Recognizing agents of change in government

When I was 16 I started working for Admission Technologies, a private company that did computer work for agencies from public schools to missile ranges to homeland security, so I have had my feet wet for government. But it wasn't until I actually got hired by the County Manager that I got involved in local government. When I first stepped in, the County website was down, but they were trying to get it up and running. I started off by cleaning up all their files, creating a brand new website, implementing an intranet for employees and then forms, basic website stuff.

I think it was about 4 years ago that I was contacted by you guys. I really wanted to go for your services but the problem was convincing the whole county that it was beneficial. I kept going to them year after year until last year in August I had my performance evaluation and my director said he needed a work order system to be developed, because he can't see when the work orders are being submitted. I took the opportunity to say, "I've been showing you this!" and he said we've got to get it approved by the county. I presented to all the Department Directors and Deputy Chiefs (assessor, clerk). Once I showed them that you can digitize PTO requests, leave requests, overtime forms, and you can log in to see whose request it was, the county manager approved!

In IT, everything's electronic, so for me it's easier to search for something when it's on a hard drive, rather than paper where you don't know where it's filed. Once I digitized certain processes (maintenance work order, IT work order), everyone saw the benefit of less paper: less cost on the county!