Senate Resolution 61

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE OF MS. MICHELE T. BLOCKER TO THE CITIZENS OF MISSISSIPPI ON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT AS CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES (ITS).

WHEREAS, we join the ITS professional community and the citizens of Mississippi in recognizing 30 years of expert and effective service by Ms. Michele Blocker; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Blocker graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in Banking and Finance. She has served in nine positions at ITS spanning from telecommunications, procurement, and internal services and currently serves as the ITS Chief Administrative Officer. During her 29-year career with ITS, Ms. Blocker has served as a trusted advisor to three Executive Directors and multiple ITS board members over the years, and her knowledge and insight have been invaluable to the ITS leadership; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Blocker, a leader, advisor, mentor and friend to many will retire as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services on April 30, 2022. She has provided outstanding service to ITS since December of 1992; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Blocker's 30 years of unbroken public service are a clear commitment to the State of Mississippi and her citizens. Ms. Blocker's impact spans across ITS staff, state agencies, universities, local government, Legislators, and state-elected officials. She has been a lifelong advocate for building the State of Mississippi's workforce through efforts to improve recruitment, staff development and the state's ability to develop and maintain quality personnel in state government; and

WHEREAS, she played a key role in developing a program for state government to employ information technology students in an effort to build relationships with state universities and provide a career path for students. Ms. Blocker's efforts to collaborate on and improve information technology job classifications contributed to the original development and implementation of the Information Technology Classifications Special Compensation Plan, IT Career Path chart and the Information Technology Professional Development Committee (ITPDC), all of which were used in state government for over 20 years. Ms. Blocker continues to serve as a subject-matter expert on information technology classifications, and she is often consulted by other state agencies; and

WHEREAS, under her leadership as ITS Interim Executive Director, she accepted a National Award on behalf of Mississippi for the "Best Overall State Government Experience" which is the highest honor presented by the Center for Digital Government; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Blocker has been the consistent face representing ITS at the State Capitol for the past decade. Her integrity and reputation precede her and have built trusted relationships within Mississippi State Government. All of these efforts have resulted in unquantifiable benefits for the taxpayers of Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Blocker has spent many hours personally mentoring and developing countless state employees who respect her as a professional and also consider her a friend. Her character and reputation precede her whether she is at the Capitol working with Legislators and other elected officials, interacting with state agencies, or working internally with ITS staff; and it is with great pride that we recognize this record of achievement and legacy of leadership:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend the distinguished service of Michele T. Blocker to the Citizens of Mississippi on the occasion of her retirement as Chief Administrative Officer of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) and extend to Ms. Blocker the best wishes of the Mississippi Senate on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Michele Blocker, forwarded to the State Board for ITS, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.