The 2007 Incentive Service Awards Program (ISAP) meeting was held on Wednesday, August 29 in the HDOA Boardroom.

The ISAP is a statewide program that promotes the recognition of employeeswho contribute to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of government operations or who perform exceptionally meritorious special acts or services in the public interest, and for their loyal and dedicated service. 

The following are HDOA awardees for 2007!

HDOA EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Domingo Cravalho, Jr.

Domingo Cravalho, Jr., Inspection and Compliance Section Chief in the Plant Quarantine Branch, is HDOA's Employee of the Year.

Domingo has been instrumental in the training and coordination of the State's rapid response program to respond to snake sightings.  

He has also has been a key player in implementing a new Biosecurity Program, which helps to protects Hawaii's agriculture and environment from invasive pests.

Domingo's professionalism, dedication and exemplary work also won him an award for Sustained Superior Performance.

Congratulations, Domingo!

HDOA MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Dr. Isaac Maeda

Dr. Isaac Maeda, Manager of the Rabies Quarantine Program, is HDOA's Manager of the Year!

Dr. Maeda has managed the rabies quarantine program during a period of substantial and progressive change.  Under his tenure, the 5-day-or-less rabies quarantine program was established and implemented, lessening the burden of rabies quarantine for pets and their owners, while still protecting Hawai`i from the rabies virus.

Dr. Maeda is constantly searching for ways to improve the program, including establishing procedures for pets to be cleared at neighbor island airports.

Congratulations, Dr. Maeda!

Cheryl Mitsuyuki, Accountant Supervisor in the Fiscal Office, was awarded the Sustained Superior Performance Award.

Cheryl has been integral in implementing the Hawaii Electronic Procurement System (HePS) for HDOA.  She has also spearheded the implementation of the emergency pCard program, which allows agencies to make purchase outside of the normal procurement parameters under emergency situations that threaten health and safety.

Cheryl is a consistent and confident supervisor who provides leadership, direction and guidance to her staff.  She is always willing to assist department managers and staff in fiscal and procurement matters.  Her commitment, dedication and exceptional standards are a great asset to the department.

Congratulations, Cheryl!

Mohsen Ramadan, exploratory entomologist in the Plant Pest Control Branch, was also awarded the Sustained Superior Performance Award.

Mohsen spent more than two months in East Africa searching for biological control agents to the erythrina gall wasp, which has devastated Hawaii's wiliwili trees and other plants. 

His work abroad has provided one of the most promising solutions to the EGW problem. In his field exporations, Mohsen found a parasitic wasp, that hopefully will be the key to controlling EGW.  Studies are currently being conducted in quarantine.

Mohsen's patience and attention to detail has made him an exceptional member of the Biocontrol Program and the department as a whole.

HDOA TEAM OF THE YEAR
Earthquake Response Team

On October 15, 2007, two earthquakes, measuring 6.0 and 6.7 in magnitude rocked the Big Island of Hawai`i.  The quakes did severe damage to HDOA's Waimea and Lower Hamakua Irrigation Systems.  It is estimated that the two systems sustained about $12 million in damage. 

The Earthquake Response Team, mainly from the Agricultural Resource Management Division, responded to the quakes to restore as much water flow as possible to farmers - mounting an effort that logged 38,000 hours of work by community volunteers, Army and National Guard troops, Kulani Correctional Facility prisoners, state workers and operations and maintenance contractors.  Over a period of three-and-a-half months, the effort averaged more than 60 people per working day.

The dedication of Earthquake Response Team went above and beyond in the face of extremely contentious community issues, dangerous working conditions and a series of emergency issues in order to restore as much water to farmers in need.

Congratulations Team!