Georgia National Guard
Public Affairs Office
Aug. 10, 2007 – Twenty-eight Soldiers, Airmen and civilians, most of whom are employees of the Georgia Department of Defense, graduated as black belts from the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) program during a late morning ceremony held at the Finch Building on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.
Randy Canfield, who has been a black belt instructor for 20 years, described LSS as a business methodology that can be summed up with three words; better, faster and cheaper.
Championed in the 1980’s by companies such as Motorola and General Electric, LSS focuses on finding ways to cut wasteful spending, improve efficiency and streamline business practices.
Before becoming certified as black belts, candidates must first be awarded a “green belt” in LSS. Canfield said that the difference between the two levels of learning lies in the depth of knowledge students have of the discipline.
“For example, a lot of times, I’ll be out having lunch with some of my black belt students, and they’ll be able to identify broken processes in civilian world restaurants,” said Canfield.
Black belts become more valuable members of their organizational teams because they learn how to find and fix broken processes, instead of blaming employees for failures that are a result of inefficient systems, said Canfield.
In remarks prior to the awarding of degrees, Lt. Gen David B. Poythress, adjutant general, Georgia National Guard, congratulated the students and applauded the program in general.
“Lean Six Sigma is, and should remain, a significant part of our corporate culture here at the Georgia National Guard,” said Poythress. “You have really accomplished something spectacular here.”
One student, Capt. David Hunter, the director of design and project management for the construction and facilities management office, said that the LSS training he received will make him more effective in his everyday approach to his job.
“It gives me a better understanding of the overall picture of how an organization works. I feel like I now have a better avenue for being able to deal with large workloads, while still being able to function at a high level of performance,” said Hunter.
Congratulations to the following graduates:
Lt. Col. Matt Shannon
Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Herndon
Col. Steve Joyce
Maj. Larry Deaton
Capt. Bobby Brookshire
Maj. Jeffrey Farrell
Lt. Col. Joe Hale
Maj. Kenny Payne
Maj. James Clements
Maj. Roger Dillard
2nd Lt. Hervaye Thomas
Capt. Israel Ham
Ms. Valerie Thomas
Capt. Bob Hunter
Mr. David Holland
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Edge
Maj. Tony Poole
Maj. Jim Schroder
Maj. Elton Brown
Lt. Col. Jean Specht
Master Sgt. Noah Brock
Col. Thomas Blackstock (Valedictorian)
Capt. Jackie Jackson
Col. Shane Deverill
Mr. Ronald Nash (Salutatorian)
Capt. Vernon Shaw
Maj. Tiffany Sneed
Mr. Daniel Galarza
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