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Air Force District of Washington members recognized at annual awards banquet

  • Published
  • By Aletha Frost
  • AFDW/PA
Air Force District of Washington --  The Air Force District of Washington honored its Airmen by recognizing their extraordinary personal and professional sacrifices during the annual awards banquet.

Members from AFDW and its subordinate Wings gathered at the Bolling Club April 16 to recognize airmen nominated for MAJCOM level excellence.

"All award recipients excelled in many areas in and out of the workplace, including dedication on the job, community service and self-improvement," said Maj. Gen. Darrell D. Jones, AFDW commander. "Each category winner has been presented an AFDW medallion, which recognizes the nominees for their outstanding accomplishments."

More than 280 Airmen from throughout AFDW came to celebrate their wingmen's accomplishments. This year's theme "Celebrating Excellence, Securing our Capital and Supporting Our People" demonstrated how crucial every nominee is to AFDW mission success.

"All of the nominees are winners. We're simply here to select those who will represent AFDW at the next level of competition," said AFDW Command Chief Master Sgt. Pat Battenberg.

The week of activities leading up the awards banquet began with a two-day tour of Washington D.C. known as "Glory Days." Fifty-seven Airmen and family members were invited to participate. Stops along the tour included the Pentagon, U.S. Air Force Memorial, Air Force Honor Guard Ceremonial Drill team, Air Force Band Hall, 11th Wing Security Forces K-9 working dog demonstration and a tour of the Air Force Sergeant's Association headquarters in Camp Springs, Md.

During the stop at the AFSA nominees and families toured the Airmen Memorial Museum and were briefed by AFSA's Director of Military Government regarding AFSA's top priorities on Capitol Hill. The highlights from this briefing included efforts to expand child development centers, upgrade fitness facilities, pay raises, the new health care law, protecting current TRICARE coverage, and their successes in adding transferability to the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The AFDW 2009 Annual Awards winners are:

Airman of the Year: Senior Airman Annely O. Rezabek, 844th Communications Group, Andrews AFB, Md. Airman Rezabek fixed a one-year problem in one-month, identifying 20 critical records management deficiencies leading up the unit compliance inspection. She managed a $150,000 data processing account across 15 facilities, boosting accountability of items from 75 to 100 percent. Airman Rezabek corrected Unit Control Center notification issues and enabled 100 percent notification and response time. While deployed to Southwest Asia she was the Wing's Airman of the month for November 2009 at her deployed location.

Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Craig A. Groves, 844th Communications Squadron, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Sergeant Groves managed the time critical movement of four-passenger on a 92 day TDY, visiting eight forward operating bases in support of the Secretary of Defense's Operation Enduring Freedom visits. He engineered a secure video teleconference to link POTUS with18 flag officers, and the Joint Staff Director and Staff. This NCO was selected as the 844th CG, NCO of the year, and 844th CS, NCO of the First Quarter.

Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Danny D. Guttery, 316th Civil Engineering Squadron, Andrews. This SNCO lead the development of Balad's $270 million firm fixed price Base Life Support center to meet a commander-in-chief directive. Sergeant Guttery planned and reorganized a 15-person function alignment to better execute $110 million combat requirements in support of the troop drawdown in Iraqi. He tackled the flight's job order backlog and drove the 42-day average down to 30 days in less than a one month. He was also the 316th Wing's Lance P. Sijan Award nominee.


First Sergeant of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. John J. Flynn, Jr., 316th Civil Engineering Squadron, Andrews. Sergeant Flynn is the First Sergeant Council President of Joint Base Andrews, Md. He unified the 26 member team across six wings and four MAJCOM's with one vision "taking care of the Airmen." Sergeant Flynn certified six new first sergeants on 125 Job Qualification Skill tasks-equipping them to manage 3,500 Airmen across the NCR. He led the first ever Air Force National Capital region First Sergeants Conference, attended by Chief of Staff Air Force and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.

Company Grade Officer of the Year: Capt. Mary K. Kotora, HQ AFDW/A7S (Security Forces), Andrews. This CGO led, coordinated and managed the movement of more than 6,500 personnel in and out of the Southwest Asia theater in only two weeks. She installed and certified the new Air Force-One alarm system with one thousand alarm points resulting in five-times more secure capabilities. A security system expert, Captain Kotora orchestrated security systems for a 380,000 square feet building which will house 2,500 personnel.

Civilian, Category I Award: Sabine S. Martinez, 316th Force Support Squadron, Andrews. Ms. Martinez oversaw fitness programs for more than 1,300 patrons per day. She flawlessly executed the Tactical Fitness Center grand opening and procured $22,000 in equipment. Ms. Martinez earned two Civilian of the Quarter Awards and was selected as the April Employee of the Month. Recently, she earned the Aerobic and Fitness American Association Certification and Fitness Specialist Badge.

Civilian, Category II Award: Brandon Revels, 579th Medical Group, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C. Known for his methodical Defense Travel Systems administration, he managed 34 cost centers and reconciled a $676,000 temporary duty program to the penny. He flawlessly managed the $64,000 patient travel budget and processed 47 nonmedical attendant orders ensuring continuity of healthcare to patients. Mr. Revels fixed defense travel systems issues for 278 Pentagon and Bolling customers and avoided $153,000 in late voucher payments.

Civilian, Category III Award: Richard P. Dillow HQ AFDW/A8 (Financial Accounting Operations), Andrews. He led 4th largest accounting operation in the Air Force with 19 staff providing service to 230 NCR resource managers. He achieved pinpoint fiscal 09 financial executions for the complex Air Force portfolio covering 280 accounts valued at $9 billion.
Mr. Dillow also expertly managed the vendor pay process and drove 21,000 payments at $1billion by reducing interest by 81 percent, saving AFDW $450,000. He also earned the 2009 American Society of Military Comptrollers, Washington Chapter Accounting and Finance Civilian of the Year Award.

Civilian Volunteer of the Year: Jacqueline Randall, 11th Civil Engineer Squadron, Bolling. She volunteered nearly 2,000 hours of her time to Helping Hands Christian Fellowship Outreach Program, Bolling's SHARE Program, 11th CES Booster Club, base advisory council vice-chairperson, and Executive Board of Resource Connection Prince George's County president. Her contributions led to quality of life improvements for needy children and the mentally ill, as well as the distribution of 380 food baskets to local families.

Military Volunteer of the Year: Staff Sgt. Adam Furtado, U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, Bolling. This NCO is recognized for his dedicated support to children, including Tragedy Assistance for Survivors, Knights of Heroes, Snowball Express, and the Marine Corps Marathon. He volunteered 712 hours to mentor 600 bereaved children, help families manage loss, and support the recovery of eight combat veterans. He has traveled 5,000 miles to provide mentorship to 24 children, assisting them in coping with the loss of a family member killed while on active duty.

Each annual award winner was presented an eagle mounted trophy with an engraved plaque, honoring them as the AFDW 2009 Annual Award Winner.

The AFDW enlisted Annual Award winners will compete at the next Air Force level of competition for the Air Force Twelve Outstanding Airmen of the Year.