PennDOT Honors Star of Excellence Recipients
Agency Recognizes 31 Employees Across Pennsylvania
Vincent Mazzocchi, P.E.
Oil City, PA –At a ceremony in Harrisburg today, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll recognized 31 PennDOT employees for their outstanding performance with the Star of Excellence Award, PennDOT’s highest recognition. Two employees from PennDOT’s District 1, which represents Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, and Warren counties were among the honorees.
“I’m continually impressed by the hard work and dedication of the PennDOT team,” Secretary Carroll said. “These folks work tirelessly each day to provide safe and efficient transportation for Pennsylvania’s residents.”
Carroll and other department executives honored winners Vincent Mazzocchi, P.E., and Benjamin Vincent, P.E., during an event held at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.
“Vince and Ben are great examples of the dedication, hard work, and innovation that define our team in northwest Pennsylvania,” said PennDOT District 1 Executive Brian McNulty, P.E. “Their contributions are an integral part in the process of providing a quality transportation system while ensuring we are good stewards of the funding we receive.”
Mazzocchi serves as a Civil Engineer Manager in the Information and Data Management (IDM) Unit.
In his current role, Mazzocchi has assisted subject matter experts with crafting submissions and obtaining transportation Productivity Improvement Fund (PIF) awards for innovative projects including interstate ramp gates in Erie County, bedrock sensing equipment, and drone gear, in addition to developing effective processes for teaching employees how to properly use the equipment.
Under his guidance, PennDOT’s northwest region enhanced usage of digital tools such as SharePoint and Power BI to increase timeliness, accuracy, and transparency, and eliminated old processes that hindered information sharing.
Now employees can quickly access information through various dashboards. District leadership expects to realize savings through these efforts, which increased efficiency. As an example, the Winter Materials Dashboard has the potential to save the northwest region $100,000 a year.
Mazzocchi lives in Clarion County and is an active member of the Knights of Columbus.
Benjamin Vincent was honored for his work as the northwest region’s Assistant District Maintenance Manager, at which time he managed the district’s five-year paving plans for each of the region’s six counties.
Benjamin Vincent
In that position, Vincent managed 15 to 25 roadway contracts annually and led his team with the philosophy of maintaining quality standards and keeping costs low.
In 2021 and 2202, Vincent oversaw more than 48 projets worth approximately $106 million, which improved 144 miles of roadway throughout the region. At the same time, he was able to inventory and inspect the district’s stormwater control system.
Vincent, who was recently promoted to Assistant District Bridge Engineer for Design, lives in Venango County with his wife Andrea Vincent, their 6-year-old son Chandler, and 4-year-old daughter Mazie.
The Star of Excellence Awards are presented annually to employees who represent the department’s values of service, performance, and integrity. The recipients represent a variety of organizational positions, spanning from highway maintenance and driver and vehicle services workers, to traffic control specialists, communications staff and design and engineering specialists.
For more information on PennDOT activities in Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, and Warren counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District1