USCG Training Center Receives Multiple Awards

CAPE MAY – The crew of Training Center Cape May has recently received several Coast Guard-wide and Department of Homeland Security awards for service to the Coast Guard, small businesses and the community here.
Engineering personnel here received the coveted Cowart Award for outstanding contribution to the U.S. Coast Guard civil engineering and shore facility management programs Monday. Mrs. Shirley Green, a contract specialist aboard Training Center Cape May, has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Department of Homeland Security Small Business Advocate Award for Fiscal Year 2011.The staff here also received second place for the 2011 Cmdr. Jim Simpson Award for excellence in Coast Guard Public Affairs.
“It is gratifying to see people who do their best every day to make Training Center Cape May the best place to live, work and visit, and their efforts are being noticed at the highest levels of our service and department,” said Capt. Bill Kelly, commanding officer of Training Center Cape May.
Training Center Cape May’s Facility Engineering Division received the Society of American Military Engineer’s Cowart Award for “exceptional support to the recruit training mission, 14 tenant commands and over 170 housing units,” according to a message from Coast Guard Headquarters Monday. This is the first time the training center has received the Cowart Award since 1982, and the engineers aboard Training Center Cape May were recognized for their restoration of the facility’s 69-year-old wooden pier, completing major renovations to the base’s 31-year-old gymnasium and partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to secure $10 million in beach replenishment funding. The engineers were also recognized for their implementation of a new recycling program that reused or repurposed more than 285,000 pounds of waste materials. The engineering staff also responded to more than 4,670 maintenance and service requests in 2011.
“We have personnel here deploying both globally and locally to conduct the Coast Guard’s important missions, and we take our responsibility to help them achieve those missions extremely seriously,” said Cmdr. Corey Bonheim, the training center’s lead facility engineer.
In fiscal year 2011, Green helped to ensure the training center awarded 87 percent of its total contracts to small businesses. Of that 87 percent, approximately 39 percent of eligible dollars went to small disadvantaged business, and the majority of remaining contracts were awarded to veteran owned or service disabled veteran owned small businesses. The staff here also awarded over 16 percent of its contracts to 8(a) businesses, which are small disadvantaged businesses, and almost 15 percent to woman owned small businesses. Green will be presented her award in Washington, on April 18.
“Green is a constant advocate of small businesses and frequently provides advice, counsel, and assistance to local small businesses as they perform contracts for the government for the first time,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Trammell, who nominated Green for the award. “Her dedication to small businesses shows.”
The crew of Training Center Cape May takes a proactive approach to building and maintaining relationships within the surrounding communities of Southern New Jersey, and the personnel here were recognized for excellence in Coast Guard public affairs by placing second for the 2011 Cmdr. Jim Simpson Award. The crew volunteered more than 3,000 hours to local schools and non-profit organizations, and they supported more than 140 community events in 2011. The unit is also credited with telling the Coast Guard’s story to more than 19 million people through a proactive and transparent media relations program and hosting more than 41,000 visitors aboard the installation in 2011 for tours, graduations and sunset parades.
“Our public affairs goal is to build and foster relationships within our community,” said Kelly. “We truly feel like we are highly valued and active members of our local community, and we strive to secure the trust and confidence of our neighbors in all we do.”