Employees representing the Naval Research Laboratory, accepted awards on behalf of the command's support of the 2010 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) at the National Capitol Area CFC 2010 Finale ceremony, held on February 16, 2010. The campaign marked the 49th year of the CFC program. NRL received awards in three categories; a first for NRL over its many years of support to the program.
Ms. Amanda Bowie, an editorial assistant, and Ms. Denise Stewart, editor of Labstracts, both from the Public Affairs Office (PAO), accepted the first-place award in the Best Campaign Writing or Publication category. The award was presented by Ms. Linda Washington, Local Federal Coordinating Committee Chairperson.
Bowie and Stewart were recognized for their continuing article series in support of the CFC campaign featured in NRL's bi-weekly newspaper, Labstracts. Each issue during the campaign period featured a human-interest article on a particular NRL employee who had been personally touched by one of the CFC charities. For Stewart, It was a most rewarding experience to have had the opportunity to share these heart-felt stories with our readers. The personal stories covered by the article series drew an overwhelming response from readers who were interested to learn how their co-workers and friends benefited from the generosity of CFC charities.
YN1 Luis Joseph Lopez, NRL's Military Support Division and CFC manager, and Bowie shared second place awards in both, Best Special Event and Best Overall Communications Program categories. They were recognized for their multiple campaign programs at NRL designed to both inform employees of the importance of the CFC campaign and bring a level of fun and entertainment to keep the campaign momentum alive.
In one program, the CFC King and Queen competition, 20 employees were nominated by their peers as candidates for the king and queen of CFC at NRL. For every penny or dollar bill a candidate received, he or she earned the value of currency in votes, while every silver coin donated subtracted votes for that candidate. Coworkers of individual candidates held bake sales, served hot-dog lunches, sold candy bars, and hosted scavenger hunts, with proceeds from these events donated as votes for their specific candidate.
Other successful major events to attract agency personnel and promote the CFC program included: a chili cook-off, a soup-sampling bash and BINGO tournament, and a Sweet Thank-You that included tasty desserts to help wrap-up the campaign.
As the CFC manager of the 2010 campaign, I knew I wanted to find ways to involve the NRL community in the campaign, but I never expected such a high level of enthusiasm and participation, said Lopez. There were so many CFC coordinators and keyworkers who dedicated so much of their time to plan and staff events. The volunteerism and the giving spirit of the NRL community propelled NRL's fundraising efforts to a new high and as an added bonus, we all had fun in the process, said Lopez.
Bowie, the campaign's publicity manager, said of the campaign, this year's CFC was the most dynamic, fun, and successful CFC program that I've been a part of. The king and queen contest catapulted the campaign to a new level. The thought and time that the nominees and their campaign teams put into the contest was wonderful. People had fun, charities benefited in the process, and the reigning CFC king and queen have bragging rights. While planning events, writing CFC feature articles for Labstracts, and helping to manage the king and queen contest, I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful NRLers who generously gave of their time and money to be a part of something that is currently benefiting people locally, nationally and globally.
During the awards ceremony, Washington noted the overall National Capital Area CFC Campaign had raised a total of $66.7 to date; a $200,000 increase from last year's campaign. Washington did however note that the total would continue to rise as contributions are still being made and tallied.
The NRL's goal was to raise $330,000 this year for the many worthy charities that CFC represents. Thanks to the efforts of CFC keyworkers and coordinators, as well as the NRL community and the direction of Capt Paul Stewart, NRL commanding officer; Dr. John Montgomery, NRL director of research; and CFC managers, LT Louis Imboden and YN1 Luis Joseph Lopez, NRL made their fundraising goal by raising more than $350,000.