On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, the Harford County Department of Procurement celebrated National Procurement Month with an office supply treasure swap aimed at a “green” goal to improve efficiency in county government.
“The goal of this treasure swap was to reuse and recycle office supplies among county departments to make better use of taxpayer-funded resources,” said Karen Myers, director of Procurement. “It was based on a simple concept: bring what you don’t need, take away what you do, and nothing goes to waste.”
The project began earlier in the month when Myers invited all departments under the administration of County Executive Barry Glassman, along with the Sheriff’s Office, the State’s Attorney’s Office and the County Council, to drop off their gently used and no longer needed office supplies to the county office building at 220 S. Main St. in Bel Air. Procurement Department staff organized and displayed the found treasure in the first floor conference room on March 17 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Setting a festive mood with a St. Patrick’s Day theme, staff played host and helped participants find needed supplies.
Treasury Department employees made swaps for ink cartridges, desk organizers, and files that they would have ordered new. The Law Department discovered red-lined legal paper that had been stored away in Procurement, and Department of Public Works employees recovered notebooks and desk organizers. After government agencies had an opportunity to select what they could use, leftovers were donated to local nonprofits.
County Executive Barry Glassman praised employees for advancing the goals of his administration: “I am very proud of my Procurement Director Karen Myers and her staff for acting on our goal to improve efficiencies in Harford County government. I would also like to thank all participating employees who made the swap a success and saved our citizens some ‘green’ this St. Patrick’s Day.”
