# Aviation names third quarter Employee of the Quarter award recipients

/ Published Oct. 16, 2020
RICHMOND, Va., 
Three Defense Logistics Agency Aviation employees were named Employee of the Quarter Award for the third quarter of FY20, which ran from April to June.

Individuals receiving this award are recognized in three separate categories: A, B and C. Employees eligible for Category “A” recognition are General Schedule/Wage Grade or Wage (Leader) 1-6. Employees eligible for Category “B” are GS/WG or WL 7-12. Employees eligible for Category “C” are GS 13-15 or Wage Supervisors.

Karesse Cronin, management assistant, Command Staff Division, DLA Aviation – Ogden, Utah was named the Category “A” recipient. Phillip Smith, Avionics/ Components Supervisor, Material Management Directorate, DLA Aviation at Jacksonville, Florida received the Category “B” award and John Whaley, Contracting Officer, AUC Division, Strategic Acquisitions Programs Directorate, DLA Aviation Richmond, Virginia was awarded the award for Category “C”.

While each recipient’s contributions impacted the agency’s overall mission differently, the sentiments amongst all of the recipients was that they were all glad to be recognized.

Whaley, who was nominated for this award for the role he played in the negotiating and awarding of a five-year Supplier-Initiated Ordering contract in support of the propeller system models 54H60 and 54660 and the maintenance shop at Warner-Robins, Air Force Base in Warner-Robins, Georgia, was caught off-guard when he learned he had been selected.

“This award was a complete surprise,” Whaley said. “It’s nice to be recognized, but I am most grateful to work for such an excellent organization supporting our military customers. My chain of command and teammates are the best anyone could ask for.”

Cronin, who has been with DLA Aviation roughly a year-and-a-half, was recognized for going above and beyond this year. Some of her many contributions included: managing the local awards program, being the lead purchasing agent for supplies, overseeing the records management program, onboarding the new DLA Aviation at Ogden Commander, and ensuring that the three management assistant positions for DLA Aviation at Ogden were streamlined and had specific roles and responsibilities outlined.

She and her husband welcomed their second daughter earlier this year. Despite everything going on during this time and having to adjust to the many changes that come with having two little girls in the house, she said she has been able to find a good work/home-life balance.

“Welcoming our baby girl in January flipped my family’s world upside-down,” Cronin said. “However, having a good support system at home and work allowed me to stay focused and performing at a high level. It has been a huge adjustment for me but my husband, coworkers and leadership have been readily available for me at all times making this transition easy.”

While Smith made several contributions, he was nominated and ultimately awarded EOM for training his team on interview processes and resume writing. He also created a Resolution Alert (RA) checklist for use at DLA Aviation at Jacksonville.

An RA is an alert that is submitted on various materials that the agency suspect’s customers will use in the near future. Through the implementation of Smith’s checklist, new procedures for RA launching were sent out in the form of a quick reference. 

According to the EOM nomination criteria, these outstanding employees’ efforts show true dedication to our Agency's core values of leadership, professionalism, and technical knowledge through dedication to duty, integrity, ethics, honor, courage and loyalty.

Aviation award recipients from each quarter are eligible to compete for the DLA Aviation Employee of the Year Award.