An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

ARTICLE SEARCH

Fairchild Airmen named Persons of the Year

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Connie L. Bias
  • 92nd ARW Public Affairs Office
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Two Fairchild Airmen received the annual Person of the Year title April 12 at the 51st Annual Armed Forces Persons of the Year awards luncheon in Spokane. Staff Sgt. James Lorenzo, 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron, was named junior enlisted Person of the Year, and Tech. Sgt. R.C. DeLano, 22nd Training Squadron, is the senior enlisted Person of the Year.

The award is hosted by Greater Spokane Incorporated and given to what Spokane representatives call the best of the best - military members who excel in not only their military duties, but also contribute greatly to the community.

Sergeant Lorenzo, NCO in charge of the vehicle dispatch operations center, spends much of his off-duty time volunteering for Toys for Tots, the Ronald McDonald House, Little League baseball, and other organizations. He just finished volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, and is turning his attention back to the Spokane Veterans Home, where he is a regular volunteer. As far as taking his place among the honored persons of the year, though, he says he can't take all of the credit.

"It's quite an honor, but quite honestly I owe everything to my team," said Sergeant Lorenzo. "I feel like I'm just the face for the award because I didn't do anything my co-workers didn't do."

This is the second time Sergeant DeLano has received the honor; he was the junior enlisted award recipient in 1999. He was also received Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School NCO of the Quarter awards in 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001, and was the school's NCO of the Year in 1997, 1998 and 1999. He now works at the school as the standardization and evaluations section chief. Like Sergeant Lorenzo, Sergeant DeLano also called the Person of the Year title a "great honor," and said that one reason he can be successful as a community volunteer is the city's warm reception of military members.

"Spokane goes out of its way to make military members feel welcome," he said, adding that the support he sees from city leaders like the mayor play a large role in the successful relationship between the community and the base. "Events like the Persons of the Year banquet highlight the military in a positive way - they keep us as military members from getting lost in the cracks."

At the banquet, the 92nd Medical Group was also awarded with the Neal Fosseen Trophy, named after a former Spokane mayor. The award is given each year to the organization whose members have greatly enhanced relations between Fairchild and communities of the Inland Northwest.