FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. —Fort Leonard Wood garrison leaders hosted a town hall for civilian employees June 17 at Nutter Field House.
Col. Anthony Pollio, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood commander, kicked off the event by thanking everyone for attending and highlighting some “recent wins” for the garrison, including federal- and Army-level energy awards won by Jeannie Belew, from the Directorate of Public Works, and the garrison receiving the third-place award — out of more than 100 Army installations worldwide — in U.S. Army Installation Management Command’s 2023 Best Garrison Competition.
“That’s just a huge testament to all the hard work and dedication from the entire team,” Pollio said, noting Fort Leonard Wood was the only installation to finish in the top five two years in a row. “It just highlights what a great place Fort Leonard Wood is and what a great job all of you do.”
Pollio then invited Command Sgt. Maj. Danny Castleberry to the stage to help him recognize some of the garrison’s exceptional employees.
The following employees received length-of-service awards: Michael Saner, with the Directorate of Emergency Services, for 30 years of service; and Olaf Jensen, Michael Miller and Nicholas Pallante, all with DES, and Dwight Wilson, with the Directorate of Human Resources, for 25 years of service.
The following employees received two-star notes from Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, for various acts of excellence: Elizabeth Desanto,Jeremiah Harcourt, Paula Maggard, Erika O’Brien, Aaron O’Donoghue, Katelyn Parker, Kelly Pippen, Tracey Rodgers and Emily Turner, with the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation — additionally, Deborah Porter accepted a note on behalf of the Child and Youth Services team; Larry Keeton, with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
Pollio and Castleberry then recognized the three most-recent garrison employees of the quarter: Michael Saner, with DES, for fourth quarter 2023; Channa Ringo, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Program, for first quarter 2024; and Brock Lercher, with the Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, for second quarter 2024.
Pollio also presented garrison coins to the following employees for various acts of excellence: Zeth Jackson, with the Network Enterprise Center; Sarah Gibson and Missy Matney, with the Directorate of Resource Management; Ron Metzgar, David Smith, Will Wiberg and Josh Woody, with DPW; Mica Hendricks and Roger Shelton, with FMWR; and Buddy Glover and Lt. Michael Novak, with DES.
Additionally, Garth Griswold, with DHR, was presented a Certificate of Achievement; Dawn Arden, with the Public Affairs Office, and Malia Nemetz, with the Army Substance Abuse Program, each received Civilian Achievement Medals; and Daniel Saia, an Air Force employee, received a Certificate of Appreciation.
After the awards presentations, Pollio mentioned the ongoing Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, for which each garrison employee should already have received emails from EVAR@opm.gov with an individualized online link. He said about 10% of eligible employees responded to the 2023 survey.
“I would just ask you, if you have concerns or issues, I encourage you to take the FEVS survey,” Pollio said. “We do review the surveys, and then, we look at, ‘Hey, what are the things we can do to address the concerns that are coming out of the survey?’”
The deadline to fill out the survey is July 5.
The upcoming Fourth of July celebration on Gammon Field was highlighted. This year’s event will include live music, a car show, military equipment and demonstrations, bounce houses and the largest fireworks display in the area. More information on the July Fourth event can be found on the Fort Leonard Wood FMWR website.
The garrison’s employees were also invited to attend the garrison change-of-command ceremony, scheduled to start at 10 a.m. June 25 on MSCoE Plaza, where Pollio will relinquish command to Col. Steven Bartley.
Pollio, who will next serve as the deputy director for intelligence at Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, called it “an absolute privilege” to be part of the Fort Leonard Wood team.
“I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to the entire team,” Pollio said. “The last two years have been very rewarding for me, and it’s been an absolute privilege serving alongside you in the garrison.”
The next garrison employee town hall is scheduled for Sept. 9.
