On June 23, 2021, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) leaders recognized the outstanding accomplishments of employees across the U.S., including the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC). For the past nine years, the Office of Finance and Management (AFN) has recognized employees who continually emphasize the mission and values of AFN. These awards provide examples of the exceptional work from those who helped the agency adapt to the challenges of the global health crisis, with several innovative solutions.
Mark House, Acting Assistant Administrator of Finance and Management kicked off the event with thanks to everyone - whether they won an award or not, for coming together as a team with dedication to the mission. The United States Navy Band performed a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, followed by a few comments from Steve Dickson, FAA Administrator.
Nathan Tash, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Acquisition and Business Services (ACQ) announced the first group of award recipients.
This award is given to recognize employees and teams who build a strong leading-edge organization characterized by engaged and talented employees, committed leaders, and significant accomplishments advancing AFN’s mission.
The recipient of the Organizational Excellence (Individual) Award is Steve Aube.
Steve Aube’s ability to see and identify opportunities for improvement or change utilizing multiple automation tools is truly commendable. He ensured ESC Financial Services Division employees understood the correlation between the mission, values, visions and goals of AFN, FAA, all DOT Modes, and other external agencies. Steve was heavily involved in the development, design and implementation of the Oracle R12 Reimbursable re-design for the FAA. He has embraced Robotic Process Automation, which has automated processes and saved money, including $1 million in FY19 and another in FY20. Congratulations, Steve Aube!
These awards go to an employee and/or team that consistently delivers high-quality services or products, on time, that satisfy or exceed customer needs and expectations.
The recipient of the Operational Excellence Individual Award is Kendall Murdock.
With minimal guidance and limited resources, Kendall went above and beyond to support FAA Academy customers, specifically the Technical Operations field technicians. Thanks to his flexibility and problem-solving abilities, he quickly adapted to the changing training needs caused by the pandemic, leading to the virtual delivery of the System Maintenance Course (a requirement for FAA technicians). This effective plan addressed the increasing backlog of field technicians who desperately needed specialized training. Kendall did this by leading a collaborative effort between the FAA Academy, its stakeholders, and the FAA Safety and Technical Training Team to deliver the course in a totally virtual environment. Due to the professionalism and pride that he exhibits every day, the FAA Academy is now successfully delivering virtual training. Congratulations, Kendall Murdock!
The recipient of the Operational Excellence Team Award is the MMAC COVID Response Team.
The MMAC COVID Response Team collaborated across multiple lines of business during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling over 4,000 employees to telework while supporting the Agency’s mission. They kept the Center open, and ensured that over 2,000 on-site employees remained safe while working to support daily mission critical operations. They created tools to track and monitor all incidents on the Center, installed approximately 4,000 signs, adjusted HVAC equipment, increased daily cleanings, and completed numerous facilities improvements to ensure the MMAC was as safe as possible. The team also tracked 609 COVID-19 cases and performed 124 separate Level-3 cleanings. Their work helped to limit the number of workplace transmissions to two small instances and no widespread outbreak. The MMAC COVID Response Team’s dedication to teamwork exemplifies what it means to be public servants who continuously keep the safety and well-being of all personnel in the forefront (while also working to ensure mission-critical operations continue to the maximum extent possible). Congratulations to the MMAC COVID-19 Response Team!
Michelle Coppedge, Director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, gave the presentation of the second group of award recipients.
These awards are given to individuals and teams acknowledged by their customers and stakeholders for superior service, well beyond expectations.
The recipient of the Customer Focus Individual Award is Marilyn Landoll.
Marilyn Landoll is considered the subject matter expert of the Franchise Fund Program, leading the collaborative work efforts within each of the Service Providers across multiple lines of business. Her input on MMAC’s Franchise Fund OIG recommendations resulted in a near 100% closure rate. Only one remains open, and it is pending another office’s action. Marilyn demonstrated significant accomplishments by effectively deploying corrective actions for 12 OIG Audit Findings across cross-functional teams to resolve and formally close out complex and highly difficult audit problems throughout the six Franchise Fund Service Providers. Her leadership and efforts to support the Franchise Fund Program are highly deserving of this special recognition because as a primary provider for many services to the FAA and the DOT, these efforts contribute to the agency’s ability to receive a clean audit opinion. Congratulations, Marilyn Landoll!
The recipient of the Customer Focus Team Award is the Regional Acquisitions COVID Response Team.
The Regional Acquisitions COVID Response Team was responsible for finding the contractors to go into FAA facilities in a matter of hours to do deep cleanings (overnight), to return the facility to operating status as soon as possible. They had to execute the contracts and make sure the contractors had the right cleaning supplies. The team’s cell phones rang day-in and day-out at the beginning of the pandemic with requests for cleaning. Unlike a natural disaster that happens in one day and then requires clean up, this was a continuous event with no end in sight. The nature of the pandemic meant that janitorial services became more essential for all kinds of facilities. Thanks to the team’s efforts, more than 300 FAA facilities have now enhanced cleaning of frequent touch points, elevator buttons and high-traffic areas under contracts negotiated by the team. Throughout the pandemic, this team has been exceptionally responsive, ensuring a safe working environment for the FAA workforce and enabling NAS facilities to either remain operational or quickly return to service after a confirmed COVID-19 case prompted a Level-3 cleaning. Congratulations to the Regional Acquisitions FY2020 COVID Response Team!
The efficiency award is given to an individual or team that delivers a high return on investment for their customers as demonstrated by a streamlined process, cost saving in service delivery, and/or enhanced services to the customer.
The recipient of the Efficiency Team Award is the 2020 AFN Awards Team for their work on last year’s AFN Awards Ceremony Program.
The annual AFN Awards Ceremony is always a heavy lift, but last summer it was even more challenging because the team needed to transform the usual in-person ceremony that took place in the FAA Headquarters auditorium into a virtual event, given the COVID-19 pandemic. The team worked together to take full advantage of the new IT collaboration tools available. The team also innovated by adding live captioning, an applause track, a virtual program, tailored event backgrounds and a precise set of stage directions that orchestrated dozens of people appearing on camera and speaking at just the right time. It was a flawless ceremony and became a model for others around the agency to celebrate employee accomplishments efficiently in a maximum telework environment. Congratulations to the 2020 AFN Awards Team!
Kristen Baldwin, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Information and Technology (AIT), introduced the next group of award winners.
These awards go out to individuals and teams who have driven the process and organizational improvements to advance mission objectives, through the application of unceasing initiative, technical knowledge, and organizational, practical understanding.
The Innovation Team Award was presented to the AMA Virtual Training Innovation Team.
The team’s efforts were well conceived and implemented because they engaged customers, stakeholders, and employees to brainstorm innovative ways to resume training and improve the training enterprise. In collaboration with the ATO Safety and Technical Training Organization, the team quickly diverted instructor resources to revise the various course curricula. As a result, over 88 courses were converted to a much-needed virtual environment. They even led the work to convert 67 of the current resident trainings to one of the six hybrid in-person/remote courses. These innovative solutions will increase the number of course offerings each year, ensuring more technicians, air traffic controllers, and inspectors are trained to keep the flying public and our nation’s air transportation system safe. Congratulations to the AMA Virtual Training Innovation Team!
These awards are presented to employees who successfully completed one or more projects by building partnerships based on trust, respect, and responsiveness, with internal and external customers.
The first Teamwork and Collaboration award was given to the AIT Pivot to Telework Team for their work in helping thousands of employees and contractors adapt to a new work environment during the pandemic.
Thanks to the team’s creativity and skills, more than 27,000 FAA personnel never missed a beat when they transitioned to telework due to the pandemic. The team nearly tripled our remote access bandwidth, which enabled a virtual workplace, and increased our remote access capacity by 50 percent. Not only that, but they also continued to maintain the laptops that are needed to operate virtually. Their efforts enabled FAA employees to participate in 5,000 Zoom video teleconferences on an average day. The team, in partnership with other Lines of Business, fulfilled key roles in the areas of network infrastructure, device management and security, and monitoring-of and reporting-on critical infrastructure. With the support of leadership, the team rapidly built and deployed a tracker and a dashboard to capture and report the status of FAA COVID-19 cases, in less than 14 days. Congratulations to the AIT Pivot to Telework Team!
The next Teamwork and Collaboration award was given to the Robotic Process Automation Team for their creation of the RPA initiative and the growing "Citizen Developer" community.
This team’s efforts are a testament to the cross-AFN collaboration of AIT, ABA, ACQ, ESC, AFN’s Management Solutions, as well as AHR. With the support across AFN and agency-wide interest, the team created the capability for employees to leverage automation to replace manual tasks and opportunities for process optimization, standardization, and compliance. These new technologies, coupled with agency-wide communication about them, create relationships across the FAA and build confidence in our IT Services. The Robotic Process Automation Team embodies what emerging technologies (combined with smart, collaborative teams) can accomplish, positioning the FAA to meet the increasing demands of the future. Congratulations to the Robotic Process Automation Team!
Congratulations to all of the award winners and nominees. You embody the spirit of innovation and collaboration that are the hallmarks of AFN. It is clear from the accomplishments recognized by the ninth Annual AFN Awards Ceremony that even during a pandemic; you moved mountains to protect fellow employees and the flying public. Keep up the great work!
