ALCOAST 072/22 - MAR 2022 2021 COAST GUARD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO) AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE WINNERS

R 021832Z MAR 22
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 072/22
SSIC 1650
SUBJ: 2021 COAST GUARD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO) AWARDS FOR
EXCELLENCE WINNERS
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC R 011800Z DEC 21, ALCOAST 440/21
B. Recognitions Program Manual, COMDTINST M1650.26 (series)
1. The Coast Guard Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Awards for
Excellence recognizes individuals and teams who demonstrated
outstanding performance, innovative thinking, and improved methods
in financial management.
2. I am honored to announce the 2021 CFO Award Winners:
a. Enlisted Personnel E-6 and below: SK1 Gressly Knudsen,
PACAREA, Alameda, CA. As Assistant Regional Property Support
Officer for the PACAREA Area Support Team (AST), SK1 Knudsen's
ingenuity, creativity, and "can-do" attitude directly contributed
to the competence of the SK workforce, the standup of the PACAREA
AST, and the successful preparation for and implementation of
Financial System Modernization Solution (FSMS).
b. Enlisted Personnel E-7 and above: CSCS Matthew Wernicke,
COMDT DD FINCEN, Chesapeake, VA. CSCS Wernicke transitioned the
Culinary Specialists (CS) workforce to properly conduct procurement
functions in FSMS, a duty historically not performed by CSs. He
leveraged testing environments, spent countless hours designing and
validating processes, and developed and delivered training to the
CS workforce in support of 1,250 members, 370 Dining Facilities,
and over $38M in annual procurement.
c. Chief Warrant Officer: F&S2 Jess Maanao, Sector North Bend,
OR. CWO Maanao's technical acumen and dedication to customer
service were instrumental to the successful financial operations of
10 Coast Guard units on the Oregon coast. He served as the mentor
for Storekeepers at Sector North Bend and throughout District 13,
and capably led the Sector through the roll-out of the new FSMS
financial management system.
d. Civilian Employee GS-8 and below: No nominations were
submitted.
e. Civilian Employee GS-9 to GS-12: Kimberly Mah, GS12, SFLC
Alameda, CA. Ms. Mah has managed and executed the Icebreaker, Buoy
and Construction Tender Product Line's (IBCTPL) $100M budget,
enabling IBCTPL to perform 46 surface fleet depot maintenance
availabilities and over 130 other maintenance-related projects. Her
efforts to support the FSMS/ETS transition have been exceptional,
as she has led the way in testing, carving a pathway to full
deployment.
f. Civilian Employee GS-13 and above: Alexandre Brink, GS13,
SFLC Baltimore, MD. As SFLC's Budget Planning and Development
Section Chief, Ms. Brink managed the Coast Guard's most complex
resource portfolio, with a $650M annual budget and $1.1B supply
inventory, and directed the financial efforts of a geographically
dispersed workforce to support the completion of 225 surface fleet
depot maintenance availabilities and more than 1,283 other
maintenance-related projects.
g. Commissioned Officer up to O-3: LT Samuel Paone, Base
Galveston, TX. LT Paone led 650 units and 2,540 unique field
customers to create, correct and expedite Offline Procurements
during cutover, which streamlined processing of over $45M in
procurement requests. He helped identify a gap in the Cutover
Financial System and lead over 10,000 procurement requests into one
interface to be processed directly through 249 Funds Certifiers and
583 Buyers, expediting the average purchasing process by nearly two
days each.
h. Commissioned Officer O-4 and above: LCDR Mark Leahey, D13,
Seattle, WA. As the D13 Budget Officer, LCDR Leahey competently led
RST13 through unprecedented financial change. He coordinated
efforts to overcome the largest obstacle to D13's OMR goal - a
multi-million dollar Command Center. While successfully navigating
these complex projects, he was completing a second masters degree,
gained multiple ICS quals, deployed for a global humanitarian
effort, and started teaching a Coast Guard Academy class.
i. Team Award: PAC/LANT AST Implementation Team, PACAREA
/LANTAREA. This team demonstrated superior performance in
operationalizing the Financial Management and Procurement Services
-Business Process Reengineering (FMPS-BPR) Structure for Area Staffs
& DSF Units. Their work, completed during the COVID pandemic by a
team simultaneously preparing the organization for the full FSMS
migration, ensured continuity of operations for the complex
missions of these units and the workforce supporting them. This
accomplishment was nothing short of exceptional, and epitomized the
USCG's motto of Semper Paratus! The team consists of:
(1) Janie Thomas (PAC-83)
(2) Michael Dorchak (LANT-83)
(3) Mia Grant (COMDT CG-9)
(4) CDR Jason Haag (PAC-83)
(5) LT Kerry Kraft (PAC-83)
(6) CWO Kevin Hurst (LANT-83)
(7) Ken Langford (PAC-83)
(8) Paul Dinsmore (PAC-83)
(9) LT Michael Finley (COMDT CG-8)
(10) CDR Evangeline Gormley (COMDT CG-8)
(11) CWO Teresa Pere (COMDT CG-8)
(12) Ana Downes (DOL-9)
(13) CWO Edward Csech (D17)
(14) CWO Jason Stagnitto (D8)
(15) LCDR Mark Sanchez (COMDT CG-R)
(16) LCDR Stephen Walters (COMDT CG-8)
(17) Darryl Carver (FINCEN)
(18) Kyle Mathers (FINCEN)
(19) CDR Chad Brick (COMDT CG-8)
(20) CWO Charlene Garcia (DOL-43)
3. I most heartily congratulate all nominees and award winners on
their accomplishments. I commend the entire financial management
community for all ongoing work that is improving delivery of CFO
services, and finding better ways to support operational commanders
and mission support professionals. The innovative and dedicated
financial management efforts conducted every day throughout the
Coast Guard were reflected in all of the nominations submitted.
Thank you for all you do to ensure our Service is Ready, Relevant
and Responsive.
4. The Coast Guard CFO award winners will be contacted individually
regarding award presentation.
5. POC: Dr. Dianne Trawick, COMDT (CG-81) at
Dianne.S.Trawick@uscg.mil or (202) 372-3722/cell (203) 313-4929.
6. RDML Mark. J. Fedor, Assistant Commandant for Resources and
Chief Financial Officer (CG-8), sends.
7. Internet release is authorized.