AFA Gerrity Chapter Award Winners

The Air Force Association Gerrity Chapter 215 held its annual awards breakfast June 23 at the Tinker Club. Pictured are, front row from left, Col. Scott Frickenstein, former commander of the OU AFROTC Detachment, who accepted the AFROTC Cadet of the Year Award for Jeremiah Cox; Jeffrey Allen, Air Force Sustainment Center executive director and guest speaker of the event; James Hunt, 76th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron, the Civilian Manager of the Year; Joe Lopez, director of the 550th Commodities Maintenance Squadron, which won Best Military Unit of the Year; Vicki Hoppes, from the 72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron and recipient of the Contractor Non-Exempt award; Master Sgt. Alexis Delgadillo, 552nd Operations Support Squadron, the Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year; Capt. Brian Hamilton, 552nd OSS, the Company Grade Officer of the Year; Senior Airman Alexander Banachowski, 552nd OSS, the Airman of the Year; Mark Tarpley, AFA Gerrity Chapter 215 president; Laura Duck, 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group, the Civilian Technician of the Year; and Robert Recchio, representing Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. which won the Gerrity Community Partner of the Year. Not pictured is Tech. Sgt. Heather Bennett, 507th Security Forces Squadron, the Nonnommissioned Officer of the Year. (Air Force photo by Kelly White/Released)

AFA Oklahoma names Tinker award winners

Published July 13, 2015
By John Parker
Staff Writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Five military and civilian Team Tinker members and a cadet will be honored for outstanding service at this year's annual state Air Force Association banquet.

The AFA Gerrity Chapter, which covers central Oklahoma, recently announced the names of the 2015 statewide award winners from Tinker AFB. The awards will be part of the AFA Oklahoma State Convention July 17-19 in Tulsa. State winners compete against nominees from the Enid, Tulsa and Altus chapters.

For more information about the convention and banquet, including registration, contact Damon Bowling at (918) 629-7948 or damon.bowling@spartan.edu, or Dave Blankenship at (918) 671-1018.

The winners are:

Capt. Brian Hamilton, Company Grade Officer of the Year, 552nd Operations Support Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Heather Bennett, NCO of the Year, 507th Security Forces Squadron; and Senior Airman Alexander Banachowski, Airman of the Year, 552nd OSS.

Civilian 2015 winners are Laura Duck, civil service technician, 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group; and Vickie Hoppes, contractor (salaried), 72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron.

In military education, Jeremiah Cox, Detachment 675, University of Oklahoma, was named AFROTC Cadet of the Year.

Air Force Sustainment Center Executive Director Jeffrey Allen recently spoke at a breakfast honoring Gerrity Chapter-level award winners. Mr. Allen said the Air Force still faces significant uncertainty in future budgets and force structure.

"So how are we going to thrive in this period of turmoil?" Mr. Allen said. "It's all about leadership. Our leaders will rise to the occasion. They'll capitalize on the opportunities that are available for our Air Force and drive change leading to the new normal."
Mr. Allen also encouraged Team Tinker members to learn the AFSC's leadership model, a powerful and disciplined approach to solving problems and reaching goals.

Facing change is hard and feared by some, he said.

"So it's the leaders, like those in this room, who will overcome that fear," Mr. Allen said. "They'll lead the people from the fear of the unknown to an environment of success that allows us to achieve the right results, the right way."

Chapter award winners also included:

Best Military Unit of the Year: 550th Commodities Maintenance Squadron
Civilian Manager of the Year: James A. Hunt, 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group
Gerrity Community Partner of the Year: Spirit Aerosystems