ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - APG Army Community Service hosted its annual volunteer recognition ceremony at Top of the Bay Aug. 21.
Twenty-one volunteers were nominated and one outstanding winner from each of the military, family member, retiree, civilian and youth categories was chosen as Volunteer of the Year.
Col. Gregory R. McClinton, Garrison commander, and Gary P. Martin, deputy to the commanding general at CECOM, presented certificates and awards. Martin thanked Janice Downey, the director of ACS, and all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication during the past year.
"The volunteers represent the indelible spirit of our community," Martin said. "It's an integral part of the Army values, to do what is not asked and to go above and beyond and volunteer your time and talent."
"They [volunteers] gain something from it too," noted Downey. "If you research people who volunteer, you'll find that they are healthier and they live longer because they're not dwelling on their own lives so much, but helping others instead."
After lunch and award presentations, McClinton closed the ceremony by offering another special thanks to all the volunteers for giving their time and energy, despite the effect that recent sequestration and furloughs may have had on their Families and resources.
APG's Volunteers of the Year are SPC Cassandra Rousayne (military); Mrs. Suzanne Singleton (civilian); Mr. Michael Layman (retiree); Mrs. Liza Fitzgerald (Family member) and Ms. Sarah Kubat (youth).
Spc. Cassandra Rousayne
Military Volunteer of the Year
Rousayne acted as a local co-coordinator of three blood drives for the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP).
Rousayne was responsible for seeing each blood drive through from start to finish, from advertising the event and booking locations to scheduling appointments and ensuring the check-in and accountability of each participant.
ASBP provides blood products for
Soldiers, veterans and dependents during both war and peace. Most notably, it is the only program to send units of blood to military hospitals. Rousayne's support of this local program resulted in the collection of nearly 150 viable units of blood from 180 donors.
Rousayne is also committed to serving her church congregation, where she volunteers in the nursery, works the refreshment tables and assists with an annual costume carnival. She has passed down her love of volunteer work to her children by encouraging them to make boxes of toys for Operation Christmas Child, a program that sends toys to needy children overseas.
Despite the stringent demands of her military service and commitment to her family, Rousayne continually supports others in need. Rousayne said the best part of volunteering is "just giving back. Just knowing that in some small way you're making some sort of difference in somebody's life."
Suzanne Singleton
Civilian Volunteer of the Year
Singleton is an operations research analyst at the U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA) in the Soldier's Systems and Maneuver System's Branches and was recently promoted to lead the newly established AMSAA risk analysis team. For the past five years she has extended her leadership to the AMSAA Holiday Families Program, which provides food and gifts to local military and civilian families in need.
Singleton and her committee sponsored eight military and three civilian local families, providing them with clothing, toys, nonperishable household items, a holiday meal and other food staples. In total, AMSAA collected $4,200 and several boxes of household items throughout the 2013 holiday season.
She also served as AMSAA's representative on the APG Federal Women's Program committee for two years and volunteered her time to mentor an Aberdeen High School student in the Science and Technology Program as he worked on his capstone project.
"I'm very excited and thankful to my organization for nominating me, and I'm proud of the work we do," she said.
Liza Fitzgerald
Family Volunteer of the Year
Fitzgerald is the wife of Capt. Scott Fitzgerald and is the Family Readiness Group leader for the 20th CBRNE. She hosts numerous yearly events, such as the Back to School Drive which provides free school supplies to Soldier's Families, and hosts a monthly pool party as an informal way for military families to support and get to know one another. She also invites guest speakers from the local community who can provide needed services and holds trainings that teach skills to all who work or live on APG.
Fitzgerald hosts events open to all Soldiers and civilians on post. When she recently held a sleepover at Port Discovery for over 200 Soldiers and Family members, she had several different APG organizations in attendance and even received a phone call from a Soldier living at Ft. Detrick asking if they could attend. Her dedication to providing quality services and events to Army Families extends well beyond APG.
A stay-at-home mother of three children, Fitzgerald said that she left the workforce to be with her family, so volunteering has given her a renewed sense of purpose. "It was nice to give back to the Army. I feel like I was contributing to something outside my own family."
Michael Layman
Retiree Volunteer of the Year
A current ATEC employee and retired U.S. Army Major, Layman has volunteered 240 service hours as both a boys and girls soccer and basketball coach for the APG Youth Sports Program and Post Chapel.
Layman has been involved with the APG Sports Youth Program for two years. His colleagues agree that Layman's best quality is his enthusiasm and willingness to reach out to the kids and teach them the skills needed to be successful on and off the field.
As a volunteer, he is the definition of a 'team player,' stepping in to coach the girls 13-14 team when no one else offered. The players and parents especially appreciated the team Facebook page he created which served to keep all parents informed of the teams' schedules and accomplishments.
Layman said "I am very happy with the relationship I have with the youth center," and plans to volunteer again next year.
Sarah Kubat
Youth Volunteer of the Year
Kubat is a youth volunteer with the APG North (Aberdeen) Child Development Center.
During the past two summrs, Kubat assisted staff with day-to-day child care needs of children ages 18 - 36 months, including reading stories, building blocks, completing puzzles and countless other activities, while serving as a role model in the community.
Kubat recognized the challenges of teaching little ones and says it took time to learn how to keep their attention and engage their minds through play and interaction.
"I helped teach gross motor skills to every child in the room, while making it fun. It's a wonderful and rewarding feeling to know that you are guiding and helping the youth of tomorrow," she said.
"To be recognized, as a high school student volunteering at the daycare, is really special to me because I really took working with the kids to heart."
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