FORT STEWART, Ga. -- An employee with Fort Stewart's Directorate of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) has been awarded the James Carrol Award for Excellence in Management for U.S. Army bowling centers.
Roni Stevens, the manager for the Marne Lanes bowling alley, has been recognized as the top manager of the year across all U.S. Army Installation Management Command-operated bowling alleys.
Stevens has worked for Fort Stewart's Directorate of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office for 23 years. She took over the position as manager of Marne Lanes in 2016, and has also managed Stewart Lanes, another bowling alley on Fort Stewart, which is currently under renovation.
Before starting her career with MWR in 2000, Stevens was a military spouse and an orthotist and prosthetist for 20 years. Her husband, Tim, is a former command sergeant major who served at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. When he retired from the Army in 2004, Roni and her husband settled down in Midway, Georgia. Tim became a teacher and Roni cemented her career with MWR.
"We'd been stationed in Germany and a few other places, but you know, this area was the best of all, so we retired here," said Stevens. "Then we came here, and we joke that he became the spouse."
This year's recognition marks the second time that Stevens has received the Carroll award. She also won the award in 2020, but there was no formal recognition or award ceremony due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Stevens said that despite being understaffed at Marne Lanes, she credits her achievement of the award to her dedicated employees.
"Without my staff, and without all the help I've had, I couldn't do it because it takes a village," said Stevens. "I can set the standards, I can set the programming, I can figure out everything we've got to do, but without the buy-in from my staff, it doesn't work."
Stevens was formally presented with the award on Feb. 6 at Shades of Green, a Department of Defense-operated and Disney-affiliated resort in Orlando, Florida. The U.S. Army Installation Management Command hosted the awards ceremony where Stevens, along with other Department of the Army civilians, were recognized for their achievements and service.
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