryser
Brian Walsh
WSP Field Operations Bureau Troopers

Governor's Award for Customer Service
Client Satisfaction Survey Team
Department of Social and Health Services

Research indicates that success in reducing substance abuse is highly correlated with completion of substance abuse treatment. To this end, the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) contracts with hundreds of providers of substance abuse treatment programs across the state. These providers are public, private and nonprofit organizations, supported by different authorizing environments. Until now, there was no standardized way for providers or DASA to determine what kept clients in programs. Without that data, it was hard to improve the completion rate for clients in publicly funded programs. DASA worked with providers to not only get agreement to develop a client satisfaction survey, but also to get agreement on the content. They used a very scientific and collaborative process that has resulted in 77% participation rate among clients and 59% participation rate among providers. DASA and providers now have data on which to base resource allocation decisions, assess program elements, and set standards for best practice.

Team Members:

Kevin (Buzz) Campbell (not shown)
Vince Collins
Toni Krupski
Dennis Malmer
Tonja McDougall
Felix Rodriguez
Beverly Smith
Ken Stark
Fritz Wrede

Governor's Award for Customer Service
Plain Talk Project
Department of Labor and Industries

The Plain Talk project started when Director Gary Moore was given a letter to sign, and could not figure out what it meant. He charged staff with making L&I's communications understandable to clients. Because L&I sends out over half a million form letters annually, staff set a target of 100 form letters to "translate into English." They systematically identified the most commonly used letters, revising them in a collaborative process into plain English, and testing them with customers. The result is higher compliance (because people understand what they are asked to do), fewer calls asking for clarification, and lower costs to customers (some of them hired attorneys to explain the letters!). In addition, staff that has to translate letters into other languages is able to do so because the English version is now understandable.

Team Members:

Carlena Anderson
Alisha Atkinson
Paul Barga
Marcia Benn
Pamela R. Bergman
Dana Howard Botka
Richard Bredeson
Michael D. Burt
Barbara L. Butler
Kari R. Butler
Scott Busz
Yasha M. Conrad
Noreen F. Currier
Michael K. Dykstra
Sandy Dziedzic
Douglas A. Erickson
Frank Fazekas
Bernie Feldsher
Renette Gillihan
Gail Griswold
Carolyn M. Hartwick
William E. Hill
Leslie Imbler
Deanna Jackson
Kristeen Johnson
Victoria Kennedy
Tamara Killmer
Carol Ann Kromer
Ernest F. LaPalm
Arlene J. Liles
Craig W. Lowe
Diane K. McCoy
Vivian Montes
Tonja Martinez
Donna M. May
Joseph C. Molenda
Janet Nickelson
Dulcy Nielsen
James F. Nylander
Doric Olson
Virgil F. Porter
Carla K. Reynolds
Lori L. Robinson
Barbara A. Shires
Nancy S. Sjoblom
James T. Stoeser
Karla K. Torner
Valerie M. Valencia
Michael A. Vert
Cheri A. Ward
Lori L.Warren
Suzette I. Wells
Angela J. Wharton

Governor's Award for Financial Results
Consolidated Mail Services New Reader Team
Department of General Administration

Over the past year, the rejection rate for mail in the state-operated Consolidated Mail system was 14%. The result was increased cost to the agencies in the system, when mail had to be handled again; it also meant staff time spent processing the rejections in Consolidated mail. The Department of General Administration's (GA) project team determined that a major cause of the rejection was inability of the current mail reader to recognize the information on the envelope. The team researched the costs, benefits and feasibility of different options, and determined that significant savings would result to customers if they installed a new reader. Using the data they found, they were able to make a case for the investment. The results are reduction of the rejection rate to 8%, customer savings of $164,000 annually, and the ability to eliminate 3 positions in Consolidated Mail, for savings of $116,000 to GA.

Team Members:

Howard Cox
Sher Dotson
Doug Howell
Jenene Huston
Kathy McComb
Bjarne Nilssen
Martin Peters
Paul Schubert


Governor's Award for Internal Process Management
North Cascades Gateway Center Fiber Optics Project
Department of General Administration, Sedro Woolley School District, Pacific Northwest Trails Association

GA's second project is a collaborative effort between GA and two of their tenants at the Sedro Wooley campus, the Sedro Woolley School District and the nonprofit Pacific Northwest Trails Association. When asked to identify the reasons for delays in providing service to the campus, GA staff identified slow modems and Internet service interruption as a major cause. The team collected data to demonstrate the impact on facilities staff of hours spent waiting for dial-up - time that could be better spent managing work orders. The team also researched a number of alternative solutions, their associated costs, and resources available from within GA and the various tenants. Using a grant from the Gates Foundation and expertise from in-house, GA was able to connect the campus to a fiber network at no cost to taxpayers. The results include: more than 50% reduction in staff time spent in dial-up, backlog or work orders reduced by 35%, turnaround time on work orders reduced from 15 days to 10. Fiber access allows the school district to serve an additional 60 high-risk students, and all tenants benefit from the connectivity that reliable, continuous Internet access provides.

Team Members:

Duncan Crump
Jeri Krampetz
Rich Shimizu
Dan Singleton
Burke Smith
Harvey Vis
Doug Walker