Top: Anh Vu, from Criminal Investigation Division, 62nd Military Police Detachment, was named Civilian of the Year in the GS 9-12 category during the Fort Drum Civilian of the Quarter / Civilian of the Year awards ceremony Jan. 28 at the Commons. Bottom: Kenneth Arie, Steven Gillespie, AmberLee Clement and Jill Dowey were among the Civilian of the Quarter awardees at the ceremony. (Photos by Glenn Wagner, Fort Drum Visual Information)
Leaders recognize outstanding civilian employees with quarterly, annual awards during ceremony
Mike Strasser
Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Jan. 29, 2021) – Employees across Fort Drum were recognized for their outstanding job performances during the Civilian of the Quarter / Civilian of the Year awards ceremony Jan. 28 at the Commons.
The event, hosted by Fort Drum Directorate of Emergency Services, was livestreamed and had a limited number of people in attendance to comply with COVID-19 safety protocol.
“Fort Drum has many civilian employees who dedicate themselves to supporting the mission of the 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum,” said Kevin Hazen, Fort Drum DES fire inspector. “This award ceremony is intended to recognize the achievements of civilian employees in various categories whose job performance has gone above and beyond the normal call of duty during the past quarter. In addition, at this ceremony we are going to be recognizing one individual in each category that has been chosen as the Civilian of the Year, and with that goes special recognition and rewards.”
In the past year, more than 100 civilian employees were recognized during the quarterly award ceremonies. From that pool of nominees, one employee from each of four categories is selected as Civilian of the Year. Nominees are evaluated and scored on specific performance criteria, to include complexity of tasks performed, customer service, support to mission and innovation in the performance of their duties.
The Fort Drum garrison command team recognized the 2020 recipients as Civilian of the Year for each of the following categories:
General Schedule 1-8
Daphne McCarty, from the Army Field Support Battalion, was named Civilian of the Year in the GS 1-8 category. McCarty’s knowledge and expertise as a lead transportation specialist in the Personal Property Quality Assurance Control Office ensured seamless execution of morning inspections and storage of household goods, preventing delays in time-sensitive movements.
General Schedule 9-12
Anh Vu, from Criminal Investigation Division, 62nd Military Police Detachment, was named Civilian of the Year in the GS 9-12 category. Vu was commended for his exceptional performance as an investigative analyst. His knowledge and expertise in analyzing criminal intelligence has contributed greatly to the safety of Fort Drum community and the North Country.
Supervisory
Edward Chiasson, from the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, was named Civilian of the Year in the Supervisory category. His unwavering leadership, ambition and airfield operations expertise as the operations officer at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield resulted in the safe and efficient execution of all manned and unmanned, fixed and rotary-winged aircraft operations in the Fort Drum area of operation.
Wage Grade
Terry Massey, from Army Field Support Battalion, was named Civilian of the Year in the Wage Grade category. Massey’s dedicated and expert service as a motor vehicle operator in support of Army Field Support Battalion redeployment mission sets during two recent major operations has greatly contributed to his organization’s success while providing invaluable support to the installation’s unit readiness posture.
The following employees received recognition for their contributions during the first quarter of 2021:
General Schedule 1-8
Stacy Albro, 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade; Ramona Alfaro, Directorate of Public Works; Amanda Dececchis, Directorate of Public Works; Natasha Grimm, 1st Brigade Combat Team; Eduardo Ramos, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; Chanel Stephens, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity; Phillip Tomarchio, Directorate of Emergency Services; Penny Walker, Directorate of Human Resources; and Ronald Zeller, Army Field Support Battalion.
Ramona Alfaro was named Civilian of the Quarter in the GS 1-8 category.
General Schedule 9-12
Robin (Danielle) Bridge, Directorate of Resource Management; AmberLee Clement, Equal Employment Opportunity; Jill Dowey, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity; Steven Gillespie, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; Kenneth Hamilton, Directorate of Emergency Services; Leslie Sorensen, Criminal Investigation Division; and Anh Vu, Criminal Investigation Division.
AmberLee Clement was named Civilian of the Quarter in the GS 9-12 category.
Supervisory
Kenneth Arie, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity; Maxine Card, 10th Mountain Division (LI); and Randy Ketchum, Directorate of Emergency Services.
Kenneth Arie was named Civilian of the Quarter in the Supervisory category.
Wage Grade
Brandon Desrosiers, Directorate of Public Works; Michael Hewitt, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; Tom Lundy, Directorate of Public Works; Evan Thomas, Directorate of Public Works; and Doug Zehr, Directorate of Public Works.
Evan Thomas was awarded Civilian of the Quarter in the Wage Grade category.
Col. Jeffery Lucas, Fort Drum garrison commander, congratulated each of the recipients during the ceremony. During his remarks, he thanked the civilian workforce for their contributions to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum, on behalf of the entire community.
“If you were really listening to all of the accomplishments that each of the (awardees) represents for all of us, a thank-you is probably really insufficient,” he said. “But it is absolutely important that we recognize you.
“It is never lost on me that, day in and day out, each of you come to work,” Lucas said. “And, day in and day, none of you ask to be called forward or ask to be recognized and set apart for what you do. Because you’re a teammate and you are part of a community, and this is what we all do together for one another and for our mission.”