Photo By Scott Curtis | Fire Controlman Third Class Brendan Morgan (left) and Electrician’s Mate Second...... read more read more
Diversity is about benefitting from the talent, experience and insights of Sailors and Civilians from every community that make up our Navy. We are a collection of a diverse mix of Sailors, Civilians and families with rich histories.
To help champion diversity in the workforce, Southeast Regional Maintenance Center’s (SERMC) Diversity and Inclusion Council hosted an engagement festival where each Code in the command represented a different state. Approximately 800 Sailors and Civilians progressed through the “roadmap” of different SERMC Shops along the path, which included a rest stop with a live DJ.
SERMC Executive Officer, Capt. Roderick Little, opened the road trip, “Embracing diversity means making sure different perspectives, ages, races, ethnic backgrounds, gender and experience levels are appreciated so we can keep the Fleet ready to fight. The engagement festival today displays the diversity of the American landscape as each state has its own unique qualities and tastes. Your leadership is committed to fostering a professional work environment where all are respected and encouraged to contribute their professional best, so please enjoy yourselves and make some new friends today!”
SERMC employees collected unique stamps on their “passport” after they performed different activities and sampled the different food choices. Participants could submit their completed road map for a chance to win time off or a prime parking spot at the conclusion of the festival.
“The team from the Diversity and Inclusion Council wanted to come up with something different to promote diversity in our workforce and improve how we work with one another,” said Jameka Covington from Code 1160 who helped organize the festival. “We decided to have each Code within SERMC represent different states with food, clothing and games to make it more entertaining than a normal potluck, and to create an opportunity for people to enjoy the company of others who they don’t see often enough.”
In total, SERMC had ten states represented and included SPAM sliders from Hawaii, Chicago-style hot dogs from Illinois and brisket from Texas. Participants took a break in the middle of the festival to vote for the best dressed.
SERMC Executive Director, Nadia Tepper, concluded the festival by saying, “I want to thank everyone for your participation during the engagement festival today, it was a huge success! I hope you were able to get out to enjoy the festivities and meet somebody new. I saw a couple people in spaces they had never been in before, which is great! Please give a big round of applause to our Diversity and Inclusion Council who put this together, it was a great event, and thank you to all who participated!”
“While there is more work to be done, our people are our greatest resource,” Covington said afterward. “In the ship repair community, if we want to meet the demand we need to ensure we are including talented and skilled people from across all cross-sections of society, and I think we helped do that today.”
For more information on SERMC, visit the command Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/SoutheastRMC or the public web page at: https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/RMC/SERMC/
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2023 12:12 |
| Story ID: | 442737 |
| Location: | MAYPORT, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SERMC Diversity & Inclusion Engagement Festival a Success, by Scott Curtis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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