Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) were honored Aug. 7 as they received awards during the National Awards ceremony. Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, Chief of Engineers and USACE commander, presented the awards during the USACE Senior Leaders Conference at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
"This annual celebration recognizes the people and teams that make our U.S. Army Corps of Engineers what it is -- effective, responsive, innovative and visionary," Bostick said.
The awards included the Lieutenant General John W. Morris Civilian of the Year Award to Dr. Rumanda K. Young of Southwestern Division; the Lieutenant General Elvin R. "Vald" Heiberg III Engineer of the Year to Dr. Kathleen D. White at the Institute for Water Resources; and the USACE Project Manager of the Year Award to Andrew L. Leichty of Rock Island District. (See below for a complete list of awards.)
"Although not all national award winners can be present, we honor all of them for their contributions to USACE and the nation," Bostick said. "Their contributions are deeply appreciated by every person, at home and abroad, who derives benefit from the work of USACE. USACE remains an integral part of our nation's Army, and the strength of USACE is our people. Working together, we are engineering solutions for the nation's toughest challenges. I'm very proud of the work USACE is doing and thank you, individually and collectively, for what you do each day!"
Lieutenant General John W. Morris Civilian of the Year Award
Dr. Rumanda K. Young
Southwestern Division
Lieutenant General Elvin R. "Vald" Heiberg III Engineer of the Year
Kathleen D. White
Institute for Water Resources
Silver Jackets State Team of the Year
California Department of Water Resources
accepting on behalf of
Keith E. Swanson
Division Chief, Division of Flood Management, California Department of Water Resources
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Team Award
STEM ED Team
accepting on behalf of
Mercedes M. Hughes
Louisville District
Hard Hat of the Year Award
Christopher T. Dening
Pittsburgh District
Information Management / Information Technology
Excellence in Cyber Security
Kerry B. Taylor
USACE Enterprise IT Services (ACE-IT)
USACE Leadership in Contracting Award
Jacob M. Shaw
Walla Walla District
USACE Project Delivery Team of the Year-Excellence
Relocate U.S. Naval Hospital-Okinawa Complex Project Delivery Team
accepting on behalf of
William "Bill" John Prout
Japan District
USACE Project Manager of the Year Award
Andrew L. Leichty
Rock Island District
USACE Researcher of the Year Award
John Q. Ehrgott, Jr.
Engineer Research and Development Center
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Individual Award
Jennie A. Ayala
Los Angeles District
Construction Management Excellence Award
Pablo Vazquez-Ruiz
Jacksonville District
Dam Safety Award of Excellence (Team)
Spillway Gate Reliability Team
Portland District
Flood Risk Manager of the Year
Stephen K. Scissons
Albuquerque District
Hiram M. Chittenden Award for Interpretive Excellence
Erin A. Hilligos-Volkman
Saint Louis District
Natural Resources Management Environmental Compliance
Employee of the Year Award
Robert G. Adams
Fort Worth District
Natural Resources Management Project of the Year
Raystown Lake
Baltimore District
Natural Resources Management Recreation Employee of the Year Award
Melissa J. Rinehart
Portland District
Natural Resources Management Stewardship Employee of the Year
Brandon W. Mobley
Fort Worth District
Operations and Maintenance Castle Award
Donald J. Unger
Louisville District
Silver Jackets Coordinator of the Year
Judy M. Soutiere
Sacramento District
Mr. Terry R. Zien
Saint Paul District
Tommy Schmidt Dam Safety Award of Excellence (Individual)
Tracy L. Hendren
Savannah District
USACE Architect of the Year
Edward Citzler
Fort Worth District
USACE Cost Engineer of the Year Award
Michael P. Jacobs
Walla Walla District
USACE Interior Designer of the Year
Carol R. Elder
Huntsville Center
USACE Landscape Architect of the Year
Sandra L. Willis
Los Angeles District
USACE Program Manager of the Year Award
Kenneth (Kent) D. Parrish, Jr.
Vicksburg District
Value Engineering Professional of the Year Award
Leigh Ann Ryckeghem
Detroit District
USACE Outstanding Planning Achievement Award
To be announced
USACE Planning Excellence Award
To be announced
Building the Future Award
EAB Company Operations Facility (COF) PN67137
Omaha District
Barkley Elementary School
Norfolk District
Good Neighbor Award
Army Chesapeake Bay Comprehensive Plan
Baltimore District
Green Dream Team Award
Elizabeth Mine Superfund Site
New England District
Green Innovation Award
Engineering with Nature (EWN) for Sustainable Solutions
Engineer Research and Development Center
USACE Installation Support Professional of the Year
Christopher D. Reinhardt
Savannah District
Lean, Clean and Green Award
Army Reserve Center and Organizational Maintenance Shop
Louisville District
Real Estate Professional of the Year Award
Alfred T. Chai
South Atlantic Division
Sustainability Hero
Richard A. Gifaldi
Europe District
Antonia R. Giardina
Environmental Core Team-HQ
USACE Climate Champion Award
William D. Goran
Engineer Research and Development Center
USACE Project Delivery Team of the Year-Honor
Bolivar Dam, Ohio, Dam Safety Project Delivery Team
Huntington District
USACE Project Delivery Team of the Year-Merit
Marseilles Dam Emergency Response, Illinois
Waterway, IL Project Delivery Team
Rock Island District
USACE Innovation of the Year Award
Dr. Robert Moser
Novel Materials Rapid Repairs Civil Works Infrastructure
Engineer Research and Development Center, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory
USACE Innovation of the Year Award
East Fork Bridge Piling Rehabilitation
Huntington District
USACE Innovation of the Year Award
Infrastructure Design, Analyses, and Management System
(i-DAMS) Dam Safety Portal
New England District
USACE Innovation of the Year Award
John Day Lock and Dam, Willow Creek Project
Portland District
USACE Innovator of the Year
John M. Knight
Lake Allatoona Park Ranger Smart Phone App
Mobile District
Bert Pettinato Award for Pride in Public Service
To be announced
E. Manning Seltzer Award for Special Contributions
To be announced
George Wolfe Koonce Award for Attorney of the Year
To be announced
Joseph W. Kimbel Award for Professional Potential
To be announced
Keystone Award for Exceptional Service and Contributions
To be announced
Lester Edelman Award for Legal Manager of the Year
To be announced
Ramon J. Powell Award Legal Scholarship Legacy Award
To be announced
Family Readiness Individual Award
Shamirra Shelton-Thornton
North Atlantic Division
Family Readiness Team Award
Family Readiness Team
San Francisco District
USACE Human Resources Professional of the Year
Jill K. Altemose
Transatlantic Division
USACE Human Resources Consultant of the Year
Cheryl M. Ragan
Alaska District
USACE Human Resources Supervisor of the Year
Betty A. Brown
Wilmington District
Information Management / Information Technology
Excellence in Administrative Support
Sally E. Mahoney
USACE Enterprise IT Services (ACE-IT)
Information Management / Information Technology
Excellence in Customer Support
Margaret R. Cummings
USACE Enterprise IT Services (ACE-IT)
Information Management / Information Technology
Excellence in Technical Support
Rayann M. Kovacik
USACE Enterprise IT Services (ACE-IT)
Information Management / Information Technology
Leader of the Year
James (Hunter) Lynch
USACE Enterprise IT Services (ACE-IT)
Information Management / Information Technology
Team of the Year
Web Support Branch Team
USACE Enterprise IT Services (ACE-IT)
USACE Excellence in Contracting Award for Customer Service
Melanie L. Braddock
U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville (HNC)
USACE Excellence in Contract Administration:
Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO) Award
Jonathan E. Byrd
Transatlantic Afghanistan District
USACE Excellence in Contract Administration:
Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) Award
Kelly J. Gardner
Walla Walla District
USACE Excellence in Contracting Award for Mission Execution
Ralph J. Larosa
Transatlantic Afghanistan District
Project Delivery Team (PDT) Award for Contracting Excellence
Fort Worth District Project Delivery Team
Fort Worth District
Excellence in Contracting Award (PARC-Atlanta)
Savannah District Contracting Division
Savannah District
Excellence in Contracting Award (PARC-Dallas)
Albuquerque Contracting Office
Albuquerque District
Excellence in Contracting Award (PARC-Winchester)
No nominations received
USACE Excellence in Contracting:
HQ Staff Officer of the Year Award
Regina Y. Foston
HQ USACE Directorate of Contracting
USACE Excellence in Contracting Award:
Rock-the-Castle (Intern)
Nita Henry
Transatlantic Middle East District
USACE Excellence in Contracting Award:
Rock-the-Castle (Journeyman/Manager/Leader)
Michael C. Orr
Omaha District
Resource Management Professional of the Year
Timothy A. Lanford
Charleston District
Resource Manager of the Year
Joann Evans
Transatlantic Division
Chief of Engineers Safe Performance Award of Excellence
(District Category)
Alaska District
Chief of Engineers Safe Performance Award of Excellence
(Division Category)
North Atlantic Division
Chief of Engineers Safe Performance Award of Honor
(District Category)
Europe District, Environmental Core Team-Headquarters
Chief of Engineers Safe Performance Award of Honor
(District Category)
Galveston District
Chief of Engineers Safe Performance Award of Honor
(District Category)
Little Rock District
Chief of Engineers Safe Performance Award of Honor
(District Category)
Sacramento District
Michael C. Robinson Award for Public Affairs Practitioner of the Year
Justin M. Ward
North Atlantic Division
Ronald J. Ruffennach Communicator of the Year Award
Stanley L. Simpson
Savannah District
Antiterrorism Honor Roll
Robert M. Bastian
Sacramento District
Tim A. Raines
Engineer Research and Development Center
Jennifer D. Howe
Headquarters, Contingency Operations
William Roth
Engineer Research and Development Center
Best Antiterrorism Program
Construction Engineering Research Laboratory
Best Antiterrorism Program Manager
Gregory E. Barr
Wilmington District
Chief of Engineers Equal Employment Opportunity Award
Engineer Research and Development Center
USACE Meritorious Logistician of the Year
Tamara R. Mahaffey
Fort Worth District
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