Mitch Vocke, Heidi DiGennaro and Ross Coates Named Harford County Employees of the Month for August 2014

From Harford County government:

Harford County Department of Emergency Services employees Mitch Vocke, Heidi DiGennaro and Ross Coates have been named the Harford County Employees of the Month for August 2014.

Recently, Emergency Services has experienced issues with distorted radio transmissions. This was considered an emergency situation and a safety concern for first responders. The service contractor was not able to immediately identify the source of the problem. Tech Services Branch Manager Mitch Vocke came up with an idea that was considered “out of the box.” His idea was implemented and with the help of other experts a big issue was revealed. It was the primary cause of the distortion. The problem was quickly repaired. The department noticed immediate improvement in the quality of the radio transmissions and system coverage in the areas identified as having problems.

Mitch Vocke, Technical Services Branch Manager; Ross Coates, Communications Branch Manager and Heidi DiGennaro Dispatch Shift Manager worked numerous hours beyond their regular hours working through a long list of what might be causing the distorted radio transmissions.

“Identifying this problem was a huge relief to everyone that worked for weeks trying to identify the problem. It is because of their patience, dedication and tenacity that this team deserves to be Harford County’s Employee of the Month,” said Rick Ayers, Deputy Director Department of Emergency Services.

Ayers nominated the three individuals for the award.