HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A project manager with the Furnishings Program has earned top honors from the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville’s largest directorate.
Daphne Thompson, who has worked at Huntsville Center since January 2009, received the Installation Support and Program Management Directorate’s 2021 Difference Maker Award during an awards presentation in December.
Thompson was selected for the directorate-level award from six division-level nominees in recognition of her outstanding work ethic and professionalism, said Tom Meier, ISPM Military Support Division chief.
“Daphne is an integral part of the leadership within the Furniture Project Delivery Team,” said Meier. “On her watch, the team has made several cultural shifts that have made a significant positive impact on the program and Huntsville Center as a whole.”
Thompson is responsible for streamlining the process for collecting critical project data in compliance with new requirements established by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters. This was a tedious and challenging task for the Furniture Program because of the large quantity of contract actions, said Arthur Martin, ISPM director.
“Daphne figured out a way to input individual projects, which brought one of the hardest programs in the center into compliance, and that process is now being used as a model for other programs,” said Martin. “If it can be used for Furniture, it can be used for any of our programs.”
Thompson was also the lead on a recent project to provide box fans for hundreds of Cadets’ rooms at U.S. Military Academy West Point. The effort was in response to an emergency request to mitigate an air conditioning outage during hot weather. Under Thompson’s leadership, the team was able to award a contract and have the fans delivered in only eight days.
Though Thompson was instrumental in ensuring the timely completion of the project, she was reluctant to take full credit.
“My contracting team and engineering design team were a huge part of the success,” she said. “It seemed to be an impossible task, especially during our busiest time of the year. The PDT recognized the urgency and importance of the request and pulled together to figure out a way to get it done.”
Thompson said her work can be demanding, but finding the motivation to do it is easy.
“Ensuring our soldiers and their families have nice furniture to make their temporary homes feel more comfortable is important to me. Our soldiers sacrifice a lot to serve our country, and this is a way I can give back and directly support them,” she said. “The Furniture Program is a great team to be a part of. It’s like a great big family. Although we have a heavy workload, the strong relationship we have amongst our team members and leadership makes the job a little easier and more enjoyable.”
ISPM also presented division-level Difference Maker awards to the following employees:
- Lisa Albert, Facility Technology Integration Division
- Dale Adkins, Energy Division
- Tanja McCracken, Facilities Division
- Brandy Kuebbing, Medical Division
- Brandy Hicks, Electronic Technology Division