TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The 507th Air Refueling Wing here announced the winners of the 2022 507th ARW Annual Awards at the annual awards celebration May 6, 2023.
Col. Michael Parks, 507th ARW commander, hosted the celebration at the 507th Air Refueling Wing ISO hangar, before the kick-off of the All-Star Family Day.
“While all Okie Airmen are working hard to maintain readiness, grow their skills and take care of Airmen, these annual award winners clearly stood out amongst their peers and went above and beyond as Reservists,” Parks said.
Wing community partner Samuel Mann, First Command Financial Services consultant, attended the celebration to show support for the wing’s star performers, and the Moore Chamber of Commerce and Tinker Federal Credit Union provided a few mementos for the winners.
The annual awards program recognizes individuals who excelled in performance and made outstanding contributions to the wing’s mission throughout the year. This year's winners:
Airman of the Year: Senior Airman John Hester, 507th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
NCO of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Kaycee Graham, 507th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Senior NCO of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Stefanie Greer, 507th Civil Engineer Squadron
Company Grade Officer of the Year: Capt. Gabriel Gasiorowski, 507th Civil Engineer Squadron
First Sgt. of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Sarah Plueger, 507th Maintenance Squadron
Spouse of the Year: Jessica Spear, spouse of Master Sgt. Jennifer Spear, 507th Force Support Squadron
Individual unit awards were also announced at the presentation, by the respective leaders of each unit. The unit award winners:
507th Medical Squadron 2022 Combat Medic of the Year:
Maj. Jennifer Damitsian
507th Security Forces Squadron 2022 Defender of the Year:
TSgt Vanessa Bermudez-Mujica
507th Logistics Readiness Squadron 2022 Logistics Excellence Award:
Julie Hudson
507th Force Support Squadron 2022 Summit Award:
Tech. Sgt. Trey Wilson
72nd Aerial Port Squadron 2022 Port Dawg of the Year:
Tech. Sgt. Jonathan White
507th Maintenance Group Professional of the Year:
Master Sgt. Dustin Staude
507th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 2022 Heavy Hitter Award:
Tech. Sgt. Bryan Russell
507th Maintenance Squadron MVP of the Year:
Master Sgt. Eric Richardson
The Tech. Sgt. Billy Hughes Memorial Award is presented annually to an individual in the maintenance group whose duty performance and everyday conduct best exemplifies the U.S. Air Force’s core values.
This award for exemplary enlisted service was instituted to commemorate the life of Tech. Sgt. Billy Hughes, a supervisory aircraft maintenance technician who passed away in active service at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, July 12, 1992, after a decade of honorable service to the wing.
The 2022 Tech. Sgt. Billy Hughes Memorial Award recipient:
Master Sgt. Kirsten Milkowski