ALCOAST 158/18 - APR 2017 EDUCATION SERVICES OFFICER OF THE YEAR (ESOY) AND VANDER PUTTEN INSPIRATIONAL STUDENT OF THE YEAR (ISOY) AWARD RECIPIENTS

R 261336 APR 18 FM COMCOGARD FORCECOM NORFOLK VA//FC-C// TO ALCOAST UNCLAS //N01650// ALCOAST 159/18 COMDTNOTE 1650 SUBJ: 2017 EDUCATION SERVICES OFFICER OF THE YEAR (ESOY) AND VANDER PUTTEN INSPIRATIONAL STUDENT OF THE YEAR (ISOY) AWARD RECIPIENTS A. COMCOGARD FORCECOM NORFOLK VA 021248 JAN 18/ALCOAST 001/18 1. I am pleased to announce the recipients of the Coast Guard Fulltime and Collateral Duty ESOY Awards and the ISOY Award. Education Services Officers (ESOs) are a critical component of the organization’s support network, devoting a considerable amount of time to ensuring our workforce sets and meets professional and educational goals. Both ESOY Awards recognize two exceptional members of this dedicated cadre of service providers. The Vander Putten ISOY Award recognizes the student who clearly demonstrated sustained high standards of academic proficiency and dedication, served as a role model in off-duty education accomplishment, and demonstrated the Coast Guard core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty. This year’s awardees were selected from nominations submitted per REF (A). 2. The Coast Guard Fulltime ESOY Award goes to Dr. Bonnie Kelly, Aviation Training Center (ATC) Mobile. Dr. Kelly conducted an impressive 1,512 individual advising sessions with military and family members. Dr. Kelly processed 354 tuition assistance applications, connecting Coast Guard men and women to $250K in funding to complete 201 undergraduate and 151 graduate classes. Dr. Kelly worked with Spring Hill College in its development of discounted online MBA program tracts relevant to Coast Guard personnel, resulting in 33 Coast Guard members completing 84 MBA courses at a total cost savings of $67K. Dr. Kelly administered 82 FAA-certification exams, ensuring individuals earned valuable credentials that enhanced the professionalism of the Coast Guard’s aviation workforce. Committed to educational pursuits, Dr. Kelly developed and implemented a leadership skills assessment program for junior enlisted personnel, leveraging professional personality models to generate customized leadership development plans to support critical soft skills development. In her role as a member of the Leadership and Diversity Advisory Council, she widened the aperture of 28 junior enlisted members and took critical first steps to enriching the officer corps by providing these members a comprehensive workshop on the Officer Candidate School process. 3. The Coast Guard Collateral Duty ESOY Award goes to CWO3 Lori Weller, Sector Columbia River. CWO3 Weller provided superior educational services support to nearly 2,000 active, reserve, dependents, and retirees located across the coastal regions of Oregon and Washington. CWO Weller processed $80K in tuition assistance and proctored 265 Servicewide Exams (SWEs) to active and reserve members. In addition, because of the challenges imposed by a geographically dispersed and often remote customer base, she employed a SWE testing approach that enabled remotely located members to sit for the SWE at locations near their homes, cutting travel costs, saving time and eliminating the need for complex logistics. CWO3 Weller worked diligently to establish the Sector Columbia National Testing Center. This DANTES-funded site has enabled CWO3 Weller to provide convenient administration of College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests and DANTES Subject Standardization Tests (DSST). CW03 Weller skillfully cultivated a relationship between Sector Columbia River, a local university and the FAA to meet a burgeoning customer need to provide all FAA certification testing. 4. The Coast Guard ISOY Award goes to MK1 Robert Salinas of Station Hatteras Inlet. As the Station’s Assistant Engineering Petty Officer, MK1 Salinas was responsible for the maintenance of five standard small boats, three government vehicles an 80,000 pound capacity boat hoist, and the shoreside infrastructure supporting these assets and the 45-member crew. MK1 Salinas maintained currency on three different small boat types and accumulated nearly 100-hours of underway time. MK1 Salinas volunteered his personal time to assist the communities of Hatteras, Frisco and Buxton in recovering from the damages they incurred during the past hurricane season. Although the recovery efforts were physically demanding and time consuming, leaving MK1 Salinas tired and dirty, he remained positive; opening his home to fellow crewmembers to partake in a home-cooked meal, camaraderie and emotional recovery. Despite the physically demanding nature of both his work and his volunteer activities, MK1 Salinas was able to focus on his capstone project, the science behind global sea level rise and its social and economic effect, to graduate cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Science from the University of Oklahoma. As his command would say, despite it all, MK1 Salinas made life happen. 5. I applaud the efforts of Dr. Kelly, CWO3 Weller and MK1 Salinas. BZ! 6. RDML K. M. Smith, Commander, Force Readiness Command, sends. 7. Internet release authorized.