For the past seven years, the Office of Finance and Management (AFN) has recognized employees who continually emphasize the mission and values of AFN. Such recognition is provided through an annual awards ceremony held at FAA Headquarters in Washington D.C. while various facilities (like the Aeronautical Center) participate through video teleconference. On the afternoon of July 9, 2019 several Aeronautical Center employees were recognized for their outstanding achievements.
Mark House, Acting Assistant Administrator of Finance and Management kicked off the event, reinforcing to all the AFN employees that "Today, we are a stronger shared services organization and each of you has contributed to that success." The U.S. Army Military District of Washington provided the Presentation of Colors, while Jessica Anderson, a Management and Program Analyst in the Planning, Reporting and Risk Branch (AEM-530) sang the National Anthem.
Carl Burleson, Acting FAA Deputy Administrator, commented that there were 50 nominations in 16 categories for this year’s award ceremony. He further emphasized that these awards provide examples of the great work being accomplished across the entire AFN organization. "While the stories vary, there is a central theme: AFN is built upon collaboration, teamwork, professionalism, and a personal commitment to the FAA, the DOT, and the American people."
The program was then handed over to Carl Burrus, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Financial Services (CFO). Burrus presented the following awards:
| Quality with Speed – Individual Award | Daniel Farrell, ACQ |
| Quality with Speed – Team Award | AWP Prospectus Project Team (ACQ) |
| Team members include: Alicia Rosborough, Wayne Darrington, Jeff Basemore, Travis Nowak and Wesley Haynes. |
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| Integrity and Leadership – Manage | Marvin Poindexter, ACQ |
| Integrity and Leadership – Non-Manager | Joshua Scantlin, AMC |
Joshua works at the FAA Logistics Center in the Metal and Technology Branch. This branch includes a paint shop that prepares and paints a wide variety of assets critical to the safe and efficient operation of the National Airspace System (NAS). In a typical year the shop paints nearly 20,000 assets. The paint process is important because protecting these parts is key to their continued operation in the often harsh conditions in which they function.
Joshua is a technical lead in the paint shop and collaborates with internal customers and management to optimize the flow of work. He has been instrumental in establishing multiple measures to decrease cycle times, improve safety and reduce operational costs. These measures include the design and fabrication of fixtures that allow certain common assets to be painted more quickly and with less handling. The net impact of these improvements is that these parts – so critical to the NAS – are available for installation by technicians when they need them, and they will be protected from the elements for years to come. The painting is performed at a reasonable cost by employees who are kept safe from potential hazards.
Josh’s leadership, integrity and ability to communicate has resulted in stronger relationships amongst his work group yielding open dialogue that results in the implementation of effective safety measures and improved morale. We appreciate Joshua’s dedication to improving the way we paint crucial aviation assets and his overall commitment to the agency.
The program was then handed over to Melanie Boteler, Acting Director Information & Technology, (AIT). Boteler presented the following awards:
Customer Focus – individual Jennifer Seymour, AMC
Jennifer works in the Enterprise Services Center and her support of our interagency agreement with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) really stands out. Her collaboration with the CBP program managers has directly contributed to significant growth in the CBP workload. This has offset millions of dollars in overhead costs that would have been borne by the FAA. Jennifer’s communication skills, ability to collaborate, and dedication to customer service all contribute to the success of this program. In addition to meeting the customer’s high expectations for service, Jennifer is tenacious about finding ways to reduce costs and provide the customer with value while still meeting performance requirements. Recently for fiscal year 2018, she helped drive nearly $10 million in cost avoidance for the systems in her portfolio. As we know, a penny saved is a penny earned, so we thank Jennifer for her sound fiscal stewardship. Congratulations to Jennifer for her outstanding work!
| Customer Focus – Team | Independent Government Cost Estimate Team, ACQ Accepting the award was Michelle Brune. Monique Walswick in the Enterprise Services Center, Business & Administrative Support Branch was a part of that team. |
This team recognized that program and project managers across the agency, as well as Contracting Officers Representatives (CORS), and contracting officers, could use some guidance and training in how to develop an independent government cost estimate. This cross-functional team includes employees in ACQ as well as employees in the Enterprise Services Center Business Support Office. It is important that the agency receive quality supplies and services at fair and reasonable prices. Procurement teams rely heavily on the independent government cost estimate to assist in determining the acquisition strategy, in addition to an estimated cost for the proposed effort. An under-estimated procurement can result in too little funding. This causes delays, negotiation difficulties, and other internal administrative problems. An effective cost estimate contributes to an efficient acquisition strategy for programs and projects supporting the FAA’s mission. The Cost-Price Analysis Services team developed a hands-on course to address estimating specifically for FAA procurements. The course focused on key-concepts driving estimates and specific techniques and resources to create improved estimates. The first pilot targeted acquisition workforce members including program offices, CORS, and contracting officers. Feedback from these customers led to tailoring the course to improve instructional content. This effort will ultimately lead to improved budget projections, effective price negotiations, and demonstration to third parties of due diligence, all in support of the FAA's mission. Congratulations to Monique and team!
Efficiency Award – Individual Joshua Crissinger, AMC
Joshua works on the Enterprise Services Center (ESC) Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Team. Because of his leadership, communication skills, and ability to engage others, the TDY section members now operate as a cohesive team. He planned and organized training for multiple travel tasks for the team. This eliminated the belief that each employee could only perform one assigned, specific task. Thanks to the cross-training, employees can now do a wide range of tasks. The team exceeded the 95% standard for timely payments for the entire fiscal year. Additionally, the team achieved a flawless Central Billed Account Payment rating, and a flawless TDY Manual Payment rating. Joshua helped improve efficiencies by developing a Global Reclassification Form and guidance to standardize the process across 24 different government agencies. The new and improved process slashed 250 personnel hours from processing remedy tickets. Joshua also quickly learned the credit memo process and accurately processed more than 10,000 line items, which accounted for $500,000 owed to the government. His efficient processing saved more than 1,000 personnel hours annually. Congratulations on driving efficiencies, Joshua!
| Efficiency Award – team | Air Traffic Engineering and Program Support (ATEPS) Contract Team, ACQ. |
The program was then handed over to Nathan Tash, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Acquisitions and Business Services, ACQ. Tash presented the following awards:
| Organizational Excellence Award, team | OBIWAN Development Team (ABA) |
| Operational Excellence Award, individual | Wanda Mundy, ACQ |
| Teamwork and Collaboration with Other Lines of Business (LOBs) and Staff Offices (SO) | Team members include: Kevin Chick, Matthew Fallwell, Brian Hampton, Brandy Rico, Brian Harmon, Anthony Kluge, Tanisha Mercer, Gerardo Ramirez, Kenneth Williams, Alan Tran, Clarence Wagner, John Blue, Debra John, and Danny Thomas. |
This award recognizes teams of employees who successfully complete projects by building partnerships based on trust, respect, and responsiveness with internal and external customers.
This team worked together on ’guest wireless’ to identify the required equipment and network infrastructure to ensure compatibility and integration of the Aeronautical Center’s wireless infrastructure with the existing AIT-managed wireless infrastructure. The Enterprise Services Center (ESC) and the Information and Technology Services (AIT) members developed an implementation plan, provided testing, and determined maintenance costs. The team also worked together to identify funding sources to ensure project success. This collaboration resulted in the completion of significant improvements to the Aeronautical Center’s wireless network infrastructure. The new infrastructure provided vendors and contractors access to approximately 700 wireless access points across the facility. The process when using the Center’s wireless network is now the same as it is elsewhere within the FAA, providing a consistent experience for guests. The team rose to the occasion, the result of which is an increase in efficiency for the thousands of guests who visit the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) each year. Congratulations to the 2019 MMAC Wireless Team!
The program was then handed over to Kevin O’Connor, Deputy Director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. O’Connor presented the following awards:
| Teamwork & Collaboration with other LOBs/SOs – The Eastern Services Area Real Estate Group, ACQ | Team members include Rickey Bailey, Stacie Huelsbeck, Lasonia Marquez, Tara McClanahan,Therese Tyler, and Gail Gray. |
| Innovation Award – Individual | Gavin Byrne, ACQ |
| Innovation Award – Team | The FAA Cloud Services Team, AIT |
Toward the end of the program Mark House recognized Kevin Alsop, ABA with the AFN Employee of the Year Award. These achievements are celebrated annually and help to acknowledge the values that we live by as an organization. Everyone’s individual contributions continue to strengthen our ability to meet the FAA’s mission to build partnerships across the agency and with one another. Thanks to everyone for a job well done.
