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* Editor’s Note: This article is a column by George Earl Johnson Jr., Director of Communications, Office of Communications for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. It will be published in the upcoming May 2004 issue of Inside OKDHS.
OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- In March, Oklahoma Department of Human Services Chief Administrative Officer Larry Harmon spent some time with Inside OKDHS reflecting on the successes and challenges of his 33 years in the Department. Space allows for only brief highlights from Harmon’s insightful conversations and interviews on work, life, family and the future.
Putting his “Best Foot Forward,” Harmon said it has been a long road from a welfare department information systems analyst to an executive officer, but he has enjoyed the journey. Serving as Division Administrator for the Data Services Division since 1992, Harmon was appointed Associate Director for Administration in July 1995, holding both the new position and DSD Administrator concurrently. During an executive restructuring of the organization, he was named Chief Administrative Officer in October 2001, a position from which he will retire on May 1.
On Public Service — “I think that ‘Public Service’ is one of the most rewarding things a person can do professionally, especially human services. You won’t make a lot of money, but with the right attitude and commitment you can do work that contributes to the greater good.”
On A Public Service Future — “The next three to five years are going to be the best place to be for many who are young and working in this organization. I would tell the young people looking for a rewarding career in public service that they couldn’t have a better place to work and serve a greater good.
“Many (employees) like me (are) working in the leadership and management of the organization – I believe the numbers show 88 percent. (They) are all eligible to retire by June 2007, which means there will be lots of opportunities for advancement for those who have prepared themselves for supervision, management and leadership positions. The numbers eligible for retirement at the county-director level is close to 70 percent. Of course that will be true across the board in our society in many management and leadership positions.”
On Technology — “I remember when I first started working in the Management Information Division in 1970 and how we were charged with being in the forefront of developing computer systems to support the work of the Department. As a young information systems analyst, it was a good place for me to be.
“I was quickly impressed with the state of technology. What was being said in the private sector and what actually was being done in government were real different.
“Mr. Rader (former OKDHS Director Lloyd E. Rader) was making considerable investments of resources and funds to have the Department be on the cutting edge of information systems at that time. The investment in computers and new technology of the day (mainframes connected by keyboards and screens known as dumb terminals) made just about every day a new and exciting challenge. It made it a great place to work. I had experiences early on here that would have taken years to have anywhere else.”
On Family — Born in Ardmore on May 26, 1940, Harmon quickly became a live-in resident of Oklahoma’s Crippled Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City because of an early childhood illness. “I was one of the fortunate ones to have access to good medical care. Because of that, I have had the opportunity to live, grow, have a wonderful family and prosper while living a productive life. There were many who were not as fortunate.
“I have been blessed to have Helen as my wife and we have four boys who are all fine adults now with their own families. And we are blessed with six lovely grandchildren. The best times in the world now are when we can all be together. It’s absolute chaos, but I love every minute of it.”
On Golf — Golf is a family affair for the Harmon family. Larry and Helen play regularly.
“When the boys and I get together, golf becomes the place and time where we share and talk about the important things in life — children, family, work, world events and how to make a difference in tackling the challenges we are facing in our lives. It’s always a really good time to be together.”
On Challenges and Success — “The greatest professional challenge I faced turned out to be one of the best victories. It was Y2K! What a nightmare. In computer technology 99 is greater than 00 for anyone who knows anything about how computers were programmed. The media and computer hardware and software vendors wanted to have everyone believing that the sky was going to fall at midnight on January 2000.
“Getting an early start in 1996, we began working on solutions to this pending challenge. While there were many differences of opinion on the tasks in front of us, we really pulled together to face these challenges all across the department and the Data Services staff rose to the occasion. Driving the fairways was easy most of the time. It was most often the short-putt decisions on Y2K that consumed much of our energies. Fifteen million lines of programming code — that’s what it took to run our systems at the time. Wow!!
“I remember standing on the roof of the Children’s Hospital parking garage at midnight with Director Howard H. Hendrick, Jim Nicholson from Developmental Disabilities Services Division and a cast of others. The garage is located next to DSD headquarters in the OU Medical Center complex. Midnight came and went. The lights stayed on, the water kept running and life went on. Boy, were we all happy on the roof that night.
“We had made the decision early on to make all the changes internally instead of contracting it out. Vendors wanted way too much to do what we were able to do for millions of dollars less. That was a great victory.
“The best victory and greatest success during my tenure here has been the development and implementation of the Child Welfare KIDS system. It was one of the largest and most successful information systems undertakings in government. It was huge, I mean HUGE! It was the biggest and best-done project, it came in on time and on budget and delivered what we contracted for. KIDS became the first certified State Administered Child Welfare Information System, known as SACWIS, in the nation. KIDS remains a work in progress because there are always new demands being asked of the system. Yes! KIDS was and is a BIG success.”
On People — Harmon said there has been a number of people he’s learned good lessons from over the years:
“Jay Spence, a long-time co-worker and friend, worked with me side by side for the first 25 years and taught me about commitment, friendship and support.
Lynne Taylor showed me the real value in learning to continuously promote and recognize the employees working for you. (Taylor served as former DSD administrator and associate director for the administration before Harmon.)
Charles Brodt showed me how OKDHS State Office really worked and how to get things done at the associate director’s level, which at the time was all new to me.
Benjamin Demps was the most well-trained public administrator I’ve worked with. He was above and beyond, well-read and really knew how things were supposed to fit together.
Howard H. Hendrick is the best. I stayed here after my original retirement date of January 2000 to work with him and for him. The way he’s using the officers to think and act on the critical issues … well, it’s just amazing watching him work. He was and is the right man at the right time for human services and the way he cares — it’s what’s needed at the highest levels of government. Yes, Howard’s a good one … good heart.”
On Retirement — “Everyone is giving me sage advice on what to do when I retire. For nearly 42 years since I left the University of Missouri in 1962, I have worked and worked hard on my jobs. My job here has been my life. I spent time doing things for my job sometimes when maybe I should have spent more time with family and friends.”
Continuing to put his “Best Foot Forward,” Harmon said, “Now, I have set my goals on doing three things in retirement. I’m going to spend time with my family first, friends and do more things with my church. I think it will be a good investment of my energies and I will have plenty of energy to do it with. Well, maybe there should be four things on my goals list; did I mention golf?”
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