# Four earn annual Battle Creek area awards 

/ Published Nov. 13, 2019
BATTLE CREEK, Mich., 
Four Defense Logistics Agency employees were recently honored with Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center Service Awards at the 64th Armed Forces Day Luncheon Nov. 8 near Battle Creek, Michigan.

The annual event, coordinated by the Battle Creek Chamber of Commerce and area Military Affairs Committee, honors local members of all the branches of the armed services and select non-uniformed contributors – like DLA civil servants – who directly impact the mission of our nation’s warfighters.  

This year’s Defense Logistics Agency awardees included:

*DLA Disposition Services’ Irene McKeen.* According to her citation, McKeen’s most recent and noteworthy position, during a 28-year career at the federal center, gave her responsibility for planning, directing and managing the mobilization and deployment of thousands of military reservists, from all branches, for agency missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar.

“More impressive are the relationships Irene forged and sustained over the years with every military reservist she mobilized, and going above and beyond to ensure they met deployment requirements before they went into harm’s way.”

*DLA Logistics Information Services’ Thomas Kik.* According to Kik’s citation, he started working for the local DLA training team in 2011. Prior to joining the agency, he served in the Army National Guard for 23 years. His final assignment with the Guard was as the first sergeant of the Army Regional Training Institute at nearby Fort Custer. During the past year, he developed and instructed “pre-deployment training” for five deploying units throughout the country.  

“Mr. Kik is consistently the highest-producing instructor. Overall he instructed and/or assisted with 43 platform and webinar training sessions for 982 attendees. His innate ability to engage the audience and ensure the training material is easily understood by all resulted in numerous accolades from attendees and leadership alike.”

*DLA Information Operations’ Jeff Fulcher.* Fulcher’s citation said he began his career as a DLA contractor, eventually transitioning to a civilian role and serving DoD for two decades. He is the team lead for the Enterprise Database Administration Branch, providing guidance, advice and strong leadership for his team while excelling in his day-to-day work. He serves as a mentor to new employees and always ensures a smooth transition. His technical abilities are well known and respected, but his ability to communicate and motivate others is what distinguishes him as a true leader.

“A recent example is his involvement as lead in our modernization effort for server upgrades and migration. This is a monumental project that involves working with dozens of cross-organizational teams and the success thus far is largely due to his leadership and stewardship efforts.”

*DLA Installation Management’s Lisa Grenon.* Her award citation said she has worked diligently to improve the agency’s deployment and reintegration program through the high level of service she provides to those deploying from DLA Disposition Services, and their families. She works closely with Disposition Services to brief and prepare the member and their family for the road ahead. Lisa currently handles a caseload of more than 110 deployers. This is more than any other Family Programs office in the MWR enterprise, while balancing the remainder of her duties and often being called upon to assist field partners with their caseloads as well.

“Lisa has met with HDIFC supervisors and branches to glean their needs and attend additional training in order to meet those needs – crisis and trauma training, stress management, suicide prevention and awareness and more. Her intricate knowledge of local and global resources has proven invaluable time and time again for the HDIFC workforce.”