Environmental Progress - Fall 2000

Employees of the Month

Editor's Note: Each month the Illinois EPA recognizes outstanding employees for making quality part of every job they do.

Pat Kloppenburg, Springfield Organic Laboratory, was Employee of the Month for June. Pat is quality assurance officer for the Division of Laboratories. She was the lead in achieving accreditation under the National Laboratory Accreditation Program, successfully completing a grueling two day audit with an unusually low deviation rate. Accreditation allows the Agency to guarantee that data can be documented at every step with ensured integrity. Pat serves as the laboratory lead member on the Public Water Customer Focus Team dealing with questions from drinking water facility operators, working in partnership with the Bureau of Water and the Division of Public Water Supplies.

R. Eugene (Gene) Figge, Bureau of Land, Peoria field operations, was EOM for July. He was selected for a series of outstanding responses to unusual field situations including overseeing one of the largest tire cleanups ever conducted in Illinois, after the owner/operator abandoned a tire recycling operation and several hundred thousand tires. At another site, responding to citizen complaints about open dumping and open burning, he was threatened with physical harm by some residents. His inspections at other tire recycling sites led to cleanups of those sites. Gene worked closely with the Illinois Department of Public Health to fight an encephalitis outbreak in Bellevue, Ill., assisting in the collection of mosquito samples and coordinating removal of several piles of old tires.

David M. Curtner, Administration, Finance/Grant Accounting Unit, was named EOM for August. He initiated new transmittal spreadsheets using computer macros to do most of the work creating transmittals for the Comptroller's Office. His excellent computer skills have resulted in computer automation to perform many tasks that previously were performed manually, saving time and reducing errors. His expertise in creating computer macros improved the Cash Management Unit's spreadsheets, greatly improving the efficiency of the unit. His suggestions for procedural changes have made the unit's work easier and saved significant amounts of time. While still performing his regular day-to-day duties, David is currently developing a process whereby data can be entered on one report and automatically updated to other reports using programming to link the various reports.