Press Release

Mark J. Lumer, USASMDC, Receives "Alley" Career Achievement Award from Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program

March 18, 2003
For immediate release
Contact: Annmarie Hart-Bookbinder
Public Affairs Specialist
Phone: (703) 603-0174
Fax: (703) 603-0655
E-mail: abookbinder@jwod.gov

Arlington, VA-Mark J. Lumer, Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting, U. S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC), Huntsville, AL, has been selected by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program to receive the prestigious E. R. "Dick" Alley Career Achievement Award. This award was established in 1998 by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, the Federal agency that administers the JWOD Program, in honor and recognition of the late E. Richard "Dick" Alley, who provided more than 25 years of dedicated service to the JWOD Program as the Committee's Deputy Executive Director.

The Alley Award is intended to recognize individuals who have provided extraordinary achievement and sustained effort in utilizing the Federal procurement system to create employment and training opportunities for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities under the JWOD Program. It is the highest honor awarded by the Committee and is presented no more than once a year.

Mr. Lumer has actively supported the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program for over twenty years. In addition to past contract awards that enable JWOD employees to manage the mailroom, provide mail courier operations and provide miscellaneous administrative services, Mr. Lumer was also the driving force in a 1998 JWOD contract for facilities support at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility, located at White Sands Missile Range, NM. This contract currently employs nearly 30 individuals with severe disabilities performing new services under the JWOD Program such as minor vehicle maintenance, purchasing, inventory control, carpentry, plumbing electrical and machine shop work at this premier high-energy laser test facility.

A strong advocate for the JWOD Program, Mr. Lumer seeks new opportunities both within USASMDC and at other Federal agencies: he has supported the JWOD Program in its janitorial/custodial contract with GSA at the USASMDC facilities; he has made contract awards to JWOD during his tenure at the U. S. Army Communications Electronic Command (CECOM); he has endorsed policy efforts to increase support for JWOD while on assignment at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics & Technology; he has issued guidance on the JWOD Program and the local JWOD-operated Base Supply Center to purchase card holders; he has made personal efforts to promote the success of JWOD employees within local Huntsville, AL, publications; and, he has volunteered USASMDC's contracting activity to serve as a as a "JWOD acquisition test site" for any future JWOD contracting initiatives.

Mr. Lumer was recognized as a "JWOD Champion" by NISH in February 2001 and the Committee is proud to recognize him as the 2003 E. R. "Dick" Alley Career Achievement Award recipient. The award will be presented on April 6, 2003, at the NISH Annual Training Conference in Denver, Colorado.