His 42-year Federal career began in 1963 when a Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) recruiter visited Michigan's Wayne State University campus, where Dennis achieved a Masters degree in Structural Engineering. After employing his engineering degree at the BOR for 14 years, Dennis moved into BOR's Information Technology department. In 1980, Dennis was asked by the BOR's Assistant Commissioner of Administration to manage Pay/Pers, a payroll and personnel system, until a permanent replacement was found. "I went in there just on a detail for a while and never left," Dennis said. After a formal study was conducted by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the mid-Eighties, the various payroll and personnel systems of the Bureaus were discontinued and the Bureaus were migrated to the Pay/Pers system. This was followed by the consolidation of the ten separate Bureau payroll operations offices into a single office in what is now the National Business Center (NBC). In 1990, Dennis then began spearheading an effort to replace Pay/Pers with a modern, integrated personnel and payroll system, which was named the Federal Personnel Payroll System, or FPPS. That system was implemented in the fall of 1997 and, with subsequent enhancements, is still the best personnel and payroll system in the Federal Government today-"thanks to the efforts of a very committed team of dedicated individuals," Dennis insists.

In 1998, Dennis was instrumental in the transfer of 65,000 Social Security Administration (SSA) accounts onto the FPPS, essentially doubling the number of accounts. "It was the largest successful Federal payroll migration ever accomplished in a single weekend," touted the award citation. Of the SSA migration, Dennis said, "That's what took us beyond just DOI.Social Security put us on the map." Ever resolute in giving credit where it's due, Dennis asserted, "Again, a very committed team of dedicated individuals made it happen."

From the start, Dennis has advocated exceptional customer service, payroll accuracy, and configuration flexibility. His passion for customer service excellence is evident. "You're dealing with people's pay; you're dealing with some employees who are living from one check to another; you're dealing with single parents who are supporting kids-and it's important to get their pay to them." Under Dennis's guidance and management, the NBC e-Payroll Initiative, a component of President Bush's Management Agenda, is one of the most successful e-Gov initiatives. All NBC e-Payroll migrations were accomplished on schedule, despite the fact the agencies had very disparate payroll systems, while maintaining a 99.9 percent operational payroll accuracy rate. Although Dennis is attributed with e-Payroll's success, he insists these types of initiatives cannot be accomplished without the commitment of the employees to get the job done and unwavering, government-wide management support. "The entire NBC Federal Personnel and Payroll Systems and Services Directorate pulled together to meet our e-Payroll commitments, which increased the number of accounts serviced by the NBC by nearly 50 percent and resulted in economies of scale to all of the NBC clients," Dennis affirmed.

Dennis anticipates spending his retirement days playing first base in a Senior's slow-pitch softball league that plays locally and nationally. When he's not on the softball field, he plans to enjoy life with his wife, children, and grandkids.