State IT Team Receives National Achievement Award

House Tech Support team. Courtesy photo.

The tech support office team at the Hawai‘i House of Representatives was recognized with a national award last week for outstanding performance on the job.

The team was presented with the Legislative Staff Achievement Award by the National Association of Legislative Information Technology (NALIT) during a conference in Nashville, Tennessee on Aug 8.

“IT Director Craig Nakahara and his hard-working staff continually come up with creative and innovative solutions which improve the way legislators and their staff operate,” said Hawaiʻi House Speaker Scott K. Saiki. “This team is doing great work and deserve this recognition.”

The tech support team includes Craig Nakahara, Gail Iseri, Josette Friedl, Nhuc Chau, Royce Fukumoto, Matthew Kanda, Thai Nguyen, Kai Lau and Robyn Araki.

The staff was nominated for their creation of the paperless testimony system, the Chamber automation system and the redesign of the House internal website portal.

The criteria for the NALIT award include:

• Helping to improve the effectiveness of the legislative institution;
• Supporting the legislative process and the mission of the legislature;
• Exhibiting a high degree of professionalism, competence and integrity in serving the legislature and the public;
• Contributing to the work of the National Conference of State Legislatures;
• Contributing to the National Association of Legislative Information Technology;
• Contributing to existing knowledge and demonstrating expertise in a particular field;

The NCSL is a bipartisan organization serving the 7,382 state lawmakers and legislative staff of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the key state issues and advocates for state interests in the U.S. federal system.

Speaker Saiki served as vice president for NCSL during the last year and will become president in 2020.