FRG leader receives prestigious Doctor Mary E. Walker Award

By Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger, 4IBCT Public AffairsSeptember 30, 2011

FRG leader receives prestigious Doctor Mary E. Walker Award
Lieutenant Colonel George E. Lewis III, commander of 4-3 BSTB, 4IBCT, 3rd Inf. Div., presents the Doctor Mary E. Walker Award to Carla MacDonald, the Company A Family Readiness Group leader. A packet was submitted on MacDonald's behalf and was awarde... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT STEWART, Ga. - The leaders, Soldiers and Families of 4/3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, convened at Club Stewart, Sept. 21, to honor spouses and children in the unit who have volunteered their time to ensure Families and Soldiers have received the needed support.

Lieutenant Colonel George E. Lewis III, commander of 4/3 BSTB, presented battalion and division awards to more than 20 spouses and children, as well as the prestigious Doctor Mary E. Walker Award, presented to the Company A Family Readiness Group leader.

Carla MacDonald most recently supported Company A Families through the unit's 12-month deployment and has volunteered at other units in the 3rd Inf. Div. A packet was submitted on MacDonald's behalf to brigade- and division-level boards--the same boards responsible for bestowing the Sergeant Audie Murphy Award--and the award was approved by a general officer.

"[Carla has] done an absolutely fantastic job for … this division in numerous units, and all of that culminated with the [4/3] BSTB," Lewis said.

Before publishing the orders and presenting the medal, Lewis addressed MacDonald personally.

"We love you and we thank you for everything you've done for the Soldiers here--you're a great example," Lt. Col. Lewis said. "Other people want to be like you."

At the completion of the 4-3 BSTB awards ceremony, MacDonald said she was honored to receive the Doctor Mary E. Walker Award.

"I never gave any thought to what I was doing to receive an award because I love what I do," MacDonald said. "Working with the Families makes me feel closer to my husband while he's deployed."

MacDonald's husband, Staff Sgt. Logan K. MacDonald, a combat engineer with Company A, said he's proud of his wife.

"It feels good to know that she's [received] the recognition that goes along with the hard work," he said. "She's spent a lot of her … personal time taking care of the company while we're gone [and] she's done a lot of things that make people feel welcome when they come home."