HRT Members Honored for Efforts
Thirty-five Receive Commendation Medals

Members of the Georgia Department of Defense Human Relations Team received medals during the team’s quarterly conference in March for their efforts in helping the Georgia Department of Defense win its first national diversity award.

Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress, Georgia’s Adjutant General, presented the medals to 35 team members for their collective efforts in the state winning the first-ever National Diversity Award in December 2002. Army members of the team received the Air Commendation Medal, while their Air Guard counterparts received the Army Commendation.

"Each of you played a special role in the state being recognized for its pioneering efforts in promoting diversity," General Poythress told the group. "And each of you deserves our thanks for your commitment to Georgia’s diversity goals."

Col Jimmy Davis, conference coordinator and director of human resources for the Georgia DoD, echoed that sentiment. He added that Georgia’s strategic diversity plan has become a benchmark for many other states.

Team member Chief Master Sgt. Percy Freeman of the 116th Air Control Wing was singled out for extraordinary contribution HRT’s efforts in promoting diversity. Freeman received the first-ever individual diversity award the same day the state received the national award at the National Guard Bureau in Washington.

In other business, the team:

• Reviewed the results of a series of in-dept surveys taken in 2002 completed by Air National Guard units across the state. Those surveys will go into the Joint ARNG/ANG strategic diversity plan.
• Outlined the deployment of the state’s diversity training program. Participants, however, admit that active deployment of the plan may face the delays caused by the war in Iraq.

The subject of instituting a formal mentoring program in each unit was also on the team’s agenda. Members recommended that each unit establish and maintain an active and highly aggressive mentoring program designed to assist soldiers and airmen in guiding their military careers.