Leading through Community Involvement

UNITED STATES

11.14.2018

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ruben Reed 

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)           

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Their footsteps were soft and quiet. Their emotions were expressed in unison as they navigate the paths of healing and love. Nearly 2,500 people walked to make a symbolic statement of harmony, saying we are together. The event, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Community Walk, was one of the many volunteer community service opportunities USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Sailors participated in last year.

This year Ford received the Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic (NAVREGMIDLANT), 2018 Annual Navy Community Service of the Year Awards for large sea commands in Personal Excellence Partnership Flagship and the large sea Health, Safety, and Fitness Flagship award.

The Navy Community Service Program’s (NCSP) Health, Safety, and Fitness Flagship Award highlights Navy volunteers who visit schools and neighborhoods sharing information and giving practical training that focuses on nutrition, hygiene, mental health, disease prevention, leisure skills development, personal safety, drug demand reduction, sports, and recreation.

Throughout the year, Ford has participated in approximately 40 community service events, dedicating over 2,000 hours that have impacted over 16,000 people in the Hampton Roads area.

“Our COMREL [Community Relations] team that consists of [Petty Officer] 3rd, 2nd and 1st Classes, is phenomenal,” said Ford’s Assistant Community Relations Program Manager Lt. Jamal Scarlett, from San Diego. “They’re really engaged and we’re really proud of the work that they’ve helped to lead.”

The COMREL team is comprised of volunteers within the command who help lead and organize community service events in the local area. Sailors like Sonar Technician (Surface) 1st Class Stanley Albuquerque, from Deerfield, Florida, modeled his commitment to the program after Sailors whom he looked up to.

“It’s a great way to get involved with the community,” said Albuquerque. “I started volunteering after arriving to the command because of the example set by Sailors before me. I plan on passing that torch to my junior Sailors so it can help develop them as it has helped develop me.”

Ford’s Community Relations Project Manager Lt. Cmdr. David Kim, from Mineola, New York, expresses his gratitude for the hard work and dedication shown by Ford Sailors, which earned Ford the recent prestigious awards.

“Community relations is not just to benefit the community,” said Kim. “It also benefits the volunteer. When you see someone who is looking up to you and helping someone who is worse off than you, it changes your perspective. It helps our ship and it helps our Sailors.”

Along with being named as the Personal Excellence Partnership Flagship and the Health, Safety, and Fitness Flagship for the Mid-Atlantic Region, Ford was also nominated to be the 2017-2018 USS Bainbridge (CGN 25) Award for Overall Excellence winner. The award recognizes the best overall program for standards of excellence and efforts in community service. Ford will now go on and serve as NAVREGMIDLANT representative

Kim believes there’s always room for improvement.

“One way we think we can make our program better is to become involved with events that require a long term commitment,” said Kim. “Events such as adopting a school, or a road or park, so we can further prove to the Hampton Roads area we care about the place we live. We think that would take our program to the next level.”

Kim and Scarlett want Ford Sailors to be on the lookout for new ways they can engage with the community and continue to embrace their intimate relationships.

“The more our Sailors get involved and harder they work the more it’s recognized,” said Scarlett. “This award proves that. We can’t be more lucky to have the team we have and the support of our community.”

• Date Taken: 11.14.2018
• Date Posted: 11.14.2018 04:51
• Story ID: 299863
• Location: US