Missouri House Automation Development Team
NALIT recognizes the Missouri House Automation Development Team for professional achievements and exemplary service to the Missouri House of Representatives. When the House Automation Committee asked for recommendations on developing a chamber system, George Hagedorn, Information Technology Director, recommended the system be developed in-house, and the House information technology staff was given the opportunity to develop the system. This past session all 163 Members had laptops on their desk. They had access to the full bill text, typed amendments, floor amendments (scanned on the floor), and fiscal notes on each bill as it was being considered. The bill or amendment text came up automatically with the fiscal note just one click away.
The system gave members access to House and Senate calendars, journals, and other bill information, such as history, summaries, and hearings. The system has basic inquiry functions, allowing searches by keyword, sponsor, and by action. Members have access to the House rules, motions (how to), the statutes and the constitution. When the electronic voting board started acting up, House information technology staff quickly developed a voting system on the laptops. The laptop voting system was used for several hours this past session when the voting board system locked up.
The system was written by House information technology staff using Visual Basic 4.0. No outside programming resources were used. The ability to view bill text and typed amendments were made possible via the WordPerfect/Corel Software Developer's Kit for use with Visual Basic.
Herman Pearson, Wisconsin Legislature, 1997 Award Winner
NALIT recognizes Herman E. Pearson for professional accomplishment, and service to NALIT, NCSL, and the Wisconsin Legislature. Herman graduated with a B.S. degree in mathematics from Tougaloo College. His professional experience includes computer programming, system analysis, coordination and drafting requests for proposals, acquisition of equipment and software. His supervisory responsibilities consist of personnel hiring, training, managing a support staff of sixteen individuals, coordination of support and services to legislative offices and service agencies. Prior to 1980, he worked in several Executive Branch agencies where he received several awards for his outstanding performance as a management information specialist.
Herman has served in a number of positions in NCSL: as a member of the NCSL Executive Committee, an officer of NALIT from 1992 to 1996, the newsletter editor for the Computer Applications Staff Section (CASS, the predecessor to NALIT), chair and vice-chair of the Information Technology Task Force, and staff chair of the Communications and Information Policy Committee. In 1993 he was part of a United States Information Agency exchange between U.S. and Central American Clerks and Secretaries. Herman served as a technology adviser for the project.
While this list is impressive and indicates Herman's willingness to serve and professional standing, this sterile inventory cannot touch his warm personality, his genuine interest in the needs of others, and his readiness to step in and help. It can be as public as pinch hitting in a meeting or writing an article for the newsletter. It may be as private as a conversation on the phone or in a corner after an meeting, to advise a staffer from another state. His enthusiasm for, and interest in, his work is contagious. OK, maybe his picture isn't next to the definition of an exemplary staffer in the dictionary. Just wait for the next edition.
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