Many employees of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources "rose to the occasion" on May 22, 2011, when a tornado devastated Joplin.
"Actions taken by (Brian) Allen far exceeded his normal day-to-day workload, even surpassing and far exceeding other natural disaster and emergency events he has worked in his career," said Alan Reinkemeyer, acting director of the division of environmental quality.
Allen was named the April State Employee of the Month, based on Reinkemeyer's nomination.