One of the last two segments of the Florida

Department of Transportation’s vision for expand-

ing US 27 is nearing completion. The expected

completion of 3.5 miles from Ritchie Road to

Barry Road in Polk County is September 2014.

This $15.5 million project began in September

2012 and is currently on schedule and within

budget, which is always good news for the Depart-

ment as well as local residents and motorists.

During construction of the project, 34 thousand

linear feet of sidewalk and 8,432 linear feet of

handrail have been installed on the east and west

side of the roadway. The contractor laid approxi-

mately 26,561 tons of asphalt. In addition, bike

lanes have been added on northbound and south-

bound US 27, upgraded traffic signals were placed

at Waverly Barn Road/Dunson Road and Deen

Still Road/Ronald Reagan Parkway and highway

lighting has been installed at Deen Still Road/

Ronald Reagan Parkway, and sound walls have

been erected.

With the increase in the number of visitors and

tourists in the area, as well as that of semi-trucks

and commercial vehicles utilizing US 27, this

expansion project will greatly increase capacity,

shorten travel times and improve safety for both,

the motorists and pedestrians.

4 LANES BEFORE CONSTRUCTION

6 LANES NEAR END OF CONSTRUCTION

US 27 Expansion Project in Polk County - Ritchie Road to Barry Road

First Edition Page 2 On The Road With Billy

First Edition Page 2

www.dot.state.fl.us

Consistent, Predictable, Repeatable

Hello District One employees. Recent events have caused me to change direction with this quarter’s

newsletter. The first event was a surgery with very short notice to remove my gall bladder on June 4.

Fortunately because of advances in surgery techniques, I was able to go home the same day. My recovery

for that surgery at home was only one week.

Eight weeks later, I was hospitalized for major surgery for the first time in 61.58 years (rounding is for the

engineers ;->). While I was in the hospital, many of us were shocked to hear of Robin Williams’s suicide.

Like many of you, I was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of this extraordinarily talented, humble and

generous person. During my fifteen days in the hospital and many days of recovery at home, I had

LOTS of time to reflect on what’s important in my professional and personal life and our employees

within District One.

I expect many of you, like me, see life passing by at a very fast rate. As result, I have been thinking about the importance of relation-

ships…professional…fellow workers…friends…family...spouse and children. I know we have employees who unfortunately must

work two jobs “just to put food on the table,” the same as I did during my first eight years at the department, which leaves little time

for rest and recreation. While work puts demands on most of our waking hours, it is important we best use the time we have at work

and in our personnel lives to work on our development, relationships, and have quality time with our family.

For me, caring for and having good relationships with others in my life, both personally and professionally is a critical element to me

enjoying my work and having a quality of life. Generally, most of our employees are working in a very positive, supportive environ-

ment. The first reason I believe this, is the significant increase in employee satisfaction from last year’s survey to our most recent

survey. The second reason, is the result of the 130+ manager meetings, small group meetings and discussions with many of you.

We are increasingly receiving feedback from our employees indicating the work environment has improved significantly during the

past few years, which I credit to our directors, managers and supervisors who have joined in the effort to create a safe and enjoyable

work environment in District One. Finally, I hear consistently from our new employees at my new employee orientation meetings,

what a wonderful and welcoming environment they experience coming to District One. I thank all of you for contributing to their

perception of the district.

I want to share a quote from Richard Levering who produces the annual Top 100 Companies to work for in Fortune Magazine. “A

great place to work, one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they

work with.”

As I have shared at the town hall meetings and in the small group meetings, my goal is for every office to be a safe environment for

employees to express their concerns, needs and ideas. Since some of you choose not to participate in those meetings, I am hoping

this newsletter reaches you, and as a result, you will join in with your leadership team in our effort. I wish every employee could

come to work feeling they can trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, enjoy the people they work with, AND

feel comfortable participating in a positive manner without the fear of repercussion. However, I know from the comments some of

you provide in the employee survey, that is not the case. Where we know there are issues within a work unit, we have worked

diligently to address the issues with those managers and the concerned employees. Please understand however, when we receive

anonymous comments with no constructive recommendations, it leaves us with little to no opportunity to address your concerns.

I would hope others would consider the philosophy I have adopted after many years in leadership, “every person gets up each and

every day, hoping to do the best they can, to support their coworkers and the department in our goals, treating others the way they

want to be treated. Also, believing the rest of us are also doing the best we can every day.” Personally, this philosophy has contribut-

ed significantly to my peace of mind and to my job satisfaction over the years. In essence, until a person proves without a doubt, I

believe each and every person is doing the best they can. The benefit from this philosophy is I trust everyone I deal with until they

prove otherwise.

Each and every one of us is responsible for what we believe about each other and the leadership of our organization. As I have

shared several times with all of you, I have never seen a leadership team at the department which has demonstrated the level of

concern for our employees as we have under Ananth’s leadership. This is proven through the results of our recent employee survey,

and is a direct result of the district secretaries and other leaders being held accountable in our SMART Goals for improvement in

Employee Satisfaction, working on consistency in pay and responsibilities through HR-CPR, increases to pay for those employees

who have taken on added duties, increased communication efforts such as town halls and webinars, and increased funding to

training of our employees.

There are many other efforts that have taken place and are still underway as a result of Ananth’s leadership at the statewide level

and a result of your leadership team in District One. I hope each and every one of you desires to be happy at the Department and

in District One. Please join us in making District One the best place to work by letting us know what your recommended improve-

ments are in this coming year. Thanks,

First Edition

I-75/Alligator Alley Rest Area Page 3

FDOT’s project to improve the rest area on I-75/Alligator Alley at mile

marker 63 began last summer. The design-build team replaced the exist-

ing rest area with a larger restroom facility that includes 44 restrooms

and four family restrooms. The project also upgraded the wastewater and

water treatment plant and made improvements to two recreational access

areas adjacent to the Big Cypress National Preserve nature trails. Each

recreational area now accommodates up to 15 vehicles and 25 trucks or

trailers. Various site improvements included lighting, landscaping, and

resurfacing. Construction crews also built a new public safety center at

the rest area that Collier County will operate.

The Fort Myers Operations Center team’s primary focus was ensuring

the facility would open for public use as quickly as possible once the

contractor received a certificate of occupancy from the Collier County

building department. On August 22, the rest area reopened to the public

and travelers immediately reappeared and began using it. Families began

having lunch at the picnic tables as soon as they were available, and peo-

ple are enjoying using the grounds of the rest area. Many members of the

public are stopping and taking a break during their travels. The hard

work through design and construction is worth it all when we see citizens

and visitors to Florida enjoying this exceptional facility.

Projects come with many challenges and how we handle them can deter-

mine a job’s success. For example, the rest area is located in Big Cypress

National Preserve and FDOT had many environmental partners during

this job. Ongoing permit coordination was important. The operations

center team came up with the innovative idea of requiring a performance

bond from the contractor to monitor and maintain environmentally sensi-

tive areas disturbed during the construction project.

Front row: Carmen Mayer-Resident

Compliance Specialist, Eliode Joseph,

P.E. - Project Manager for the MM 63

rest area project, and Eunice Usher,

P.E. - Operations Center Engineer

Back row: Leighton M. Elliott, P.E. -

Construction Manager, Dennis Day -

Project Oversite 1, Wilson Rumberger

- Utility Coordinator, and Bruce Wat-

kins - Asphalt Coordinator

Not pictured: Gerald “Jerry” Byrne,

P.E. - Construction Engineer

The Certified Public Manager program is a nationally-recognized leadership development

program for public managers and supervisors. It is currently offered in 38 states and by the

federal government. In Florida, the CPM Program is part of the Askew School of Public

Administration at the Florida State University.

It consists of 32 days of classroom instruction, supplemented by homework assignments

and open-book exams. There are 8 four-day courses, known as Levels 1-8. These Levels are

typically scheduled every 2-3 months, so most CPM students complete the program in 18-

24 months.

The homework assignments and exams supplement the course content and require the

student to apply course concepts to themselves and to their agencies. This includes imple-

menting process improvements for their job.

Levels 1 through 4 focus on the fundamentals of leadership and management, with an

emphasis on improving one's people skills, team leadership, and improving organizational

effectiveness. Levels 5-8 are designed to improve a manager's understanding of complex

organizations, large systems, and policy formation.

Congratulations Certified Public Managers First Edition Page 4

On Thursday, August 28, 2014 the following District One Employees became

Certified Public Managers by Graduating from the FCPM Program:

Lavenia Toole, Kathy Calder, Paul Barnes, Jennifer Stults,

David Douglas, Phil Catalano, Jennifer Perry, Tanya King,

and Kaylene Snow. Troy Whitfield not pictured.

First Edition Page 5

May District - Linda Stanford - Southwest Area Office

Transportation Development Wendy Brown, Wendy Sands, Brent Setchell, Roxanne Lake, David Turley

Transportation Operations Billy Donegan, Joe Gates, Jackie Brown, Sharon Smith, Lee Johnson, Steve Antoine

Transportation Support Ellen Aycock, Jamie Brabant, Mark Croy, Mike DiPilato, Jennifer Lake, Jamie Reyes,

Linda Roberts, Cheryl Sanchious, Anastazia Schmitz, Elizabeth Serdynski

June District - Amy Perez - District Maintenance Transportation Development

John Roberson, Tim Phillips, Amy Setchell, Jeff Diemer, Douglas Zang Transportation Operations

John Kinnett, Lori Spruce, Michael Williams, Antoinette Washington Transportation Support

Rena Reis, Linda Roberts, Belinda Torres-Thomas

July District - Tim Phillips - Program Management

Transportation Development Bill Greene, Ervin Sterling, Nicole Monies, Dawn Gallon, Ken Campbell

Transportation Operations Dean Gunther, John Garvey, Michael Leis, Dave Morgan, John Bertino

Transportation Support August District - Ervin Sterling - Program Management

Transportation Development Mike Mclean, Suzanne Lex, Ray Porter, Gwen Pipkin

Transportation Operations Bob Magee, Oscar Aguirre, Rolando Carrillo

Transportation Support Jennifer Lake, Belinda Torres-Thomas, Brenda Thissen, Brittany McLochlin

Nathan Kautz graduated from the 4-year

PE Trainee Program on June 11, 2014.

He is at Bartow Operations Center.

A “BLAST” from our PAST! The old D1 HQ building - - Work in preparation for the current building.

First Edition Page 6

W

H

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S

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June 9, 1995

2014/2015 School Year Has Begun

Page 7 First Edition

On May 14, 2014, BioNitrogen Holdings Corporation held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of

the company’s proposed cleantech biomass gasification plant that will create urea fertilizer in

Hendry County. BioNitrogen’s proprietary manufacturing process will use natural woody and

agricultural waste biomass as its feedstock, in place of natural gas and harmful chemicals, to create

a high-quality urea fertilizer. The only by-products are sulphur and fly ash, both of which will be

packaged and sold for reuse by other industry segments.

According to Gregg Gillman, President of the Hendry County Economic Development Council, it

was “Hendry County’s largest project announcement in 50 years”.

In addition to local incentives provided by the Hendry County Economic Development Council,

County administration and the Hendry County Industrial Development Authority, BioNitrogen

received a $300,000 Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund (QTI) incentive from Enterprise Florida

Inc.

The Department of Transportation is providing approximately $850,000 through an Economic De-

velopment Transportation Fund Grant (EDTF) to fund the design and construction of turn lanes

from CR 835 to the proposed facility. These improvements will help ensure safe and efficient

access. The project is expected to create 55 full-time jobs as well as 250 construction jobs for the

18-month construction period which is expected to begin in late summer of 2014.

About 150 people attended the ribbon cutting and project announcement. Speakers included

senior management of BioNitrogen, local officials, Representative Katie Edwards and Representa-

tive Matt Hudson. Also in attendance and speaking on behalf of the Department was Richard Biter,

Assistant Secretary Intermodal Systems Development, District One was represented by Karen

Miracola, District One EDTF Coordinator and John Anderson, LaBelle Operations Center Manager.

BioNitrogen Holdings Corporation comes to Hendry County

First Edition Page 8

Terry Beacham

Tony Stevens

Jim Watts

“The harder you work,

the harder it is to surrender."

- Vince Lombardi

First Edition Page 9 2014 SASHTO Scholarship awards

Recipient of the Secretary’s Scholarship Award of $1,000, Megan is a graduate of George Jenkins High

School in Lakeland. Her father is Sam Joseph who works in our Materials Office.

Megan plans to become a doctor in pediatrics or in the ear, nose and throat (ENT) field. She graduated from

high school with a 3.99 un-weighted grade point average (GPA) and a 4.615 weighted GPA and was the

valedictorian of her class of over 450 students.

With numerous Advanced Placement (AP) classes on her plate, Megan still had time to be the Vice Presi-

dent of her Student Council, Leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and had over 700 hours of

community service volunteering in local hospitals, Teen Court, Salvation Army, Lighthouse Ministries and

her local church.

Recipient of the District Secretary’s Scholarship Award of $500, Michele currently attends Palm Beach

Atlantic College and her education objective is to graduate with Honors with a Bachelor’s Degree in

Musical Theatre.

Michele’s father is Michael Cocking who works in our Surveying and Mapping Office and her mother is

Kim Cocking who works in our Procurement Services Office.

Michele would like to become a Drama Therapist and work specifically with autistic children.

Michele has been on the Palm Beach Atlantic Provost’s list several times and has received the Frederick M.

Supper Honors Scholarship. In addition to receiving many academic awards, Michele also participates in

volunteer work in her community.

Recipient of the District Secretary’s Scholarship Award of $500, Abigail is a graduate of Lake Placid High

School.

Abbi’s father is Sam Samperi who works in our Facilities Management Office. Abbi plans to study business

and major in communication sciences and disorders.

Abbi was active in her Student Government Association, Future Business Leaders of America, National

Honor Society and participated as captain for the Lake Placid Girls Weightlifting team.

While working at Publix, Abbi still had time to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Manna Ministries,

Special Stars and the Miracle League.

High School Category – Secretary’s Award ($1,000)

Megan Joseph Daughter of Sam Joseph - Materials Office

High School Category – District Secretary’s Award ($500)

Abbi Samperi Daughter of Samuel Samperi - Facilities Management

College Category – District Secretary’s Award ($500)

Michele Cocking Daughter of Michael and Kim Cocking - Surveying & Mapping/Procurement

Southeastern Association of State Highway Transportation Officials

First Edition Page 10

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever awoken

(not to be confused with awoke) with the feeling that

you need to wear what Eunice is wearing? I’ve had a

few of those days where I’ve rolled out of bed and said

to no one in particular: “I need to wear what Eunice is

wearing!” You see, we operation engineers need to stick

together, and when possible, dress the same, like twins.

First Edition

Carmen Monroy attended the Ride of Silence on Wednesday night, May 21 along with nearly 200 cyclists

through downtown Fort Myers. The ride started and ended in Centennial Park along the Caloosahatchee

River in a silent procession.

The event took place to memorialize and honor cyclists who have been injured or killed while riding.

Carmen passed out bike lights and Alert Today - Alive Tomorrow information to bring awareness to driv-

ing, walking and cycling safely.

Johnnie Womble, son of Pebbles Womble, Bartow Operations, and his Rays Minor League team won the Lakeland Highlands Babe Ruth Baseball 2014 Spring Season Championship.

The team was coached by his dad, David Womble. Johnnie played second base and pitched a few games as well.

Congratulations to Johnny, David and the Rays!

Albert Rosenstein, Sarasota Operation Center & Eunice Usher, Ft. Myers Operations Center

Submitted by JoAnn May

Arthur Narvaez

Bill Fuller

Brenda Wood

Carl Gaugh

Carl Metz

Dale Flippin

Dawn Gallon

Debbie Stewart

Freddie Hankerson

George Martin

Gibu Geevarghese

Jamie Schley

Jeff Winningham

John Kinnett

John Morrison

Katherine Chinault

Ken Bass

Kyle Green

Mark Peronto

Mike Ebersole

Monica Carpenter

Paul Barnes

Renjan Joseph

Tim Phillips

Timmy Meeks

Tom Giddens

Troy Whitfield

First Edition Page 11

DID YOU KNOW?

Congratulations to all

“spotlight” employees

Lake Okeechobee, locally referred to

as "The Lake" or "The Big O", is the

largest freshwater lake

in the state of Florida.

Area: 730 sq. miles (1,891 km²)

Surface elevation: 18' 0" (5.49 m)

Width: 28.96 miles (46.6 km)

Mean depth: 9' 0" (2.74 m)

Length: 35.73 miles (57.5 km)

Fish: Redear sunfish, Largemouth

bass, Bluegill

Inflow source: Fisheating Creek

Kissimmee River

Lake Okeechobee is the second largest lake that is entirely in the United States.

It covers 750 square miles and is actually a massive sink hole,

an indentation in Florida's limestone bedrock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee

First Edition

Page 12

Employee Service Mileposts

2014

5 Years

10 Years

15 Years

20 Years

25 Years

30 Years

35 Years

40 Years

Mickey Harrison Bonnie Lewis

Mark Roberts Charlene Mullis

Lynn Wren Deborah Stewart

Lee Jones Richard Davis

Keith Crews William Peterson

Cory Kirkland

Cyntrena Durant Ramona Douberley Carol Adams

Al Mitchell Cathleen Watson Carol Finn

Ellen Aycock David Dahlquist Michael Teets

Candace Day JoAnn May Teresa Austin Henry Hall

Jacqueline Braswell Amy Blair Clint Mingus Jan Thompson Paul Barnes

David Albritton Ken Boehle Michael Armstrong Stu Myers

Mary Myers Rachel Richardson Dennis Murray June Downing Joseph Gates

David Hutchinson Lori Benton Jerry West Shawn Connolly Necole Marquez

John Freeman William Shuping Mark Dunlap Brian Bird Deborah Barnhill

Beth Van Wagner John Bertino Heather Young Lavenia Toole-Holt

Sim Jones Charles Parish Randy Weng Daniel Casey Brent Setchell

Richard Dyson Brent Grubbs Pamela Grissette Robbyn Jennings

Ryan Lazenby Robert Magee Brandy Shweil Mario Dipola

Kelly Kautz Dolores Huff Michael Mclean Michael Cocking

First Edition

Page 13

Ardrena “Kiki” Dupree

Graduated May 3rd from University of South Florida with a Bachelor of

Mass Communication Broadcast News.

She plans to enroll at USF in January 2015 to pursue a Masters Degree.

Kiki is the daughter of her proud mom, Shuana “Sonshine” Dupree, District

One Drainage.

Michaela Womble

Graduated with High Honors from Bartow High School on June 3, 2014.

She earned 12 credited hours from Polk State College and plans to

attend a Polk State College in the Fall.

Michaela is the daughter of Pebbles Womble, Bartow Operations Center.

Congratulations goes to Vitor Suguri, intern at South West Area Office

(SWAO), on his acceptance to Florida State University’s (FSU) doctoral program this fall.

Vitor clearly impressed staff at FSU with his dedica-tion, commitment and successful education record which focuses on the future of urban and regional planning. He has been working at SWAO since October 2013.

The SWAO team and folks in the department wish Vitor success as he works toward his degree as Doc-tor of Philosophy in Urban and Regional Planning.

The Florida State University (FSU) doctoral (PhD) program in the Department of Urban and

Regional Planning “educates scholars to teach, conduct research, and carry out service that

contributes to a better understanding and shaping pf resilient communities and ecosystems in

order to promote human capabilities, social justice, sustainable livelihoods, and community

health and safety.” In order to achieve this goal, the programs offers opportunities in a variety

of planning concentrations, including; environmental planning, housing and community devel-

opment, land use planning, community health planning, developing areas planning, and

transportation planning.

In addition, only 3-5 students enter the doctoral program each year, ensuring a close collabora-

tion between students and faculty on teaching and research endeavors. Finally, the depart-

ment works closely with many of the agencies involved in urban and regional planning, like

Florida Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Health,

and others.

First Edition Page 14

On May 29th, the Procurement Services department

went on a Team Event to the Nature Preserve at Circle

B Ranch. We enjoyed a presentation about evasive

species and took a TRAM tour of the preserve.

As a part of the presentation we learned about various

species in which we often hear about when procuring

contracts, however prior to our visit we had no idea

what the species were or how they impact construction

projects.

We were excited to hear about the Gopher Tortoise,

Sand Skinks, Bald Eagles, Caracara, Florida Bonneted

Bat, Florida Panther and the Florida Mouse.

Yes, MOUSE!

This was an eye opening experience for us all and one

that we thoroughly enjoyed.

By Kim Cocking

Polk County Commuter Services Bike to Work Day

at Fort Blount Park, Downtown Bartow

Providance Nagy, FDOT Bike/Ped Coordinator is fitting Jan Parham with a bike helmet at the Polk County Commuters Services Bike to Work Day.

Kristen Carlson, General Counsel; Andy DeNering, Assistant General Counsel; Jan Parham, Transit Project Coordinator show their support for the Polk County Commuters Services Bike to Work Day in Downtown Bartow. Kris, Andy and Jan rode their bikes to the event.

Having a “wheely spoketastic” time in Bartow:

We were posing for fun here so before you fit your

helmet or just want to learn more before you roll

out, check out helpful safety tips at http://

www.nhtsa.gov/Bicycles where you will see a bi-

cycle safety video and also find a “Wear a Helmet”

look for “For Kids (Materials and Activities)”; and

look for other safety resources at http://

apps.saferoutesinfo.org/lawenforcement/resources/

index.cfm, where under “Resources for Activities

and Safety Campaigns” you’ll see “Easy steps to

properly fit a bicycle helmet”.

By Providance Nagy

Dear State Employee:

The annual Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign (FSECC) is about to kick off! Once again, we will be

sharing FSECC news through our official FSECC website, as well as providing paperless pledging through our

“Giving Nexus” web-based tool. We hope you will take advantage of these convenient and round the clock ways to

access FSECC information and make your pledge.

The online pledge system opens for use on Tuesday, September 2, 2014. All employees with computer access will be

able to record their pledge and designate their charities. The system allows for all forms of pledging (cash donation,

check, or payroll deduction) and automatically generates a receipt. It’s as simple as “Point, Click, and Pledge!”

There are two things you can do now to take a sneak peak at this year’s campaign, and it all starts by visiting our web-

site at www.fsecc.com and going to the “For Employees” main tab. From there, you can click on “Online Pledging

Help” for a first time or refresher look at our online pledge system. You can also click on “Charity Brochure” to

download a copy of the charities that qualified for the 2014-2015 FSECC. Follow the instructions for navigating the

brochure and finding any participating charity, regardless of what part of the state they serve.

Your agency will soon be communicating to you any special instructions or plans for special events that may be com-

ing your way. Be sure to visit our website often for new developments and if you have any questions, make sure to

contact your agency campaign coordinator.

Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend and we look forward to your participation in this year’s FSECC!

Sincerely,

Your Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign

First Edition Page 15

First Edition Page 16

Let’s Welcome Our

New Employees to District One

Baby’s Name: James David Joyner Proud Parents: Joshua Joyner, Bartow Operations and Melody Joyner, Procurement Services Date of Birth: April 29, 2014 Location: Lakeland Regional Medical Center Time of Birth: 5:52 a.m. Weight: 7 lbs., 13 oz. Length: 21 inches long

William Waldroff Design

Shawn McManus District Materials

Danielle Mundy

LaBelle

Operations

Center

Shontell English-

Jones

Legal

Howard Dukes

Surveying

& Mapping

Steven Robinson

Ft. Myers Materials

Branch Office

Fidel Vargas P.E. Training

Program

Jerry Mathew Program

Management

Jeff Mednick Project

Management

Sherri Miller Arcadia

Operations Center

Casey Schley District Materials

Xiaoyan “Sue” Zhen

District Materials

Marshall Hampton District Bridge

Andra Diggs, II Design

(Structures)

Keith Robbins

Intermodal

Systems

Development

Steve Davis P.E. Training

Program

Paul Simmons

Intermodal

Systems

Development

Joanna Reall Performance

Management

Ashley Stricklin District

Construction