WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii -- The accolades just keep rolling in for U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii.
The garrison and its Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation is among five recipients of the 2014 Family and MWR Exemplary Workforce Development Award, as announced by the Maj. Gen. Robert M. Joyce Installation Management Academy, School for Family and MWR, last month.
"We are so very honored to have received this award, for this is a team award," said Michael Amarosa, director, DFMWR, USAG-HI. "As part of our strategic plan, encompassing a strong workforce development program is a main priority to enhance the career development and well-being of all our staff to deliver quality programs."
Other winners include USAG-Miami, USAG Stuttgart, Fort Knox and Shades of Green, an Armed Forces Recreation Center located on the Walt Disney World Resort.
This award is designed to recognize DFMWR organizations that have demonstrated a strong commitment to their employees through training, coaching and mentoring, as well as through other opportunities for professional development.
"We make up more than half of the whole garrison workforce, so to be able to ensure that all of our employees are able to take all of these training opportunities and offer all of these training opportunities to them is quite a task," said Aimee Chong Wond, training coordinator, DFMWR.
"But we want to give them opportunities where they can thrive and grow within the directorate and take leadership of their own career path," Chong Wond added.
"In all those areas, we scored quite high; Hawaii did quite well," said Elizabeth Pyon, Installation Management Command.
"We really do work hard in ensuring our staff, of all levels, have access to professional development opportunities," Pyon noted.
Exceptional submissions were received by a number of garrisons; however, according to academy officials, the five awardees excelled in the following four key areas highlighted by the 2012 Employee Covenant Survey:
•A supervisor who sets an excellent example of customer service,
•A sense of belonging to FMWR,
•A fair recognition program, and
•Effective job tools.
"All of the garrisons that won this year have a leadership that is very supportive of having employees who know how to develop themselves and what resources they have at their disposal," Pyon said. "Another common denominator among all the winners is they all have a very strong training priority. Even though we're short staffed, and we have all of these fiscal constraints, somehow our managers still find time or find a way to have their people take advantage of these training opportunities."
The winning installations will each receive grant reimbursement up to $2,000 for costs associated with non-appropriated funds (NAF) employee development.
"And then, also, the academy will send instructors to our garrison to convene special classes for certain team members," added Pyon. "And then we get a trophy!"
"It just reinforces our personal priority of workforce development, to have people take ownership of their careers and take accountability," Chong Wond said. "We're giving them the opportunities, and our workforce is great because they're the ones taking the initiative."
Related Links:
Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation; U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii
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