2000 Stars of Telework Awards

ITAC HONORS ITS STARS OF EXCELLENCE
AT AWARDS CEREMONY

At the seventh annual ITAC International Conference, “The World Is Our Workplace” held September 17-20, 2000 in New Orleans, Louisiana, outstanding programs and individuals were honored with the 2000 Telework Stars of Excellence Awards. The ceremony took place in the grand ballroom of Gallier Hall, a magnificent 1845 Greek Revival historic landmark across from Lafayette Park. The awards were part of the Black and Silver Masquerade Bash that closed the conference.

Joyce Twohig-Larrick, Awards Committee Chair, introduced this year’s honorees:

Outstanding Telework Volunteer Award
Michael Dziak, President, InteleWorks, Peachtree City, Georgia
Presented to an individual recognized for his relentless crusade to gain acceptance of telework in the State of Georgia through his founding of the Metro Atlanta Telecommuting Advisory Council, his writing of a Senate Resolution passed by the legislature, and his development of a State Telework Program.

Government Agency Excellence in Telework Award
Maryland Department of Transportation
Accepted by Mr. Gil Weidenfeld, Telework Coordinator
This year’s award goes to an agency recognized for its development of a State Telework Partnership with Employer’s Program that assists and provides leadership to private and government Maryland employers desiring to start or expand telework programs.

Outstanding Innovation in Telework Award
Arizona Regional Public Transportation Authority
Accepted by Susan Tierney
Recognized for its innovation in developing Project ADOPT (Arizona Donates Office Products for Telework), Project ADOPT allows teleworkers access to equipment that has been repaired by high school students, who in turn receive academic credit and hands-on experience, and paves the way for distribution of privately donated equipment to over 1200 organizations in the metropolitan Phoenix area.

Fortune 1000 Excellence in Telework Award
Nortel Networks
Accepted by Linda Reid, Manager, Teleworking Solutions. ITAC’s Fortune 1000 Excellence in Telework Award boasts over 16% of its workforce teleworking 2 days or more per week, netting a savings of over 50 million miles of commuting travel per year. Through their efforts, they have eliminated 52 million pounds of pollutants per year while saving $20 million dollars a year in real estate costs. Additionally, analog modem service is provided to 58,000 users, thereby totally removing the bounds of location and time from doing work.

Telework Hall of Fame Leadership Award
Dr. Wendell Joice, Research Psychologist, U.S. General Services Adminitration, Washington, D. C.

A tireless advocate of teleworking….a leader of the initial government-wide pilot project more than 10 years ago – long before the equipment and technologies we consider prerequisites for teleworking today is recognized for his dedicated support of ITAC, and his long-standing commitment to teleworking. Indeed, the leadership exemplified by this individual over the past decade makes it understandable that he is often referred to as the “Father of Federal Telework.”

Trendsetter 2000 Award
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan
Ford has taken a position of leadership in the new Digital Economy by giving a free internet-connected computer package to every one of its 350,000 world-wide employees, regardless of their status or function - production line assembler or market analyst Other large employers have duplicated Ford's example - affirmation of Ford's leadership action. Providing this benefit to its employees will enable Ford employees to become more technologically comfortable, to be more involved in their community's e-governance, to easily interact in real time with their colleagues, and most importantly to ITAC - to learn to use the tools that make telework happen.

International Telework Award
Japan Telework Association
Accepted by Mr Norimasa Yoshida, President of JTA
The Japan Telework Association has conducted extensive pioneering work in Asia to make Telework a national policy. This is especially difficult because of the cultural challenges unique to the country and limited home office space. JTA's vision is to bring mobility to the labor market without extensive infrastructure expense and to better balance economic activity between urban & rural areas. Five Ministries support the association - International Trade & Industry (MITI), Post & Telecommunications, Labor, Construction, and the National Land Agency.

We honor the Japan Telework Association for its continuing interest and support of our mutual mission to encourage acceptance and growth of telework through public awareness, education and active public-private participation.