Photo By Patrick Tremblay | Frank Oppedisano, a Defense Contract Management Agency Garden City supervisory...... read more read more
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GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Frank Oppedisano served under 14 different leaders at Defense Contract Management Agency Garden City. It’s a number he’s proud of, just as he’s proud to be leaving the organization in good hands after over 40 years of federal employment.
“I’m proud of what this is all about,” said Oppedisano. “For a guy like me, who’s from the other side of the ocean, I feel pride.”
Oppedisano was born in Italy, and came to the U.S. when he was 15. To listen to him talk, softly and often, one would never guess he arrived here more than 50 years ago. “I never lost my accent. We spoke Italian in the home – but it’s never stopped me from talking.”
Oppedisano said it never stopped him from learning, either. He was drawn to government work for pragmatic reasons — he knew it would allow him to focus on his family while also giving back to his adopted home country. He soon found a place to grow a career as a contract administrator at DCMA Garden City, including 26 years as a supervisor. He also found an extended family.
Family is a central theme in Oppedisano’s world. “I teach the people I’ve worked with the family environment and culture. Take care of yourself. Take care of your product. Take care of your customer and your management. That’s what the job is all about.”
When this kind of person leaves an organization, no matter how much he’s done to prepare his coworkers, it’s noticed.
“Frank has been an important part of the contract management office and a huge asset in a career spanning four decades of exceptional service,” said Neil Mintz, DCMA Garden City director.
“He has always been a valued colleague and, throughout his career, he has taken on some outstanding contracting and leadership challenges,” added Mintz. “Frank’s institutional knowledge, experience, commitment and camaraderie will be sorely missed.”
Oppedisano has seen a lot of changes in his time at DCMA. One of the most positive has been technology improving the way guidance is given to contract administrators.
“There is a tremendous volume of information, and now, it’s almost instant,” said Oppedisano. “Now (policy and regulations) are living documents. Years ago, the contractors might have known changes before us, today it’s more favorable.”
Not all of the changes have been for the better, but he’s been around enough to know the organization will right itself when mistakes are made.
“If you spend years in this place, you’ve seen it all,” said Oppedisano. “You’ve seen where we fail and where we’re successful. And you learn from these things. You try to pass on the benefit of our experience. It’s part of the tradition.”
A thoughtful man, Oppedisano approached his retirement in much the same way he did his entire career.
“I’ve been thinking about retirement for a long time,” he said, “but I’ve put it off for a personal sense of the mission. We have a lot of people coming in new, and we have to make sure to pass the torch.”
Over the years, through more than a dozen local leaders, and across different names and approaches from the agency headquarters, Oppedisano and his generation have remained a constant. People like him have provided continuity, a voice of reason and invaluable training for the next generation.
“A guy like me is going to leave,” said Oppedisano, “and he wants to look back and say, ‘We’ve done something good. We’ve passed the torch onto this new generation.’ That really needs to be supported. You can’t just let them walk in and expect them to do the work overnight.”
For those who remain at DCMA and those just joining the agency, Oppedisano said, “You took a career, make the best out of it. Most of us who gave the best part of our lives to this place have nothing to complain about. We’ve got satisfaction – I certainly am satisfied."
| Date Taken: | 01.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.23.2015 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 152610 |
| Location: | GARDEN CITY, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 315 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Family, pride and passing the torch, by Patrick Tremblay, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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