March 19, 2019, was a fantastic day in San Antonio. Thanks to the hard work of TSgt Bryant Sheperd and the team he put together, we recognized more than 70 outstanding military and civilian airmen from 13 major mission partners across San Antonio. We also announced the winners in each category that were forwarded to compete at the state level. The Air Force is graced with phenomenal people and the nominations we received are just a sample. The packages were scored by the committee, which was a difficult task due to the superb quality. Our airmen are doing amazing things, so much that it is hard to even fit it all in the limited lines available on the nomination form. I wish every member could read some of the things these airmen are doing as part of their daily job as well as all the extra stuff they do. We have senior airmen completing college courses with 4.0 grade point averages; NCOs leading fundraising efforts for city organizations; civilians volunteering at events — the list goes on. Below is a list of all chapter winners and those we forwarded to state.
Col. Jim Kellogg presented the Military Organization of the Year award to Col. Jason Janaros (center left), CMSgt Philip Eckenrod (center right) and several members of the 37th TRW.
The annual Kellogg-Loos Awards Banquet was held at the Lackland Gateway Club and featured about 150 honorees and guests.Unit leadership, supervisors, friends, and family showed up to support their nominees. Col. Jim Kellogg, USAF (Ret), the son of Col. Joe Kellogg for whom the banquet is named, was in attendance, too. Colonel Kellogg has been a supporter of the event for more years than I can remember. His enthusiasm and pride is evident as he presents the awards to the winners each year. We are so grateful for his support and participation in this event.
The chapter selected the 37th Training Wing as our military organization of the year. Their incredible work to keep up with the increasing de3mands for trained airmen and the changes to the curriculum have kept them very busy.
The banquet is also an opportunity to highlight some of our members who have gone above and beyond to perform the mission of AFA. Every event we host or participate in is done by our volunteer membership. There are no paid positions in the chapter and we are blessed to have some outstanding volunteers who dedicate many hours each year to the organization. Often, they work behind the scenes because they are not in it for the recognition. They do this because they believe in AFA and what we do for our Air Force. Tom Peterson has been the chapter secretary for more than 13 years. He is responsible for our meeting space, keeping members updated on announcements, checking the mail and following up on our bills. Tom is our Dr. Kay H. Biggar member of the year for his unwavering dedication.
(L-R) Frank Eldridge, Debbie Landry, Tom Peterson, and Jim Kellogg.