CONTRIBUTED BY ALEA
MONTGOMERY —
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Secretary Hal Taylor is pleased to announce the recipients of the Secretary’s Commendation Award, presented to selected employees within ALEA’s Driver License, Information Technology (IT) and Accounting Divisions, for their diligent and steadfast work in the completion and successful implementation of the state’s new modernized driver license system, known as LEADS.
In February, Gov. Kay Ivey, and ALEA officially announced plans for LEADS, which had been in the works for nearly three years. On April 26, 2022, ALEA unveiled the brand-new system enabling the citizens of Alabama to take full advantage of the new options and enhanced online services.
On Monday, Aug. 22, Taylor, along with the director of the Department of Public Safety, Col. Jimmy Helms, and Driver License Division Chief Jonathan Archer, recognized employees within the agency who worked diligently for 18 months and went above and beyond to ensure the successful and timely completion of the state’s new modernized system during an awards ceremony held at ALEA Headquarters in Montgomery.
“To date, LEADS is the largest project in the Driver License Division’s history, and it would not have been successful without each individual employee’s steadfast dedication and perseverance to complete this monumental task,” Taylor said. “This was not only a major accomplishment for the Driver License division, but also our Information Technology and Accounting divisions, which truly showcases the success of consolidated law enforcement and support services throughout the agency.”
“Nearly three years ago, Secretary Taylor shared his vision of updating the state’s driver license system to create more effective and efficient ways to provide customers with high-quality and streamlined service,” Helms said. “It is under his administration that this monumental and historic task was brought to fruition.
“The hard work of all of ALEA’s Driver License employees, as well as IT and Accounting, is apparent by the success of the integration and implementation of all the new options and enhancements. I am extremely proud of each employee who played an integral role in the success of LEADS, as well as Chief Archer for his leadership and the individual goals set forth by his team to ensure the completion of this significant project.”
The following personnel went above and beyond to ensure LEADS was an amazing success for ALEA and the state of Alabama. Each employee was nominated by Archer and presented the ALEA’s Secretary Commendation Award:
1. Nona Short – Information Technology
2. Holley Cook – Driver License
3. Kelly McLaughlin – Driver License
4. Rhonda Harris – Driver License
5. Johnny Forbus – Driver License
6. Elizabeth Robison – Accounting
7. David Lawrence – Information Technology
8. Jennifer Colquitt – Information Technology
9. Jason Blowers – Information Technology
10. Taylor Cooper – Information Technology and
11. Nipa Patel – Information Technology.
LEADS was designed to meet the needs of all ALEA Driver License employees, but more specifically, it needed to meet the demands of ALEA’s front-line examiners. The following employees represented more than 200 examiners working in the agency’s 76 offices across the state.
These employees spent numerous days and nights over the course of several months working in the LEADS testing room. Each examiner tested thousands of customer scenarios to ensure the new system would meet the needs of each scenario, and that the process would make sense to all personnel and customers. The following examiners were also presented with the ALEA Secretary Commendation Award:
1. Tina Monks – Birmingham
2. Meaghan Pearson – Birmingham
3. Dana Green – Sheffield
4. Sara Walton – Mobile
5. Zenga Dubose – Mobile
