18th MUNS civilian earns Air Force-level award

  • Published
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  An 18th Munitions Squadron civilian is the Air Force's 9th Annual Department of Defense David O. Cooke Excellence in Public Administration Award winner for her accomplishments from October 2010 to December 2012.

The David O. Cooke award recognizes non-managerial career civilian employees who demonstrate great leadership potential as future federal executives.

"The fact that I was even nominated for this award was an honor, and when I won at the PACAF level, I was surprised," said Timmie Kerr, 18th MUNS unit program coordinator. "I never dreamt that I would win at the AF level. I am honored and speechless that I was selected for such a prestigious award."

Upon arriving at the squadron, Kerr identified broken processes and programs in the unit and dedicated her time to fix them. She was given responsibility of broken unit evaluation and decoration programs, and within three months, she increased the on-time rate from 20 to 98 percent, which has been sustained for two years.

Kerr also improved the process for the systemic change of reporting official submission, increasing proper updates by 95 percent.

"Kerr was given some tasks normally reserved for higher than her pay grade and she took it on without question," said Chief Master Sgt. Melvin Jobe, 18th MUNS superintendent. "She was innovative with all the processes and improvements that she made to the programs."

Responsible for evaluation and decoration programs, Kerr maintained a 3.25 grade-point average and earned 83 credits towards her Human Resource Management bachelor's degree.
According to her award, she also contributed to boosting morale in her squadron by helping fellow spouses with typhoon preparations, sponsoring new spouses, volunteering child care during exercises and organizing a deployed spouses' dinner.

"Kerr has always had tremendous initiative," Jobe added. "She's in before anyone arrives to work and at work after people have left to go home for the day, and that attributes to the dedication as a civilian in our total force initiative. She cares about the squadron she belongs to and gets her unit on the squadron and group level at 100 percent all the time."

However, Kerr said the achievement is more than just a simple award, and she owes it to the people who encourage her.

"The importance of being recognized confirms that your work is noticed by your supervisor and leadership," she said. "It also proves that you are positively impacting your co-workers, unit, and most importantly your customers. There are many individuals who are behind the scenes that are not recognized for their hard work and dedication. I would not be where I am today, in my career, if it wasn't for the people around me that inspire me to excel in my job."

As Kerr continues to compete for the award among the other U.S. Department of Defense services, she passed on some advice for other government civilian employees.
"Strive to do the best every day, and always treat others as you would like to be treated" she said. "Every time you learn something new, share this knowledge with your co-workers, so they can learn too. Lastly, take time to thank the people around you who have made an impact on your job and life."