GALVESTON, Texas (June 4, 2015) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District celebrated the U.S. Army’s and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 240th birthdays with an awards ceremony to induct a USACE Galveston District retiree into the Gallery of Distinguished Civilian Employees, name the Employee, Engineer, Regulator and Supervisor of the Year as well as to honor staff for their contributions to the community, state and nation.
"Today we take a moment to honor the Army's and the Corps' achievements during the last 240 years and to recognize those who are making a difference in our district," said Col. Richard Pannell, commander of the USACE Galveston District. "The annual Engineer Day Awards Ceremony highlights our civilians and Soldiers' achievements in support of the Corps' mission and of our nation.”
Among those recognized included Employee of the Year Rondal ‘Jason’ Shreve; Engineer of the Year Matthew ‘Scott’ Leimer; Regulator of the Year Jill Wiggins and Supervisor of the Year Joseph King. Additionally, USACE Galveston District Retiree David Campbell was inducted into the Gallery of Distinguished Employees.
Shreve, a safety specialist in the district’s Safety Office, has been instrumental in creating lasting relationships with various staff elements in order to execute the district’s safety mission. He graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Advanced Safety Engineering and Management Program in 2014 with a 4.0 grade point average and passed the Certified Safety Professional examination in December 2014. Shreve is one of approximately 20 employees Corps-wide to have earned the distinguished CSP certification.
Shreve’s work as a safety specialist has propelled the district’s Safety Office in earning the Corps’ Chief of Engineers Award of Honor, a first for the organization, in addition to receiving praise from contractors, the Small Business Administration and the district’s Contracting Office for his invaluable assistance in the development of plans, programs and other federally-mandated program requirements.
Leimer, a civil engineer in the district’s Geotechnical and Structures Section, has led transformative practices in the Corps’ Levee Safety Program by employing a system-wide approach to flood risk management and embracing shared responsibility and state-of-the-art technology. Intimately involved with the district’s hurricane flood protection levees, Leimer ensures the district’s structures remain in compliance with regional and national requirements so they may continue to serve communities along the Texas coast.
In addition to his regular duties, Leimer mentors engineers in order to build a bench and ensure future generations continue to serve the U.S. Army, State of Texas and nation for years to come.
King, chief of the district’s Engineering Branch, has made significant contributions to the organization’s mission by implementing the use of technical enterprise and private-level systems to bring work efficiencies, compliance and standardization to the district. He has gained the confidence of his peers through professionalism, unwavering dedication and dependability to find solutions for a multitude of execution, organization, resource and workload challenges.
King’s candor when communicating with individual employees, leadership, sponsors, and co-workers, has brought great credibility and respect to the organization. He has an exemplary professional relationship with his co-workers, staff, and leadership, and makes time for all, supporting fair and equitable treatment and gaining favorable momentum and acceptance in the Galveston District.
During his 39 years of service, Campbell selflessly rose to the challenge of increasing responsibilities to lead the district in accomplishing its mission. He joined the Galveston District in December 1969, following the completion of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Three years later he was promoted to his first supervisory position as the chief of the coastal engineering section and 10 years later, he was selected to serve as the chief of the geotechnical and surveys branch, a position he held for over 16 years. In 2001, he was promoted to the chief of the engineering branch, until his retirement in 2008.
He became a licensed professional engineer and brought technical credibility to the Corps, being recognized as an expert in the design of both earthen and stone structures, which demonstrated considerable intuition and skill in engineering design. He provided invaluable support on numerous projects such as the hurricane and flood protection systems at Freeport, Texas City and Port Arthur; Addicks and Barker dams; the mouth of Colorado River, Freeport and Brazos Island Harbor jetties and the Corpus Christi and Houston ship channels.
A special acknowledgement of employees who are deployed to Afghanistan as well as those who reached five through 45 years of federal service was among the highlights of the celebration. Staff was also recognized with commander’s awards, achievement awards, certificates of achievement and appreciation as well as awards for humanitarian service and commander’s coins. Lastly, the USACE Galveston District’s Regulatory Division recognized Jeff Pinsky with the Marie C. Pattillo award and Alberte Chrisphonte Lovince with the Regulatory Teamwork Award.
Established in 1880, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District continues to play a key role in America’s well-being by keeping waterways open for navigation and commerce and serves the nation as part of the world’s largest public engineering, design and construction management agency.
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