CNO Honors Navy Awardees at BEYA
Kyle P. Malloy, NAVY.mil, February 22, 2010
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Kyle P. Malloy, Chief of Naval Operations Public Affairs
Story Number: NNS100222-08
Release Date: 2/22/2010 5:03:00 PM
BALTIMORE (NNS)–The chief of naval operations (CNO) was an honorary presenter at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) gala Feb. 20.
CNO, Adm. Gary Roughead presented two Navy civilians and a former Navy lieutenant with awards at the gala; Steffanie Easter and Sharon Smoot received the Professional Achievement in Government Award and Davede Alexander received the Diversity Leadership Award, all which recognized the great talent, intelligence, and leadership within the African American professional community.
“Holding events like the Black Engineer of the Year awards is important because it allows us as a Navy, as a military and as a nation to recognize the great contributions that men and women of diverse backgrounds make to our Navy, to our nation, to the military, and to so many different walks of life,” said Roughead.
The event helped promote and advocate the strength an organization gains from a diverse workforce.
“We will be a better Navy because of diversity,” said Roughead. “Diversity is bringing together different perspectives, different experiences, different backgrounds, different opinions, and from that we will be able to solve problems better.”
BEYA is a three-day conference recognizing outstanding African American achievers in areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from top companies around the world.
“It’s been an event that I look forward to every year,” said Roughead. “There’s a great sense of pride and accomplishment and it’s just terrific to be a part of it all.”
