WILMINGTON — Gov. John Carney on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing this week as Public Service Recognition Week.

Though the Department of Human Resources traditionally hosts an in-person annual recognition event during Public Service Recognition Week, state officials and the business community will celebrate Delaware’s public servants virtually over the next few days. In a series of videos, state government will honor individuals and teams of Delaware employees who have exemplified excellence and commitment to public service recently.

Different awards will be presented each day, starting with the Delaware Award for Excellence and Commitment in State Service on Tuesday. Wednesday will feature the Governor’s Team Excellence Award (Champions Award and Commitment Award), and Thursday will have the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review Board P3 Trailblazer Award and the GEAR P3 Innovation & Efficiency Award, with the Delaware Award for Heroism on Friday.

Recognition videos will premiere each day at 11 a.m. here.

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to work with our dedicated and hard-working state employees,” Gov. Carney said in a statement. “Our public servants persevered through the challenges of this past year, and they continue to go above and beyond to serve the citizens of Delaware.”

This year’s winners of the Delaware Award for Excellence and Commitment in State Service, which is presented to five employees or groups of up to five employees who exemplify the highest standards of excellence and commitment in state service, are Charles Harris of the Department of Health and Social Services; Anne Hiller Clark of the Division of Libraries; Stacey Purnell of the DHSS; Wayne Smiley of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families; and Dawn Stevens of the Department of Correction.

The GEAR P3 Trailblazer Award provides recognition to those individuals and small groups whose accomplishments demonstrate leadership in application of continuous-improvement best practices. Winners of this award are Brent Johnson of the Department of Finance; Kalee Nelson of the Department of Technology and Information; and Michael O’Malley and Jonathan Rutledge of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Governor’s Team Excellence Awards, which include the GEAR P3 Innovation & Efficiency Award, the Champions Award and the Commitment Award, are given to a team of six to 20 state employees.

The winners of the GEAR P3 Innovation & Efficiency Award are those who best used tools to achieve outstanding outcomes, develop innovative designs and produce verifiable and sustainable results. The recipients are the Judicial Information Center COVID Response Team with the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Government Support Services Central Contracting Team within the Office of Management and Budget.

The Champions Award recognizes teams that demonstrated a superior knowledge of continuous quality-improvement techniques, produced tangible results and increased efficiencies, customer satisfaction or cost savings. The recipients are the Special Events Team with the Department of Transportation; the Technology Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Team with the Department of Technology and Information; and the Telework Support Team with the DHSS.

The Commitment Award goes to teams that demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement. Winners are the Bridge Maintenance Team within DelDOT, the Division of Motor Vehicles’ Online Appointment Scheduler Team with DelDOT and the Department of Technology and Information; and the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities’ Neuro-Behavioral Health Team in the DHSS.

The Delaware Award for Heroism, established in 2013, recognizes state employees for acts of heroism and courage. This year’s recipients are Keytwan Brooks of DelDOT; Justin Sauble of DelDOT; Robert Stevens of DelDOT; Stewart Megee of DelDOT; and Fred Beach, Steven Beck, Walter Bruhl, William Fintak, Jennifer Gabriele and Ronald “Skip” LeMieux, with volunteer “chief” Larry Keller, all of the Department of State.

The GEAR P3 Trailblazer Award and the GEAR P3 Innovation & Efficiency Award were made possible through the support of the GEAR Board and a public-private partnership between the state and the Delaware business community.

Detailed information about the award recipients can be found here.