Kimbol Allen Award honors an individual
demonstrating commitment to innovation

There will be a new honor this year in the Personnel category of the Excellence in Transportation Awards, recognizing an individual who consistently demonstrates an innovative spirit and commitment to that cultural change.

This includes fostering an environment where innovation is encouraged, suggesting innovations and taking the initiative to implement them, whether by themselves or in a team setting.

The award is open to all ITD employees.  There is no minimum time requirement regarding how long an employee has been with the department.

Innovations a nominee has been a part of should demonstrate that they improved customer service, saved the department money, increased efficiency, or enhanced employee development. Nominations should include the title or date of innovations that were submitted through the Innovate ITD funnel.

“I was doing some analysis on the historical nominees and winners of 'Best of The Best' a year ago, and I observed an interesting pattern,” explained Chief Administrative Officer Char McArthur. “DEPP and D6 had winners every single year of the 'Best of The Best,' accounting for three of the seven winners in 2017 and 2018. It dawned on me that there was a common denominator in these successes and that person was Kimbol.”

In addition to inspiring innovative cultures, Kimbol also was a part of the strategic Innovative Business Practices (IBP) team and helped guide the evolution of ITD’s innovation strategy over the last few years. Kimbol was also the innovation steward liaison from the IBP team most recently and worked hand in hand with them.

“Kimbol embodied the qualities of excellence in innovation – he actively engaged and encouraged his teams and others in the organization. He was thoughtful and intentional,” McArthur explained.

McArthur shared one of her favorite Kimbol stories:

“The first year we asked the Senior Leadership Team to set innovation goals for their district/division, Kimbol, as the D6 District Engineer, embraced the concept of setting goals and then working to achieve them. He set goals substantially higher than every other district and division. D6 exceeded those goals.

"Kimbol was willing to take risks in an effort to achieve something better for the organization, and in the process, helped his teams learn and grow.”

What the department is looking for in the person who receives the Excellence in Innovation recognition is a person who stimulates a culture of encouraging and modeling collaborative problem-solving, big and small within their teams and sharing them among the wider ITD and even DOT teams. The ITD innovative spirit is strong, and can only grow stronger through sharing and positive encouragement. ITD plans to recognize the individuals making a difference toward that end.

Published 08-09-19