The drive, sponsored by the employees of SRS's Construction Department with support from various SRS organizations, contractors and building trades, offered employees options to donate unwrapped toys, fill stockings, adopt "Christmas Angels" or making monetary contributions.

For the seventh year, the Construction Department was also a sponsor of the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program, enabling SRS employees to adopt 151 area children. Employees donated more than 3,250 items of clothing and accessories.

Aiken County Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds and mortgages houses to approved low-income families on a no-profit, no-interest basis. Relying on a unique partnership of individual volunteers, skilled craftsmen, churches, businesses, and homeowners themselves, Habitat constructs simple, decent family homes and then finances them over a 15-25 year period. Mortgage payments, in turn, go to producing additional housing. The Aiken volunteer base consists of elected officials, business leaders, presidents and executives of large corporations, retires and people from all walks of life.

"We’re excited to partner with the Aiken Habitat for Humanity in this initiative to positively impact lives in our local community," said Randy Garver, Wackenhut’s General Manager at SRS. "There are many families who need assistance, and the Aiken Habitat for Humanity is doing a great job building affordable homes in our area." 

Each year, WSI-Nevada's Community Outreach Team has joined QM to contribute non-perishable food baskets to assist families of QM students. The Clark County School District Partnership Program pairs up schools and the business community in order to foster relationships that can provide much needed items throughout the year that the school district's budget cannot allow for.

Part of the Thanksgiving effort involves the Wackenhut "basket" decorating contest. As always, this year's competition was spirited. The Protective Force Division won out with their Wackenhut Express trainload of food and telling the tale of the first Thanksgiving.

Promotions: Matthew Becker to Protective Force Section Manager; David Cartin to Protective Force Captain, John Rust to CAS Sergeant, Jeff Stobbe to SRT Captain, and Greg Stukes to Operations Section Manager.

Service Award: 5 years, William Colley.

The Silver Bluff Plantation Sanctuary was created in 1975 and operated initially as a 3,100-acre wildlife sanctuary and forest management demonstration area. In 2002, the property was renamed the Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuary as Audubon launched a nature-based education program available to school children from across the Central Savannah River Area.

Each student visit includes field and classroom hands-on experiences with topics such as plant and animal classification, wildlife management, soil analysis, water ecology, navigation, forest measurements, and archeology.

The Audubon Center targets students from Title 1 schools, those schools with at least 40 percent of the students from families that are at or below the poverty level. During the 2007-08 school year, 91 classes received instruction at Silver Bluff, for a total of 1,632 students and 274 accompanying adults.

"The Silver Bluff Audubon Center is doing a great job with youth education in the area," said Randy Garver, WSI's General Manager at SRS. "We are pleased to make this donation to further their programs."

The day began with refreshments provided by WSI and daycare was provided by the school's Pre-K teachers. The workshop topics included math and reading as well as learning about social services available in the community. School beautification projects included two mural paintings, along with a general "clean-up" of the school grounds.

Thanks to the WSI - NTS participants who helped make this a successful day!

Promotion: David Cartin, to Captain.

Service Awards: 25 years, Thomas Bottazzo, William Jarvey, and Mary Murphy; 20 years, William Barr; and 10 years, Richard Dague.

The award, presented at the Fourth Annual Excellence in Workplace Diversity Awards in Columbia, S.C., recognized Wackenhut for creating "an inclusive, respectful work environment that values people and capitalizes on diversity to achieve mission success."

"As we move forward, the Company remains steadfast in our commitment to valuing diversity in the workplace," said Randy Garver, WSI's General Manager at SRS. "We have a great team of highly-skilled and talented employees who continue to make significant contributions to our critical national security mission requirements."

In announcing the award, the South Carolina Diversity Council said Wackenhut's Diversity Plan "reflects a broad array of strategies and includes recruitment, hiring and promotion practices that target women and minorities, diversity training and development, and supplier diversity initiatives and awards in excess of $4 million in fiscal year 2008."

The WSI plan was developed with a focus on the areas of Workplace Diversity, Educational Outreach, Community Involvement, Business Outreach (Supplier Diversity), and Technology Transfer.

WSI -SRS was recognized as the Excellence in Diversity Award winner in the medium sized employer category. Other award recipients included Verizon Wireless (large employer) and U.S. Engine Valve (small employer).

WSI personnel contributed over $183,000, a new record. Combined with a corporate gift of $25,000 from its United Way Golf Tournament, WSI - Savannah River Site contributed over $208,000 to support the various organizations working to help the community. This represented an increase of over five percent from the previous year.

Congratulations and thank you to SRS General Manager Randy Garver, to Stephanie Price and Kelly Moran for their outstanding efforts as Campaign Co-Chairs, and to Maria Defever who did a great job in her role as Wackenhut's Loaned Executive to the United Way of Aiken County.

The DOE Composite Adversary Team is an elite group of volunteer protective force members from the various DOE sites who undergo extensive and rigorous training to replicate the adversary forces and capabilities that DOE protective forces are expected to defend against.

The CAT Challenge concludes the annual CAT training session. This year, because of increased membership, two-man teams were formed. Each team had to negotiate a shooting course that required rapid selection and engagement of targets with various weapons systems, as well as performing other CAT tasks that would be part of a Force-on-Force exercise.

Kerry and Justen were paired-up for the rigorous competition and emerged as the Top CATs.

The Gonia Award is presented biannually to an individual from each of the 15 counties or cities with leadership programs that participate in the ETRLA who has gone beyond the normal expectations in the area of community leadership. Robert Gonia was the founder of the ETRLA.

Henry, a graduate of Leadership Oak Ridge, is active with the United Way of Anderson County, the Oak Ridge Rotary Club, the Junior League of Knoxville, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, the American Heart Association, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tennessee.

"Courtney's involvement in so many worthwhile community activities has resulted in significantly improving the lives of so many people," said WSI-OR General Manager John Burleson. "The community is much better as a result of her selfless contributions and I can think of nobody more deserving of this noteworthy recognition. The entire Wackenhut team is very proud of her."

Cinelli spoke last week to WSI employees during the company's Disability Awareness Program. He told the story about how he became disabled and how's he's working to overcome that disability.

Formerly a Security Police Officer for WSI, Vinnie was riding his motorcycle and was severely injured this past March by a hit-and-run driver who ran a red light, according to the Oak Ridger. He nearly lost his life in the accident. He did lose his lower left leg in the crash and suffered numerous other injuries.

Vinnie left the hospital four days later and returned to work just four months after the accident. He currently works as a Central Alarm Station operator for WSI, though he hopes to return to his former role. 

His story, as well the character and determination he has shown during this ordeal, is inspiring.

Ray now serves as WSI's director of special operations at SRS, with responsbilities for law enforcement, barricade sercurity, aviation and special response operations.

"What is embedded in the concept of the military," he told the students, "is teamwork with a goal of common trust...and performing with an unselfishness  and sacrifice to serve us all."

Ray praised the unsung efforts of teachers and encouraged the students to pursue civic engagement in the community.