2019 Service Awards (Photo Gallery)

The Kansas City District honored employees who have reached the 5-year, 10-year and 15-year benchmarks in employment at MoDOT on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and employees who reached the 20-year, 25-year and 30-year benchmarks on Monday, Sept. 30.  

District Engineer Dave Silvester welcomed employees at both ceremonies.

“This is about the best resource we have as a department,” Silvester said.

All together the district honored 87 employees for their length of service—17 with 5 years, 20 with 10 years, 17 with 15 years, 13 with 20 years, 13 with 25 years and 7 with 30 years.  

The district also honored 19 employees in safety-sensitive roles who have reached anniversaries for years without any safety incidents. There were six who reached 15 years, 10 who reached 20 years, one who reached 25 years and two who reached 30 years. 

You can download pictures of individual recipients for short-term service awards here. 

You can download pictures of individual recipients for long-term service awards here.

Five-year service awards. Top row from left:

Bryce Acton, Doug Young, Nich Lewandowski.

Middle row from left: Devon Balark, 

Kimberly Cornine, Matthew Rohner. Front row
from left: Markl Johnson, Jessica Burns,
Krystal Jolly and Michael Cervas 

5-year Service Awards

Bryce Acton
Devon Balark
William Bathgate
Jessica Burns
Michael Cervas 
Kimberly Cornine
Tim Hazlett
Ed Jackson
Markl Johnson
Krystal Jolly
Nich Lewandowski
Sergio Lopez
Matthew Rohner
Benjamin Sudheimer 
Terrence Teague
Chris West
Doug Young

10-year service awards. Back row from left: Lori Bronson, Virak Um, 
George Duncan. Middle row from left: Ismael Sierra, Alex Martinez,
Ryan Hale, Matt Daulton. Front row from left: Anthony Snorgrass,
Phillip Wooden, Darrel Suiter, Easaw Thomas. 

10-year Service Award

Lori Bronson
Otis Burnett
Matt Daulton
George Duncan
Nettie Golston
Ryan Hale
Larry Johnson

Alex Martinez

James Pflum

George Rosser

Ismael Sierra

Griffin Smith

Anthony Snorgrass

Easaw Thomas
Noel Twenter
Darrel Suiter
Ron Wasmer
David Winship
Phillip Wooden
Virak Um

15-year service awards back row from left: Brian Huffer,
Jonathon Raines, Brady Watson, Jesse Dunkle. Next row
from left: Jeff Still, Nancy Engelhart, Bruce Barnes.
Next row from left: Jeffrey Mays, Craig Skorseth, Sandra
Naylor. Front row: Travis Teter. 

15-year Service Awards

John Adams
Telisa Anderson

Bruce Barnes
Jeffrey Bathgate

Brenda Butler
Jesse Dunkle

Nancy Engelhart

Brian Huffner

Jeffrey Mays

Sandra Naylor

Jonathon Raines

Robert Simmons
Craig Skorseth
Jeff Still
Jim Taylor
Travis Teter
Brady Watson

Safety first: Bruce Barnes, far left, and Jeffrey Mays, far right,
posed with District Safety Manager Eric Ramsey.  

15-year Safety Award

Jerry Anderson

Bruce Barnes

Jeff Mays

Mike Sanders

Eric Reents

Robert Simmons

20-year service awards, back row from left: Justin Anderson,
Delmar Cowherd, Joshua Scott, Robert Hargrave,
Craig Holdeman. Front row from left:
Wesley Squire, Scott Brelsford, John Sprigg

20-year Service Awards

Nidal Alkhaldi

Justin Anderson

Scott Banes

Scott Brelsford

Delmar Cowherd

Robert Hargrave

Craig Holdeman

Matthew Killion

Andrew Mccauley

Joshua Scott

John Sprigg

Wesley Squire

Chris Williams







25-year Service Awards

25-year Service Awards, from left: Craig Burgett, Rodney
Layman, Bill Chappel, Perry Allen, Leaann Otis,
Travis Jones, Eric Thompson, Mike Sanders, Brad Watkins.

Perry Allen

James Bentley

David Bower

Craig Burgett

Bill Chappel

Travis Jones

Rodney Layman

Rocky Majors

Leaann Otis

Mike Sanders

James Templer

Eric Thompson

Brad Watkins

30-year Service Awards, from left: Randy Cook,
Lynelle Luther, Jim Westhoff, John Casey,
Barbara Stegner, Brian Goodall.

30-year Service Awards
John Casey

Randy Cook

Brian Goodall

Deon Grigsby

Lynelle Luther

Barbara Stegner

Jim Westhoff

20-year Safety Awards

20-year Safety Awards from left: Robert Hargrave,
Rodney Layman, Glen Parkes, Scott Brelsford,
Jim Westhoff, Lashawna Judon.

Scott Brelsford

Craig Burgett

Robert Hargrave

Lashawna Judon

Tim Koch

Rodney Layman

David Leicher

Andrew Mccauley

Glen Parkes

Jim Westhoff

25-Year Service Award Fredrico Reliford

25-Year Safety Award

Fredrico Reliford

30-Year Safety Award

30-year Safety Award from left: John Casey
and Brian Goodall

John Casey

Brain Goodall

Missouri Governor Tours Rural Bridges

Gov. Mike Parson has two top priorities for Missouri—infrastructure and workforce development. He spoke about both issues during his bridge replacement tour.

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Gov. Parson toured three bridge replacement projects near Warrensburg and Joplin to discuss the progress that he has made on infrastructure investment and workforce development.

Infrastructure has been a top priority for Gov. Parson since he took office last June. 

“It doesn’t matter what we do in workforce development if you don’t have infrastructure in place to get them there,” Parson said.

During his State of the State address, Gov. Parson’s asked the legislature for funds to repair 250 bridges across the state. The legislature ultimately approved $301 million in bonds to repair or replace 215 bridges.

The legislature also allocated $50 million in general revenue for fiscal year 2020 to repair or replace an additional 45 bridges throughout the state. The state awarded construction contracts on the first 14 of those 45 bridges this month. All of the bridges are scheduled to be under contract by the end of 2020.

The bridges that Parson toured on Sept. 24 are currently under construction as part of the state’s five-year construction program. He began the tour on Route E in rural Johnson County at the bridge at Black Jack Creek.

“This bridge, as small as it might be to the big picture of the state, is important to the county and the people of this county,” Parson said. “It doesn’t matter if your bridge is in rural Missouri or urban Missouri—a bridge is a bridge. And we’ve got to have good safe bridges for people to cross.”

The governor told MoDOT employees that these infrastructure improvements will help facilitate workforce development throughout the state.

MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna also spoke at the Route E bridge press event.

“A lot of communities in the state of Missouri are actually in place because of the original infrastructure that was put in place,” McKenna said. “Our challenge today is to continue to renew that infrastructure.”

Out of the 10,400 bridges Missouri maintains, 909 bridges have been ranked poor by the Federal Highway Administration.

“Sometimes you have to make bold statements to make changes and I think that’s what we did this year,” Parson said. “Our work isn’t done in Jefferson City. We need to do more for the infrastructure of this state, and we are going to continue to make progress on that.”

Be the Change.....

Members of MoDOT KC took part in a special conference in hopes of making positive changes on our roads.

A team from MoDOT KC’s Traffic Department was in attendance at the 2019 Missouri Highway Safety and Traffic Blueprint Conference in Columbia, MO.

The overall theme of the 3 day conference, “Be the change, Together Toward Zero.” 

The consensus was the whole state needs to be responsible for its actions and guide drivers to make better choices on the road.

Organizers say the conference was a great opportunity for everyone who cares about highway safety to learn more about what others are doing in their specialized fields.

The conference also featured a number of breakout sessions geared toward EMS, education, engineering and enforcement, also known as the four Es of highway safety.

A number of topic also up for discussion included, distracted driving, human trafficking, youth programs, older drivers, autonomous vehicles and new technologies.

The 4^th annual conference was held Sept. 9-11. It was a combined effort of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety and the University of Missouri.

MoDOT Replaces Ginormous Pipe on Route AA

A MoDOT crew recently finished work on a pipe along route AA. Contractors replaced the pipe, which is one of the biggest of its kind and our crew finished the job.

Marshall PAT Big Truck Day A Big Hit

KC Intermediate Maintenance Worker Tyson Collins from the Marshall Maintenance building volunteered his time at the Parents As Teachers Big Truck Day at Marshall High School on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. Collins handed out new state maps, pencils, pens, tattoos, and other MoDOT items educating kids and parents about MoDOT activities in Saline County. Big Thanks to Mr. Collins for his time!

District employees honored during annual Day of Remembrance

The Kansas City District honored employees lost in the line of duty during MoDOT’s annual Day of Remembrance on Thursday, Sept. 19.

“This is the seventh year we’ve been doing this as a state agency,” District Engineer Dave Silvester told the crowd of people at the tribute. “It’s a somber tribute that we do for the 134 people around the state lost in the of duty.”

Since 1934, 134 MoDOT employees have lost their lives at work and 22 of those came from the Kansas City District. During Thursday’s ceremony a channelizer, vest and hard hat represented each life lost. MoDOT staff placed perennial flowers in front of each channelizer that will be planted outside the Kansas City District office.

MoDOT staff read the names of each of the 22 people who died on the job. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

“They were loyal folks. They were taken from us way too soon,” Silvester said. “They will be forever missed.”

MoDOT had Day of Remembrance ceremonies throughout the state.

“These employees were humble public servants just doing their job when something unexpected and tragic happened which would change the lives of so many forever,” Assistant District Engineer Susan Barry said. “We’ve made many advances in our equipment and technology over the years and have safety procedures that we practice every day and we are continually working to improve safety in everything that we do.”

The Kansas City District’s ceremony concluded with a moment of silence and the reciting of the safety pledge.

Say hello to Flutters

The Kansas City District could have a new mascot. A butterfly named Flutters made her appearance on Wednesday, Sept. 18 in the outdoor eating area.

Flutters had been resting in her form of PPE, a cocoon, on the trash can near the tables.

Along with providing natural beauty, butterflies like flutters help pollinate plants and control the insect population.

Butterflies have a short life span, but Flutters has younger family members ready to carry on her legacy when she is gone. A caterpillar was spotted on the sidewalk of the district office just days after Flutters shed her cocoon.

District Employees Discuss Diversity

District employees discussed diversity on Sept. 18 during
an annual conference to promote diversity and inclusion. 

About 200 Kansas City District employees gathered for the 2019 Kansas City Diversity and Inclusion Conference on Sept. 18 at Adams Pointe Conference Center in Blue Springs.

The Diversity and Inclusion Conference has been an annual event for more than 10 years. The day included a keynote speaker and breakout sessions.

One of the presenters, MoDOT Senior Diversity and Inclusion Specialist Rebecca Brietzke, said the conference has helped make conversations about diversity and inclusion mainstream in the workplace.

Diversity and inclusion conferences are held in every district throughout the state. Each year the Kansas City district selects about 200 employees to attend.

“We really want to connect to all of the employees at MoDOT and we recognize that given the industry that we are in it’s very difficult to pull people together every month,” Brietzke said. “We developed the regional conference so that once a year we can have an intentional presence and spotlight on the value of inclusion in every district.”

Traffic Operations Engineer Ericka Ross attended this year’s event. Ross said she enjoyed Brietzke’s message at the event.

“I really liked what she had to say,” Ross said. “She was very engaging.”

Employees engaged with colleagues to discuss their differences ranging from race, religion, deafness and hearing loss to generational distinctions.

Ross said she enjoyed the variety of topics at the conference.

“There are many different forms of diversity,” Ross said.

All the MoDOT Diversity and Inclusion Conferences throughout the state encouraged employees to get to know coworkers and avoid assumptions.

“The biggest take away is to keep an open mind. Try and check your assumptions,” Brietzke said. “Take an interest in getting to know each other.”

Brietzke talked to conference participants about the importance of having conversations with dialogues rather than debates.

“Dialogue is a much more constructive conversation,” Brietzke said. “When you have dialogue what you are doing is listening to understand the other person.”

This message resonated with Ross.

“Every day we should strive for more dialogue rather than debate,” she said.

Buckle Up, Phone Down campaign saves lives

MoDOT and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety want to increase safety and reduce injuries and fatalities through the Buckle Up, Phone Down promotion. According to the latest Missouri Seat Belt Usage Survey, 87.7% of Missourians now use a safety belt—a 6.3% increase in the two and a half years since BUPD was introduced.

Missouri is nearing the national average for seat belt use which is 89.7%. We’re also nearing another significant mile marker.

One of the tenants of accepting the BUPD challenge is to encourage individuals and organizations to invite their friends, family, peers and other community groups to join the movement. More than at 460 businesses and 9,977 individuals who have signed up to accept the challenge.

If you have not yet taken the BUPD challenge you can find it at Buckle Up Phone Down Challenge.

It’s simple, by pledging to buckle up every trip, every time, and put your phone down while driving, you’re not only saving lives now, but you’re making a change to the traffic safety culture that can continue for generations. These small steps are a giant leap in protecting you, your family and people across the state as we all travel the roads of Missouri.

Ford Drive Skills for Life Class

Register for this event by visiting www.drivingskillsforlife.com/events-cat/events/state/MO

The Ford Driving Skills for Life hands-on training clinics provide the ultimate form of training for teens and young adult drivers who hold a permit or a license. Typical participants are between the ages of 15 and 22.

These clinics provide skills beyond those taught in traditional driver education courses and are an important step in the life-long process of learning to drive safely. Teens and parents will drive vehicles on a closed course under the supervision of professional instructors, improving their skills in these key areas:

Reaction Time, Vehicle Handling, Hazard Recognition, Space Management, Speed Management, Braking and Stopping Distances, and Avoiding the Dangers of Distracted and Impaired Driving.

We encourage parents/caregivers to stay, but it's not required. Vehicles are provided.

A certificate of completion will be provided to participants.

This is a free program brought to you by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Construction and Maintenance Work Together to Complete Major Work Along I-70

Over the weekend of Sept.6, MoDOT crews closed I-70 in both directions between I-435 and Route 291 over the weekend. Construction crews worked day and night to remove two major ramp bridges within the I-435 and I-70 interchange. Not only was this work done safely and successfully, but it was completed ahead of schedule.  In addition to the ramp bridge removals, crews also accomplished the following:

• Installed a 48” pipe allowing for the drainage system to really function correctly. 
  They started the weekend only planning to do half the pipe, worried that high rock removal would be an issue.  Once into it, the removals went well.  They were able to do the entire pipe run this weekend.

• Completed full depth repairs along I-70 from I-435 to I-470.  This was part of exception work for the paving job this summer.  Was able to save traffic control costs for this, and everything below.
  
  
• Milled and filled approximately 3,000 square yards of pavement that had shoved after paving this summer
  
  
• Placed rock lining on the westbound off ramp to Lees Summit Rd.  This area was washing away on the shoulder.

Additionally, the Stadium and Lee’s Summit maintenance buildings, the Signal and Lighting crews, and the Independence special crews took advantage of the closure to complete other necessary maintenance work. Without having to factor in the normal traffic control, thecrews were able to successfully complete over a year’s worth of work over the course of just one weekend.

This work includes:

• The milling out of bumps along two ramps.
• Replacement of expansion joints.
• Replacement of 19 barrier walls.
• Hauling 16 truckloads of rock totaling 150 tons.
• The sweeping of I-70 between Blue Ridge Cutoff and Route 291/I-470.
• Replacement of barrier reflectors along I-70 between I-435 and U.S. 40 Highway.
• Utilizing the boom mower to cut behind guard rails and signs along eastbound I-70 between Route 291/I-470 and Blue Ridge Cutoff.
• Brush cutting between Route 291/I-470 and I-435 along both directions of I-70.
• Mowing work along I-70 from Oak Grove to Grain Valley.
• The pouring of three concrete barrier walls.
• Ditch repairs and replacements.
• Lighting repairs along I-70 between Route 291/I-470 and Blue Ridge Cutoff.

The teamwork that was seen over the weekend between our construction and maintenance crews is exactly what makes MoDOT such a wonderful and safer place to work.