Lycoming County Government Senior System Employee of the Quarter

WILLIAMSPORT -- The Board of Commissioners for the County of Lycoming today announced the selection of John Lavelle, III, Hazard Reduction Planner in the Planning and Community Development Department, as the Lycoming County Government Senior System Employee of the Quarter for the 3rd Quarter, 2010.

Lavelle was selected as employee of the quarter in recognition of the substantive progress he has made in his position, culminating in his participation at the FEMA 2010 Pre-disaster Mitigation National Evaluation Panel held in Arlington, Virginia, and for obtaining his Certified Floodplain Manager designation.

Lavelle began his tenure with the Department of Planning and Community Development as a Zoning/Subdivision Officer. In this position he was instrumental in the successful launch of the new Zoning Partnership, demonstrating his ability to understand the various municipalities’ zoning regulations and enforcing them fairly and consistently.

Lavelle was promoted to the Hazard Reduction Planner position in 2008. He assumed that position displaying the same ability to learn, comprehend applicable guidelines and enforce floodplain regulations. John has demonstrated clearly that he can understand the sometimes difficult nature of Hazard Mitigation. T

his past February, Lavelle sat for and passed the Certified Floodplain Managers exam, obtaining the designation of Certified Floodplain Manager.

Lavelle has also demonstrated that he has the ability to clearly communicate difficult information with officials. He has become the "go to" person for floodplain management in Lycoming County. John is currently the lead for overseeing the County Hazard Mitigation Plan update, he provides assistance to staff and Municipal officials on floodplain management, has been instrumental in developing and presenting at the award winning Flood Summits, and will be a lead in Lycoming County's participation in the new FEMA Risk Map program, the first Pennsylvania County to enter into this project.

While in Arlington, Virginia, participating in the PDMA Evaluation Panel, Lavelle was recognized for his knowledge of the local planning process. Ken Wonnan, State Hazard Mitigation Officer from California, felt so strongly about Lavelle's participation that he wrote to our County to commend him, “John was a tremendous asset to our group. He was able to explain planning processes in a way that made it easier for other panel members to comprehend the intentions of the applicants, which in turn made it easier to provide an accurate evaluation of the sometimes complex proposals.”

Lavelle lives in Williamsport with his wife, Rachel Lavelle. Lavelle earned his B.A. in Sociology from Kutztown University, and has been employed by the County since July 2007.