Logisticians select their top achievers of year

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala -- The commander of the Aviation and Missile Command called this his favorite award in the Army.

"This award, like very few others, is decided upon by peers," Maj. Gen. Todd Royar said at Thursday's 28th annual Ernest A. Young Logistics Achievement Awards ceremony. He was guest speaker for the luncheon in The Summit.

Demetrius McKinney, chief of the supply operations division under the Materiel Management Directorate within the AMCOM Logistics Center, won the Management/Executive Award.

Larry Bright, technical team lead in the Field Maintenance Directorate at the AMCOM Logistics Center, won the Professional/Technical Award.

"It's a testament to the hard work that the men and women of the Army put in on a day-to-day basis to ensure our warfighters have what they need," McKinney said. "And it's just an honor to work with the men and women of AMCOM ALC and they are the backbone of what keeps the Army strong."

"It's just amazing," Bright said. "Basically to summarize it, it's an appreciation for what my team does."

A six-member voting panel from the AMCOM Logistics Center selected the winners. There were six nominees in the management/executive category and seven nominees in the professional/technical category.

Royar described the characteristics he saw in all the nominees. "Not only are they passionate, not only do they get results, but they gave back," he said.

The award is named for Ernie Young, who retired in 1998 as deputy to the AMCOM commander after 43 years of service. He was the first recipient in 1991. Young, 86, of Huntsville, was among the luncheon's 135 attendees and helped present the awards.

"For 28 years this award has been the premier award for logisticians in the AMCOM Logistics Center," Don Nitti, the center's executive director, said.

The management/executive nominees included McKinney, Russell Fortenberry, Eric Kilianski, Matthew Merritt, Kim Sharp and Neal West.

The professional/technical nominees included Bright, Duane Baugher, Kevin Besser, Gary Cathcart, Justin Cook, Jessica Weir and Dianna Westbrook.