APRIL 12, 2024 – Two communicators from the Army Materiel Command enterprise are among the recipients of a competition that features hundreds of submissions from across the entire Army public affairs community.
Maj. Gen. John Rafferty, Army chief of public affairs, announced the winners of the Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Communications Award Competition that recognizes Soldiers and civilians for excellence in achieving Army communication and public affairs objectives.
For the third straight year, Becca Kidd was recognized as the Army’s top community relations professional, while Molly Cooke is the first recipient of the Civilian Graphic Designer of the Year Award since 2016.
“Entries were judged on how well they supported the HQDA story lines and communication objectives, as well as their technical proficiency, and how effectively products depicted their commands’ communication objectives as described in an executive summary,” Rafferty said in an April 5 email.
Kidd’s recognition was earned in the Kathy Canham-Ross Award of Distinction category recognizing the products that best exemplify excellence in community engagement contributions.
As a supervisory specialist at Communications-Electronics Command, Kidd is a driving force for the CECOM community relations programs at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
Cooke serves as Fort Stewart’s garrison community relations chief and deputy public affairs officer. She earned distinction as the Army’s top Civilian Graphic Designer across the entire force after submitting a variety of layout and design and digital art products.
Cooke will represent the service at the DOD level. Results of that competition are expected to be announced May 8. All the Army’s winner portfolios can be viewed at: www.dvidshub.net/awards/dma/2023?branch=army
Since AMC receives numerous submissions for this annual competition from its subordinate commands, the organization is authorized by the Army to conduct a command level competition before forwarding to KLW. All products must be in accordance with the DOD Vision Information Style Guide and DOD Instruction 5040.02.
“Over the past month, our judges reviewed more than 85 submissions and selected 17 winners to move on to the Army’s Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware competition,” said Col. James Rawlinson, director of AMC public and congressional affairs. “I am amazed with the quality of submissions and how the entries manage to consistently improve each year.”
AMC’s competition is called the “David G. Harris Competition” after Harris, who last served as the public affairs chief of Army Missile Command – now Aviation and Missile Command. His legacy includes a storied career and reputation as a wise and honest communicator to the community, media and leaders.
In addition to the products submitted for forwarding to the Army’s KLW competition, AMC also recognized several historical categories that are not recognized at the Army level. The winners of those categories can be found below the Public Affairs Organization of the Year category.
David G. Harris Competition Winners advanced to the KLW Competition:
Category A: Army Communicator of the Year
- Dustin Perry, USAG Japan
- Jason Ragucci, USAG Fort Liberty
Category B: Civilian Graphic Designer of the Year
- Joanie Messenger, CECOM
- Molly Cooke, USAG Fort Stewart**
Category D: Civilian Photographer of the Year
- Sean Kimmons, USAG Japan
Category F: Clark Taylor Civilian Videographer of the Year
- John Switzer, USAG Fort Carson
- Thomas Reust, USAG Fort Riley
Category G: John T. Anderson Military Videographer of the Year
- Sgt. Timothy Baso, USAG Humphreys
Category H: Moss-Holland Civilian Writer of the Year
- Daniel Elkins, MICC
- Denise Caskey, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
- Sarah Zaler, USASAC
Category L: Kathy Canham-Ross Award of Distinction
- Becca Kidd, CECOM**
- Tonya Townsell, USAG Fort McCoy
- Timothy Flack, USAG Japan
Category O: Public Affairs Organization of the Year
Small: JMC
Medium: Headquarters AMC
Large: CECOM
** = won at the Army level
David G. Harris winners with no corresponding category at the Army level:
Broadcast
Category A: News Video
- Dustin Perry, USAG Japan
- Tim Hanson, USASAC
- Master Sgt. Nathan Hutchison, ASC
Category B: Feature Video
- Tim Hanson, USASAC
- Monica Gutherie, USAG Humphreys
- Greg Mason, USAG Fort McCoy
Category C: Social Media/Multimedia Video
- Nathan Clinebelle, USAG Fort Jackson
- Cameron Porter, 405th Army Field Support Brigade
- Sarah Patterson, ASC
Category D: Training Documentation Video
- Thomas Reust, USAG Fort Riley
- Jose Sanchez-Alonso, USAG Japan
- Sarah Patterson, ASC
Photography
Category A: Feature Photograph
- Scott Sturkol, USAG Fort McCoy
- Jon Connor, ASC
- Terri Stover, USASAC
Category B: News Photograph
- Marcus Fitchl, USAG Stuttgart
- Jon Connor, ASC
- Angelina Betran, USAG Fort Leonard Wood
Category C: Training Documentation Photograph
- Eric Pilgrim, USAG Fort Knox
- Jacqueline Hill, Fort Liberty
Writing
Category A: News Article
- Adam Sikes, TACOM
- Matthew Day, Watervliet Arsenal
- Bardia Khajenoori, USAG Stuttgart
Category B: Feature Article
- Ben Gonzales, ACC
- Daniel Elkins, MICC
- Sean Kimmons, USAG Japan
Category C: Commentary
- Corinna Baltos, ASC
- Eric Pilgrim, USAG Fort Knox
- Terri Stover, USASAC
Category D: Online Publication
- USAG Fort Jackson
- USAG Fort Novosel
- Letterkenny Army Depot
Category E: Printed Publication
- USAG Fort Cavazos
- Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall
Graphic Arts
Category A: Layout and Design
- Tim Hanson, USASAC
- Joanie Messenger, CECOM
- Molly Cooke, USAG Fort Stewart
Community Engagements
Category A: Community Relations Campaign
- USAG Japan
- Becca Kidd, CECOM
- USAG Fort Stewart
Category B: Community Relations Special Event
- Becca Kidd, CECOM
- Tonya Townsell, USAG Japan
- Juan Jimenez, USAG Gregg-Adams
Story by Alyssa Crockett
U.S. Army Materiel Command