Fuels program managers earn national recognition

Huntsville Center
Published April 12, 2023
Alan Reynolds (left), NPMA Vice President of Operations, and Ron Crowl (right), NPMA Senior Vice President, present the Program Manager of the Year award to Jesus Ramirez, Huntsvile Center Fuels program manager, and Tracy Helmick, Fuels deputy program manager, during the National Petroleum Management Association's annual conference March 27-30. (Courtesy Photo)

Alan Reynolds (left), NPMA Vice President of Operations, and Ron Crowl (right), NPMA Senior Vice President, present the Program Manager of the Year award to Jesus Ramirez, Huntsvile Center Fuels program manager, and Tracy Helmick, Fuels deputy program manager, during the National Petroleum Management Association's annual conference March 27-30. (Courtesy Photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Two program managers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville earned top honors at the National Petroleum Management Association’s annual conference March 27 to 30.

Jesus Ramirez and Tracy Helmick, program managers for the Center’s Fuels Recurring Maintenance and Minor Repair Program, both received the NPMA Program/Project Manager of the Year Award at the 2023 PETRO Expo Fuel Handling Summit. The association typically presents this award to a single recipient.

“This year we have a first-ever for this award due to the unique circumstances associated with the position,” said Ron Crowl, NPMA senior vice president. “Even though it is one duty title, due to the shear size of responsibilities associated with the position, it requires two managers to appropriately manage it.”

The Fuels Program provides vital maintenance and repair services to the Department of Defense and other government agencies to sustain a worldwide robust fueling capability in support of the Army, Navy and Air Force. As Fuels program managers, Ramirez and Helmick are responsible for the acquisition strategies, execution and post-award contract management of 25 task orders providing preventive and corrective maintenance at 433 Defense Logistics Agency fuels sites in nine countries.

“The USACE Huntsville Fuels Program is critical to all the services to ensure that clean, dry fuel is able to be issued and received at installations worldwide,” said Crowl. “USACE Huntsville is the only organization executing this level of maintenance and repair on DOD fuel systems, and Mr. Ramirez and Ms. Helmick are at the tip of the spear.”

Dennis Bacon, chief of the Fuels Branch at Huntsville Center, credits Ramirez and Helmick with the program’s more than 900 percent growth over the last decade.

“Our people are the primary factor in our program’s success,” he said. “We have the right people making the right decisions for the right reasons every day.”

Ramirez and Helmick spoke to attendees about the Fuels Program’s services and capabilities during two breakout sessions on days two and three of the conference. Both sessions were filled to capacity with about 200 attendees each.

Bacon provided the keynote address, where he spoke about the theme of the 2023 conference, “Connecting and Caring for Our Greatest Asset: People.”