Two Sailors stationed in the Pacific Northwest received the Hal S. Lewis Leadership Excellence Award at the William E. Moore auditorium on Naval Station Everett (NSE) April 10.
Members of the Navy League Council Everett presented the awards to Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Joshua Blodgett, assigned to the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen (DDG 92), and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sean Coffey, assigned to Branch Health Clinic Everett.
“I am very humbled and honored to have been chosen for this award,” said Blodgett. “It means a great deal to me as it was a personal and professional goal of mine to receive a leadership award at some point in my career.”
The Navy League Council Everett’s Hal S. Lewis Leadership Excellence Award is awarded annually to a sea and shore recipient stationed on NSE that exemplifies outstanding leadership performance throughout the course of the year.
“I have a great support system at home, as well as on board Momsen, and this award truly is because of all of those people,” said Blodgett. “My job is easy when I am supported and backed by both senior and junior personnel on a daily basis. It feels assuring that my chain of command has seen the efforts made, and how it has positively contributed to the Momsen’s success in the past year.”
The award is based on the legacy of Capt. Hal S. Lewis, a former commanding officer for the decommissioned Naval Station Puget Sound from 1983 to 1987, who was instrumental in commissioning NSE in his tenure as the commanding officer.
“There was a significant lobbying effort, both regionally and nationally, that Capt. Lewis was involved in and he was a very strong proponent of basing here in Everett because it logistically made the most sense,” said Master Chief Joshua Dugan, NSE command master chief. “He formed a partnership with Senator Scoop Jackson and in short, Capt. Lewis is one of the founding fathers of Naval Station Everett.”
Capt. Michael J. Coury, commanding officer of NSE, Dugan, and members of the Navy League Council Everett made several changes for this year’s award including the decision to not tie-in the award with the Sailor of the Year runner-up, moving the date of the presentation closer to the commissioning of NSE, which was April 8,1994. They also added the opportunity for tenant commands of NSE to have a chance to win the award, allowing for both a sea and shore recipient of the award.
The annual Hal S. Lewis Leadership Excellence Award is open to personnel, E-4 through E-6, stationed on NSE and its tenant commands.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, April 12, 2013