Mr. Kemmet mentioned, “ASMDA's impressive accomplishments in 2015 would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of those who served on the ASMDA Board of Directors.” He then stated, “an important part of each annual membership luncheon is the nomination of next year's Board of Directors. In accordance with the ASMDA charter, establishing the Board and Trustees requires a majority vote of the general membership.” The vote was taken and the 2016 ASMDA Board of Directors and Trustees was approved. Ms. Angie McCarter was elected as the 2016 ASMDA Board President. Returning Board Members were Mr. Ronnie Chronister, Mr. Kevin Campbell, Mr. Rick Kretschmer, Ms. Melanie Baker, Mr. Tom Webber, Mr. Larry Becker, Mr. Larry Pigue, Mr. Mike Maloney, Mr. Rick Defatta, Mr. Tim Thornton, Dr. Joe Green, and Mr. Bill Colson. The newly nominated Board Members were Ms. Julie Schumacher, Dr. Jim Davis, Ms. Marcia Holmes, Mr. Cole Kupec, and Mr. Roy Malone. Mr. Steve Kuffner, Mr. Larry Burger, Mr. Bob Pollard, and Mr. Pete Schofield will continue to serve on the 2016 Board of Trustees. Ms. Julie Brown will serve as the ASMDA Secretary. Mr. Garth Bloxham will continue to serve as the ASMDA Treasurer. Both Julie and Garth serve as ex-officio, non-voting Board members.
Mr. Kemmet stated that “my official duties are now complete; and I hereby turn over the remainder of today’s program to Ms. Angie McCarter, our 2016 ASMDA Board President.”
Ms. Angie McCarter, stated to Mr. Kemmet “on behalf of myself, the ASMDA Board of Directors and all our membership, we thank you for your support and hard work during the past twelve months.” Angie then presented Al with a token of appreciation for your leadership to our association and the Board of Directors. Ms. McCarter then stated, “First, let me say “Thank You” for the opportunity to serve our organization. I look forward to working with the board, and our corporate and individual members on the many projects our association executes though out the year.”
Ms. McCarter then went on to state, “I am honored that my first official act as the new ASMDA President is to present the cast aluminum plaques to our newest inductees into the Space and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilians Wall of Honor. When these six exceptional civilians were inducted on August 11th, 2015 as part of the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, we presented them with an ASMDA certificate identifying them as a Space and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor recipient. Their permanent plaques are now mounted on the Wall of Honor. To commemorate this moment, we would like to present personal replicas of the Wall of Honor plaques. ASMDA is very proud to sponsor the Space and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilians Wall of Honor. Over the past 20 years, 51 members have been inducted into the Wall of Honor. The Wall of Honor resides in the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, where the general public can see the contributions of these great individuals to our nation.” Ms. McCarter then invited General Mann to the stage to present the ASMDA awards.
Dr. Robert S. Becker, from the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command, considered by most in the ballistic missile defense field to be the Champion of Army Missile Defense Lethality. Dr. Becker’s Wall on Honor plaque was being accepted by Mr. Rick de Fatta.
Mr. Roy Malone, Director of Center Operations at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, accepted the following Wall of Honor plaques of behalf of:
- Dr. Wernher von Braun, recognized for his work on the Jupiter C and Saturn rocket programs.
- Mr. Robert J. Schwinghamer, for his contributions to the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia and Sky Lab programs.
- Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, for his contributions in electric propulsion and payloads and the V2 program.
- Mr. James B. Odom, for his work on the Space Shuttle External Tank Program and the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Mr. Alex A. McCool, Jr., for his work on the Challenger investigation and the Shuttle safety program.
A total of twelve presentations were made in recognition of exceptional achievement contributing significantly to the development, test, and deployment of air, space, and missile defense systems. ASMDA presented awards in four categories: Technical Achievement Award - Government, Technical Achievement Award - Contractor, Service Excellence Award - Government, and Service Excellence Award Contractor. The recipients of the Awards were government members and contractors of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles and Space (M&S), Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC).
Technical Achievement - Government
The Technical Achievement Award in the Government Category is awarded to the following individuals:
- MSIC - Ms. Laci Gambill: Electronics Engineer, Defense Intelligence Agency, Missile and Space Intelligence Center.
- SMDC - Mr. Douglas Burdette: Space and Strategic Systems Directorate, Technical Center, U.S. Anny Space and Missile Defense Command/Anny Forces Strategic Command.
- MDA - Mr. Eric Cole: Task Lead, Common Kill Vehicle Technology Program, Missile Defense Agency.
- MDA - Mr. Ryan Schele: Ground Test System Mission Manager, Ground Test Directorate, Missile Defense Agency
- MDA - Mr. William Stewart: Sensors Test Operation Flight Test Lead, SNTO/Missile Defense Agency.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Government Category is awarded to Ms. Laci Gambill, Electronics Engineer, Defense Intelligence Agency / Missile and Space Intelligence Center. Over the past 5 years, Ms. Gambill's technical expertise of air defense and anti-satellite laser weapon systems, was instrumental in performing rigorous scientific and technical intelligence on foreign directed energy weapon threat systems. Her analysis directly supported intelligence consumers such as OSD, ODNI, and the State Department.
MSIC - Ms. Laci Gambill: Electronics Engineer
Defense Intelligence Agency, Missile and Space Intelligence Center
Follow