Photo By Michael Mascari | James Watkins, supervisory equipment specialist for North Carolina and South Carolina,...... read more read more
WINTERVILLE, N.C.—It takes a team effort to fill a trophy case.
Senior leaders of the 81st Regional Support Command visited Area Maintenance Support Activity (AMSA) 166 in Winterville and added another trophy by presenting them the 81st RSC Chief of Staff Award for Supply Excellence for 2015. The shop has won the award or finished runner-up nearly every year since the 1980s, and they’ve received word they have also won at the United States Army Reserve Command level.
Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Law, Director of Logistics Ardis Ferguson and Deputy Director Gregg Charvoz, and Supervisory Equipment Specialist James Watkins were on hand to make a site visit and to present the shop with the awards.
“To compete for this award and to win it, your shop maintenance and supply discipline must be performed at a very high level,” Charvoz said. “They have set the standard for the AMSA mission. Others are catching up since (Shop Supervisor) Karen Kay and her staff have actually mentored those other shops.”
The result of sharing best practices has been an improvement for other shops and accolades for many of them.
The shop’s focus on supply discipline and attention to detail is the catalyst for its latest honor, which is given based on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Command Supply Discipline Program. Among the best practices is keeping a low inventory on parts that are infrequently used and keeping a clean parts room with open bins for quicker inventory in order to prevent over-ordering and to keep costs low.
An immaculately maintained shop and focus on teamwork helps speed up the repair times and improves customer service.
This team concept and attention to detail has propelled the shop to winning many accolades. They have already filled two trophy cases in the past few years and will have to get another one to hold its latest award.
Heavy Mobile Equipment Repair mechanic Todd Stanford doesn’t take anything for granted and that their role is to help the customer to accomplish their own mission.
“The Soldiers’ lives are in our hands. When we put the equipment out, they expect that when they get into the vehicles, they expect the vehicles to start, the breaks to work, that there’s not going to be any breakdowns,” said Stanford.
Sgt. John Becker, a mechanic for the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 362nd Quartermaster Battalion is one of those customers and said this is probably the best shop he’s dealt with.
“Their experience levels are very high, their dedication is always there, they can quote regulations verbatim and they really know their stuff. On top of that, they are extremely friendly and very helpful. Any time we need assistance they are there, motivated, and accomplish it in a very timely manner ensuring our mission readiness,” Becker said.
For now the AMSA will wait to see if they will win the Department of the Army level, and move one step closer to filling up a third trophy case.
Shop supervisor Karen Kay said awards are nice but the shop’s highly dedicated staff is focused on the customer’s readiness.
“The trophy case is not for us. We know we’re good. It’s there for when people visit here so they know who they are dealing with,” said Kay.
“The competition for the award is nice, it causes you to strive for excellence. We are competing against the standard. Earning the award is more meaningful when you view it like that. Winning is nice because it’s a gauge of how you are doing as a shop.”
Employee Efforts Pay Off for Area Manager
The accolades keep coming in for James Watkins. The AMSA’s strong performances are also a reflection of his efforts.
Watkins supervises AMSAs and Equipment Concentration Sites (ECS) in North and South Carolina attended the AASE award presentation only to find out he is bringing home additional recognition.
The 81st RSC Command representatives presented Watkins with the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award.
“He does very good quality of work. He is absolutely one of the best Supervisory Equipment Specialists in the Army and his area is run very well,” said Deputy Director of Logistics Gregg Charvoz.
The award, which is equivalent to the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal, is the highest level of award a 2-star Commanding General can award. Receiving the award was quite an accomplishment for Watkins, but it’s even more unusual because his staff put together a packet to nominate him.
“This is very rare,” Charvoz said. “It’s unique in the process and it speaks very well of him as a leader and as a supervisor that his employees felt so strongly that they pursued the process. I’ve never seen this before.”
Watkins, who also received his 30-Year Service Award, was humbled by the recognition.
“It was a big surprise. I didn’t expect it, I am at a loss for words. It’s a complete honor to receive such a prestigious award,” Watkins said. “It makes me want to do even that much better.”
He was also surprised to find out his employees nominated him.
“It’s nice to be appreciated by the people you work with and I appreciate them too. My success is a direct reflection of their efforts and their motivation and dedication to the customer,” said Watkins.
“Personally I have a lot of respect for him professionally, but personally I do as well. As a person and as a Soldier he sets a great example for everyone,” said Charvoz. “He’s very consistent in what he does. I can go to any one of his shops and they are all dress-right-dress. He creates an environment that fosters team work and his employees really buy in to his leadership.”
| Date Taken: | 10.27.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2015 12:30 |
| Story ID: | 180863 |
| Location: | WINTERVILLE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | CHARLOTTE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT JACKSON, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Excellence is a way of life at Winterville Shop, by Michael Mascari, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT