AF Sergeants Association local chapter honored Published Sept. 5, 2014 By Senior Master Sgt. David McCoy Air Force Sergeants Association Kittyhawk Chapter 751 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Every year the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) hosts its Professional Airmen's Conference (PAC), and local Kittyhawk Chapter 751 recently sent five delegates to attend. Individual, program and chapter efforts were recognized as the best in the Air Force at this year's PAC, held in Jacksonville, Fla. Airman First Class Gregory Orlando, a contracting specialist with the 771st Enterprise Sourcing Squadron and a Chapter 751 trustee, accompanied by his wife, Jessica, received the AFSA International 2013 Airman of the Year award. The award was presented at the AFSA Honors Banquet by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody and AFSA International President Daniel Yeomans. Orlando's accomplishments in 2013 included managing a $1.2 billion civil engineer portfolio to deliver lifecycle acquisitions to 92 bases. Orlando also analyzed an $82 million water-conservation spend to craft a business case for the Air Force/A7C community at an identified annual savings of $3 million for 71 bases. Lastly, Orlando benchmarked data for an Air Force-wide taxiway lighting program by dissecting 50,000 line items and realizing a $1 million savings. Chapter 751 won the 2013 Newsletter of the Year award. Ruben Garcia, retired chief master sergeant, accepted the award on behalf of the chapter. The award was presented to Garcia by Yeomans. Garcia is a past president as well as the current senior advisor and communications director for Chapter 751. Garcia led the collection of stories from all Executive Council members and the compilation efforts for all of the newsletters over the past year, consisting of a total of 37 pages of text with 45 articles and 38 accompanying photographs, many that he took. Several individuals were recognized by Yeomans and were presented with medallions for their achievements in membership recruitment. Fred Dembinski, Division 1 president, recruited one 110 members; Tech. Sgt. Heidi Kirby, Chapter 751 vice president, recruited 107 members; Al Braden, chapter past president and membership chair, recruited 105 members; and chapter secretary, Aaron Kirby, recruited 100 members. Chapter 751 was also selected as the 2013 Chapter of the Year in the over 500-member category. Yeomans presented the award during the president's dinner. The chapter supported more than 100 base and local community programs and assisted thousands. Highlighting just a few of its credits, Chapter 751 created five AFSA "Christmas in Action" teams with 30 volunteers and repaired five homes for elderly families at a savings of $15,000 in manhours. The chapter spearheaded the Dayton Veteran Affairs Summer Picnic with 75 volunteers and hosted a BBQ with a local band benefiting hundreds of veterans. Additionally, Chapter 751 supported the Team Wright-Patt Thanksgiving basket program, raised $10,000, provided 50 volunteers, and built 405 food baskets. For more information about AFSA, contact Senior Master Sgt. David McCoy at 255-0065.