Annual award winners receive recognition

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Donna T. Jeffries
  • 514th Air Mobility Wing
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  More than 60 Reserve members were singled out for their outstanding performance during 2010 at the 514th Air Mobility Wing's 11th Annual Awards Banquet held Jan. 29 at The Community Center on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

Winners of this event sponsored by the 514th First Sergeant Council were: Marjorie Green, 76th Air Refueling Squadron, civilian category 1; Ms. Dianna Sharp, 514th Force Support Squadron, civilian category 2; Capt. Kevin J. Kilpatrick, 732nd Airlift Squadron, company grade officer of the year; Senior Airman Heidi Schneider, 514th Civil Engineer Squadron, Airman of the year; Tech. Sgt. Zulma Novoa, 514th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, noncommissioned officer of the year; Senior Master Christopher Hofrichter, 514th Maintenance Group, senior NCO of the year and Master Sgt. Charles Butts, 514th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, first sergeant of the year.

In addition to honoring the candidates for the annual awards, four wing members were nominated for the Joseph A. McNeil Award. Lt. Col. Raymond Douglas, 514 AMW Executive Officer, was named the winner. As the tenth recipient of this wing award, Colonel Douglas was presented with an engraved solid crystal in the shape of a flame symbolizing this honor.

The award is named after Maj. Gen. (retired) Joseph A. McNeil. In addition to his 39 years of military service, plus civil service with the Federal Aviation Administration, the general is also known for protecting the rights of American citizens long before he joined the military swearing to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. In 1960 he and three other African American friends insisted on being served at an F.W. Woolworth whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. The protest sparked sit-ins all over the segregated South and is considered a major event in the nation's civil rights movement. General McNeil's life example of citizenship and service to others is part of the criteria selection the award is based on.

Another evening highlight was the presentation of the two Freedom Wing Award trophies. The 2010 squadron level winner for the third year in a row was the 514th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron while the 514th MXG garnered the group level award for the second year in a row.

The Freedom Wing Award recognition program is sponsored by the 514th AMW Human Resource Development Council Recognition Committee. It's designed to recognize the wing squadron and group that earned the most points for submitting officer and enlisted performance reports, awards and decorations, Airman of the Quarter and individual award nominations, and letters of appreciation.

Award presentations are just one aspect of the evening attendees get the opportunity to enjoy. The banquet also allows the wing to showcase some time honored military traditions such as the wear of the formal mess dress uniform, setting of the Table of Honor and showcasing the honor guards.

The 514th First Sergeants Council will host the next awards banquet in January 2012.