A Carbon County employee was recently honored at a state convention for his commitment to his job.

On Thursday, the county commissioners announced that Jason Shellhammer, the GIS director, was recently awarded the 2022 Excellence in GIS Award by the County GIS Professionals Association of Pennsylvania.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich congratulated Shellhammer for his commitment to GIS at the county level and his dedication to improving the geospatial practices in the state.

“I think anyone who goes on his GIS (website) hub and looks at it can see how it is a true testament to everything Jason does to maximize that platform for the benefits of the residents of Carbon County and beyond,” Lukasevich said.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein added that Shellhammer has really helped elevate the GIS department, which is used by emergency services, municipalities and state agencies.

“Mapping for the Comm Center is extremely important so when we have an incident, when we have someone lost in the woods, the GIS mapping system has been saving us a lot of time on search and rescues,” he said, noting that the GIS department is a two-person operation and does a lot for the county.

Shellhammer, who has been employed with the county for eight years, was recognized at the PA GIS conference, held June 13-15 in State College.

“I really pour my heart and soul into what I do,” he said via email. “So being recognized by my peers at that level fills me with a great sense of gratitude. It also affirms my strategy, drive and vision are true, and that hard work really does pay off.

“I do feel very honored, but it also inspires me, because it would be easy to sit back and do what you’ve been.

“However, for me it means working that much harder.”

The Carbon County GIS department launched a 911 Geospatial Data Hub in March that provides emergency services, as well as the public with various tools to help people know when emergencies are happening, as well as providing relevant information to the public and emergency responders.

For more information on the data hub, visit https://carbon-county-property-hub-site-1-carbongis.hub.arcgis.com and click on “911 Geospatial Datahub.”