Wing snags top honors at region conference

CLEARWATER, Fla., May 24, 2010: Several Florida Wing members were honored for a job well done at the recent Southeast Region conference in suburban Atlanta.

"I cannot convey how proud I am of each and every member of this wing," Florida Wing Commander Col. Chris Moersch said. "During the two-day conference, I cannot tell you how many people commented on how it seems that Florida Wing is at the top of every list in performance, execution, and dedication."

The honorees:
Safety Officer of the Year: Lt. Col. Crist Fellman
Communicator of the Year: Lt. Col. Bruce "Mac" McConnell
Inspector General of the Year: Lt. Col. Richard Mellon
Chaplain of the Year: Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Linda Pugsley
Logistics Officer of the Year: Maj. Bruce Sage
Public Affairs Officer of the Year: Capt. Jeffrey Carlson
Character Development Officer of the Year: Capt. Robert Maxey
Brewer Award, Category 1: Cadet Stefan Malone
Exceptional Service Awards: Lt. Col. Margaret Hannah and Lt. Col. Charlie Clement
Meritorious Service Awards: Lt. Col. Bruce "Mac" McConnell, Lt. Col. Virginia Cullity and Maj. Robert Crowling

"I would like to personally thank Col. Cullity, of Group 3, for her recent outstanding success as the conference coordinator," Moersch said. "Her countless hours of work and preparation culminated in a region activity that brought great credit upon herself, Florida Wing, and Southeast Region."

Cullity's Meritorious Service Award was given for her conference work.

The wing was also awarded the region's Paul Turner Award for Safety for calendar year 2009.

"This is a great accomplishment and is credit to all our safety officers for their hard work and dedication," Moersch said.

Civil Air Patrol, the uniformed, all-volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 90 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America since 1941. For more information, please contact the Florida Wing Public Affairs and Marketing Directorate.