SEATTLE — Port Angeles-based Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Catherine Kavanaugh has been named the 2012 Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year for the 13th Coast Guard District.
Kavanaugh, who serves as a reservist machinery technician assigned to Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, was honored during a recognition banquet Saturday at Coast Guard Base Seattle.
She was selected from a candidate pool of three reserve service members stationed throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The 13th Coast Guard District covers the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Kavanaugh — a native of Coopersburg, Pa. — has gone above and beyond the requirements of her billet, conducting more than 300 at-sea boardings and accruing 381 underway hours, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
She forged interagency law enforcement partnerships with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and tribal law enforcement organizations while maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average as she pursued a bachelor’s degree, the Coast Guard said, adding that she “leads by example as a key participant at the Women in [District 13] leadership seminars.”
The Enlisted Person of the Year program recognizes exceptional men and women in the Coast Guard’s enlisted workforce who are considered the “best and brightest” from the field.
They are selected by a panel of senior enlisted members who evaluate each nominee against a set of established criteria that includes performance, work ethics, military bearing, standards of conduct and a strong community-service commitment.
Kavanaugh is now eligible for national honors along with peers from other Coast Guard regions across the nation.
The Coast Guard’s master chief petty officer, Michael P. Leavitt, will recognize the national winners in an award ceremony later this spring.
