USAMITC Selects Employee of the Year for 2011

By Kenneth Blair Hogue, USAMITC Public AffairsMarch 14, 2012

USAMITC Employee of the Year
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS -- the U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center (USAMITC) recently selected their Employee of the Year for 2011. Joe Tolentino, a Project Manager in USAMITC's Sustainment Division, was awarded this year's honor recipient. Tolentino was also selected as Employee of the Quarter for October through December; a prelude to him being selected as Employee of the Year.

"This was a very humbling surprise; very unexpected," said Tolentino. Several factors came together to help bring this selection about. "Having a strong work ethic, and trying my best to collaborate with our USAMITC team members on some very challenging projects," are just some of the traits that Tolentino said may have contributed to him being selected for this award.

When prompted, Tolentino compared himself to Matthew Wimpee, an information technology project manager who works in USAMITC's Project Management Division, and the command's Employee of the Year for 2010. "Matt Wimpee and I have a lot of the same work ethic," said Tolentino. "I've learned a lot observing Matt and have the utmost respect for him."

Tolentino said he came by his work ethic naturally. "I got my work ethic from my 'Old Man,'" said Tolentino. "He's a retired Senior NCO (non-commissioned officer), and watching him over the years taught me a lot about leadership and to do the best that I possibly can."

Tolentino was born in the Northeastern U.S. and was raised in South America. His family moved back to the U.S. and his father joined the Military shortly thereafter. From then he lived wherever his father and family was stationed: stateside, Europe and other overseas locations.

In later years, Tolentino moved to San Antonio to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). "I always wanted to come to Texas and to San Antonio, because I was always enthralled with this part of the country from watching westerns when I was a kid," said Tolentino. "However, what I didn't take into account, or had any idea about, was the heat. I nearly turned around to get back on the plane after we landed," he said with a chuckle. He quickly said afterwards that he now loves San Antonio.

Parallel to this, his parents settled in San Antonio, and this led to Tolentino settling in San Antonio as well.

Tolentino graduated from UTSA and joined the Air Force as a commissioned officer. He served in the Air Force for 12 years, but got out to provide family stability. "I had back-to-back deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and I realized because of the way my career was heading and my upward mobility, deployments were about to become very frequent. I knew I couldn't put my family through that anymore," he said. "I used to love deploying with troops and executing the mission, but my family comes first."

After his time in, he thought about the Air Force Reserves, but reconsidered. "My son said, 'Daddy, I don't want you to leave anymore,' and that pretty much did it," Tolentino said. "Coming from a small child, that was pretty powerful."

After the Air Force, Tolentino went to work for a software development company for nearly three years before coming to USAMITC. "I wanted to get back on base to 'get back in the fight' and somehow continue serving the Military," he said.

Tolentino, who's been at the command for about two years, started out in USAMITC's Project Management Division (PMD), then later moved to the Sustainment Division. "PMD moved the program portfolio I was working on to Sustainment," said Tolentino. "So I was given the option to move with the program. I decided to follow it to Sustainment."

By all accounts, Tolentino's work ethic is outstanding. "Joe Tolentino is extremely conscientious and thorough in his work," said Murali Adikeshava, USAMITC's Systems Management Branch Chief and Tolentino's direct supervisor who had nothing but good things to say about him. "In all the years I have worked with him, I have found Joe to be consistently pleasant, tackling all assignments with dedication and a smile. Besides being a joy to work with, Joe is a take-charge person who is able to present feasible ideas and communicate the benefits to all concerned. He is highly intelligent and has good analytical skills," said Adikeshava. "Above everything else, he is a great team player."

Tolentino is also perfectly placed for his position in USAMITC. "Joe demonstrates proficiency and has a rare combination of skills that go beyond Project Management," said Adikeshava. "His strengths in the areas of Project Management are top notch, because he has the ability to see the bigger picture and to meet or exceed customer's quality expectations while still managing the cost and schedule constraints of a project. On a regular basis, I have witnessed his inborn ability to deliver on projects in support of the USAMITC mission," said Adikeshava. "He is very well versed in gathering business requirements and developing long-term solutions agreeable to all stakeholders."

"It's all about the team," said Tolentino. "I'm blessed with hard working, dedicated teammates. They're the ones who really drive USAMITC to success," he concluded.