Acceptance Speech by Alan Friedman

I would like to thank the Center for Digital Government and the other members of the e.Republic family for this honor. You provide an incredibly valuable service to government institutions and you play a major role in the transformation of government throughout the country. You too should be recognized for your leadership in Information Technology!

I would also like to thank the Center for Digital Government for recognizing a CIO from a medium-sized organization. I.T. isn’t getting any easier for any of us. As budgets tighten, small and medium sized I.T. organizations get squeezed in both directions; they have more to do and fewer resources to do it with. I gladly accept this honor on behalf of every CIO of a small and medium sized government-organization in the state. They all have tough jobs and they deserve to be up here with me.

I would like to thank the Director of State Parks, Ruth Coleman, and her predecessor, Rusty Areias. Ruth and Rusty both possess a strategic vision that technology has a vital role to play in the mission of the State Park System. Our Department web site, our new distance education program, our new museum collection system, and our new computerized maintenance system all help to achieve that Mission. These projects would not have been possible without the vision and support of Ruth and Rusty.

I would also like to thank every employee of California State Parks. The dedication of these men and women to the preservation of our 277 state parks has been an absolute inspiration to me. It is a great honor to work with them.

Finally, I would like to thank my own staff for their tireless efforts on behalf of California State Parks. These dedicated professionals have worked long hours on very difficult projects.

They are awesome.

Thank you!