Huntsville Center’s Woman Who Rocks honored for leadership

Huntsville Center Public Affairs
Published Sept. 6, 2018
Sally Parsons, chief of the Information Technology Systems Division at U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, won the “Redstone Women Who Rock!” award in the leadership category  from the North Alabama Chapter of Federally Employed Women.

Sally Parsons, chief of the Information Technology Systems Division at U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, won the “Redstone Women Who Rock!” award in the leadership category from the North Alabama Chapter of Federally Employed Women.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. --Not all women who rock have guitars. In Sally Parsons case, she is an Army civilian working to support the employees of Redstone Arsenal and our U.S. military, and she rocks.

Parsons, chief of the Information Technology Systems Division at U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, won the “Redstone Women Who Rock!” award in the leadership category this month from the North Alabama Chapter of Federally Employed Women.  

The competition has multiple categories, including innovative researcher, rising star, and meritorious military service. Parsons had plenty of competition in the leadership achievement category, which had 17 nominees total.

“I was honored just to be nominated of course,” Parsons said. “I was totally shocked [to hear I had won]. At first I thought I had misheard the announcer, that there was a nominee with a similar-sounding name.”

The Leadership Achievement Award honors women who operate in challenging, unpredictable, fast-pace circumstances. Honorees create a climate of innovation within the organization beyond her job duties and exudes excellence in collaboration, commitment and leadership.

Arthur Martin, the installation support and programs management directorate chief at Huntsville Center, who nominated her for the award, believes she epitomizes the type of person that they were seeking to recognize.

“After having worked with Sally in various capacities over the years, she is the consummate professional who is also an excellent teacher and mentor,” Martin said. “She is very much someone who ‘rocks’ in ways that are inspiring to those around her.”

Parsons was recognized for her award during Redstone’s Women’s Equality Day luncheon on Aug. 26 at the Summit.

After Parsons’ initial shock from the announcement wore off, she thought, “Why not someone from Huntsville Center? We have such a variety of fast-pace, innovative programs, we support so many different critical DOD [Department of Defense] missions. Of course Huntsville Center women can be competitive for a FEW Leadership Achievement award.”

Not just be competitive--they can win. They can rock.