2005 E. R. "Dick" Alley Award Winner
Linda G. Wright

Ms. Linda G. Wright, Associate Director, Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Washington, D.C., was selected by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program to receive the prestigious E. R. "Dick" Alley Career Achievement Award.

During her 31 years of support for the Program, Ms. Wright has strongly advocated for a NAVFAC/JWOD partnership, the first between the JWOD Program and one of its customers. The partnership stresses responsiveness and flexibility in meeting contracting officers' changing needs while at the same time creating additional jobs under the JWOD Program. Examples of Ms. Wright's commitment to the partnership include the JWOD training she has provided to NAVFAC personnel and her development of a JWOD Services Contracting Guide for field contracting officers.

Ms. Wright believes that sufficient opportunities exist to support both the JWOD Program and small business interests. Inclusion of JWOD Program representatives in her NAVFAC annual small business symposia is an opportunity for those two communities to explore collaboration in the Federal arena. Ms. Wright helps educate NAVFAC personnel that people who are blind or have other severe disabilities are a reliable workforce, fulfill a wide array and product or service needs for Federal customers and their prime contractors, and are capable of meeting or exceeding industry quality standards. Through her leadership, NAVFAC has entrusted JWOD employees to perform highly-skilled service contracts such as ones at the Bremerton Washington Naval Complex. At this location, JWOD employees at Skookum Industries, of Port Townsend, WA, have been given the opportunity to perform asbestos abatement services following the JWOD Program's earlier success there in providing grounds maintenance services.