BOSTON – The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Information Technology Division announced this week that the City of Westfield’s Information Technology Department has been selected to receive a 2013 Massachusetts Excellence in Technology Award in the IT Customer Service Champion category. The department will be recognized at the statewide Massachusetts Digital Government Summit on October 21 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston.
The department, led by IT Manager Lenore Bernashe, is being recognized for its efforts in relocating city departments this past spring to accommodate the renovation of City Hall. With ten days’ notice, city IT staff coordinated the relocation of 25 departments and over 100 work stations, printers and other equipment to five distinct locations. They deployed staff to connect wide-area network (WAN) connections, tested existing and installed new wiring in all locations, designed and rolled out new data networks, VOIP services, and wireless local-area networks (LANs).
“I am very proud our Information Technology Department is being recognized as Customer Service champions,” said Mayor Daniel M. Knapik. “While they do quality work day in and day out, the IT team really shined this spring during our temporary relocation process. Lenore and her staff worked smartly and efficiently to make sure city business continued uninterrupted during those hectic weeks.”
Technology Center staff provides extensive services to government, public safety and schools, including systems and software design, purchase, training and implementation; Internet service; wide area, local area and wireless networking; email services; website hosting; network and data security; radio communications; telephone and voice over IP services; computer and peripheral support; and, 24-7 on-call support for public safety departments.
“It’s often said that technology is only recognized in the workplace when something goes wrong,” Knapik added. “This award provides us with an opportunity to recognize these talented and dedicated public employees who have gone above and beyond to make government work for the citizens of our community.”
