by Joe Crocetta / staff photographer
see the enlargement
Finance specialist Cindy Eichelberger on Tuesday was named Washington County Employee of the Year for 1997.
Eichelberger, who works in the county's Department of Budget and Finance, received a $1,000 check, an extra personal day off and a trophy in the shape of a star.
Eichelberger had won the Innovative, Dedicated Employee Award (IDEA) in the second quarter of 1997, for which she received a $500 check and a personal day off.
She was recognized by an independent panel of community leaders for her efforts to streamline the county's phone billing.
Eichelberger, who had been processing 2,000 pages of phone bills a month, now receives phone bills on a compact disc, reducing the time she spends on phone bills from five days a month to one day a month, saving the county $5,000.
The new billing system provides an accurate way to track calls from each of the county's 556 phone lines.
Eichelberger, 26, of Hagerstown, said she was "very, very shocked" by the award after County Administrator Rodney M. Shoop surprised her with the announcement.
"Congratulations. You're doing a fine job," said County Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook.
"I commend Cindy for an outstanding achievement," said her boss, Finance Director Debra Bastian.
Eichelberger, a graduate of Clear Spring High School, is studying accounting at Hagerstown Junior College.
The IDEA program started in January 1997 to promote innovative ideas in county government.
