# South East summit aims for excellence

/ Published Dec. 19, 2023
BATTLE CREEK, Mich., 
The Disposition Services team from South East concluded their Front Line Supervisors Summit as members of the team from around the region attended the three day event in Jacksonville, Florida. This training session was intended for front line supervisors to gain insight on multiple topics.

“The goal for this summit was for us to train and connect with other sites in our region so we can learn from each other and also help each other,” DSD South East Director Becky Watson said.

Watson spoke of wanting this training to include more than operational topics as human resources issues filled a significant portion of the agenda. Participants heard briefings and held discussions on labor union practices as well as employee relations to name a few.

“What we found was there wasn’t a whole lot training in the human resources area,” Watson said. “So we focused on the human resource area which means evaluations, how we do appraisals for our people and ourselves, and how do we rate our people.”

The final day was primarily focused on safety and operations – particularly the Warehouse Management System. The event wrapped up with a discussion on best practices as each site was able to discuss their own situations and what has worked well over the year. For those in attendance the session was particularly enlightening.

“I’ve gotten some really good information on WMS,” said Teresa Margist, a warehouse supervisor at the Eglin field site. “We just went live a few weeks ago so I’ve got some great information on the shortcuts and how to make the transition process go smoother.”

For Margist, this summit was also a chance to gain more knowledge on the demilitarization – a vital part of Disposition Services – as the team from Anniston, Alabama, briefed on their operations and processes.

“I don’t have a disposition background,” said Margist. “So, I learned way more about DEMIL in the last three days than I have since I began working for DLA – so that was great hearing from the team at Anniston.”

Being relatively new to Disposition Services was just one reason that Margist looked forward to attending this summit as her peers proved able to share a wealth of knowledge and experience.

“I was really looking forward to networking since I’m new and to hear best practices,” Margist said. “Especially for us newer people, it was a lot of good information, and they probably don’t realize it but they helped me out a lot so I would say the summit was very beneficial.”

Positive experiences like that of Margist are exactly what the goal of the summit was according to Watson who went on to say that she received great feedback from those in attendance. For Watson, it was important that the audience receive more than just operational information. Watson hopes the summit can improve everyone’s ability as day-to-day supervisors which in turn helps the agency’s mission to serve as the nation’s reverse logistics center of excellence.

“We have a very important role,” Watson said. “Our mission to support the warfighter with reverse logistics solutions so I want to make sure we apply everything we have learned and experienced through the summit across the region. I want participants to share information and share what they’ve learned and also empower them to become better leaders at their sites.”