Allentown - PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch today recognized 30 Penn DOT employees for their outstanding performance with the Star of Excellence Award, PennDOT's highest recognition.

Two employees from Penn DOT's District 5, which represents Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties, were among the honorees.Local winners Heather J. Heeter and Rodney E. Snyder were honored at an awards luncheon at the governor's residence in Harrisburg."Heather and Rod do amazing work and are deserving of this honor," District Executive Michael W. Rebert said. "We are fortunate to have them as part of the PennDOT team."Heather Heeter is in her 12th year with District 5 and she currently works as a senior project manager in the Design Unit.In recent years, she has been an integral part of moving District 5 to a highly efficient project delivery powerhouse, with contract lettings of over $230 million in projects for 2012.As senior project manager, she manages multiple design agreements and oversees a staff of both in-house and consultant employees.Examples of projects under her purview are the US 209/Marshall's Creek Bypass in Monroe County, US 222/PA 183 Interchange in Berks County, and PA 61 Deer Lake North in Schuylkill County.She is also managing the design of numerous other projects, including the PA 903 Jim Thorpe Bridge replacement and the US 209 Thomas J. McCall Memorial Bridge rehabilitation, both in Carbon County.She is an Executive Board Member of the East Penn Chapter of American Society of Highway Engineers.Rod Snyder has been employed with PennDOT for nine years and currently holds the position of diesel mechanic at the Carbon County Maintenance Office.He supports the garage and field operations in every capacity. His outstanding supervisory, mechanical, and people skills place him in high regard by his peers and supervisors.He is active in the Strategic Environmental Management Program and promotes environmental improvements. His friendly personality and positive outlook make working with him an enjoyable experience."I am honored to present the Star of Excellence Award to our employees who embody the drive and dedication that are so vital to keeping PennDOT moving," Schoch said. "While they work in every area of the department, they have the common goal of achieving excellence and are an example for the rest of us."To see the complete list of winners statewide, visit

www.dot.state.pa.ushttp://www.dot.state.pa.us and click on "News Releases."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 programming specialists, communications staff and design and engineering specialists.