On October 30, 2014, the National Ocean Service (NOS) Employee Recognition Award Ceremony was held in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Russell Callender, Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean and Coastal Zone Management, opened the ceremony with an overview of NOS success in fiscal year 2014. OR&R was recognized for responding to the March 2014 Texas City “Y” oil spill in Galveston Bay, Texas City, Texas. The NOAA Marine Debris Program was recognized for the study of the economic impact of marine debris on beachgoers.

OR&R won Best Photo of “A Day at the Office” in the NOS Photo Contest. In this photo taken by Glen Watabayashi, Emergency Response Division scientists, Alan Mearns and Nicolle Rutherford, are reviewing all available papers for one year of papers on effects of oil spills and spill response.

Eight OR&R employees received National Ocean Service Employee Recognition Awards.

Team Member of the Year Awards: Presented to members of the workforce who are not NOAA federal employees for their contributions as recognized by their peers.

• Ashley Braun, OR&R Headquarters
• Brianne Connolly, OR&R Emergency Response Division

Peer Recognition “Rafting” Awards: Recognizes coordination among NOS offices and provides NOS employees the opportunity to express their appreciation to another colleague or team that has helped them in some unique way.

Group Award:

• Christopher Barker, OR&R Emergency Response Division
• Amy MacFadyen, OR&R Emergency Response Division
• Caitlin O’Connor, OR&R Emergency Response Division

NOS Assistant Administrator Special Recognition Plaque: Presented by the NOS Assistant Administrator to two groups of people for special recognition.

Recognized for contributing to the Hurricane Sandy Work Group:

• Brendan Bray, OR&R Headquarters
• Meg Imholt, OR&R Headquarters

Recognized for contributing to the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Contribution Team:

• Stephanie Kavanaugh, OR&R Headquarters

For more information, contact Katie.Wagner@noaa.gov.

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