Daniela Heppard, January State Employee of the Month

The urgency, size and scope of assistance programs put in place after Gov. Jay Nixon declared Missouri's 2012 drought an emergency demanded a separate call center.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) management immediately thought of Daniela Heppard.

"Daniela was instrumental in getting the call center established and operational very quickly, which took an exceptional amount of coordination between multiple agencies and the governor's office," said Brian Allen, chief of emergency response and field services, who nominated her for the State Employee of the Month.