ALAMEDA, Calif. – The 2013 Active Duty and Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year for the 11th Coast Guard District were honored during a recognition banquet at Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma, Calif., Friday.
The Active Duty Enlisted Person of the Year is Petty Officer 1st Adrianne M. Kupietz, a marine science technician assigned to Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach, Calif.
Coast Guard District 11 Enlisted Person of the Year nominees gather at the District 11 Region Recognition Dinner at Training Center Petaluma, in Petaluma, Calif., Friday, March 21, 2014. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Barry Bena
The Reserve Person of the Year is Petty Officer 2nd Class Blaine Meserve-Nibley, also a marine science technician assigned to the Pacific Strike Team in Novato, Calif.
Kupietz, a Little Rock, Ark., native, who frequently volunteers within her community, giving of her free time to be a regular participant at the monthly SaveOurBeach.org Seal Beach clean-up and volunteering at McGaugh Elementary, assisting with reading comprehension. She also mentors at-risk youths for a unique Juvenile Crime Diversion Program.
Meserve-Nibley, from Boulder County, Colo., attended multiple recruiting events to increase the public’s knowledge of the Coast Guard and volunteered more than 640 hours as Coast Guard liaison to California Maritime Academy. He also conducted military funeral honors for four Coast Guard veterans and accepted Title 10 orders to serve at the Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment in Afghanistan.
Coast Guard men and women are recognized for being Semper Paratus — always ready — but the EPOY program is designed to highlight those who demonstrate exceptional standards of proficiency and conduct and reflect the Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty at work and in their personal lives.
“This is the best, this is the brightest … this is the best Coast Guard I have seen in my 37-year career.” said Vice Adm. Paul Zukunft, Coast Guard Pacific Area commander. “I have never seen a better human resource capital, the people who wear this uniform across our service at such a high level that we perform today, so it is a great tribute to recognize these wonderful people.”
Click the photo for more from the ceremony.
