Ohio National Guard News

Outstanding Ohio Army National Guard recruiters will be sporting new rides

Sgt. 1st Class Rick Hance
Bravo Company, Cincinnati

Sgt. 1st Class Rick Hance is making great strides in achieving his FY09 mission. By the end of January, Hance had already written 15 contracts, when only eight were needed to keep him on-track for his annual mission of 24. Hance is a strong proponent of the four tenets of strength maintenance—recruiting, attrition management, retention and the RSP. Hance has worked hard at building relationships with the units he serves at the Woodlawn Armory in Cincinnati.

Staff Sgt. Michael Doney
Echo Company, Wayne County

Staff Sgt. Michael Doney was named the R&R Battalion NCO of the Year winner for 2008. As a newly assigned rookie recruiter in FY08, he finished last year at 140 percent mission. Doney is a qualified Army drill sergeant, and he’s one of the top RSP cadre/trainers in the Northeast Region of Ohio. As a rural area recruiter responsible for all of Wayne County, Doney does a lot of driving, so the car is expected to get a lot of attention.

Staff Sgt. Sandra Mesenburg
India Company, Huron County

Staff Sgt. Sandra Mesenburg wrote the most enlistment contracts in the state of Ohio during FY08. Primarily recruiting out of the Norwalk area, Mesenburg contracted 37 Soldiers, exceeding her mission of 23 by 14 Soldiers, or 61 percent. Mesenburg is one of the top recruiters in Northwest Ohio and the only female Recruiter in India Company.

Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hillebrand
Alpha Company, Columbus

Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hillebrand recruits on the main campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, where he also functions as liaison for the ROTC program. In FY08, Hillebrand accessed 33 new Soldiers and was nominated as the NCO of the Year for Alpha Company. His devotion to duty, professional attitude and compassion for Soldiers was also the inspiration for the “RSP Leadership Award,” new to the Recruiting Command in FY08; Hillebrand was the first recipient.

 

Story by Diane Farrow,
Recruiting Marketing Office
Ohio Army National Guard

In most work places, getting day-to-day tasks done and done well goes unnoticed. In the Ohio Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, where meeting the personnel strength mission means everything, celebrating successes is not taken lightly.

Recognition for recruiters can range from “going green” on the assistant adjutant general for Army’s tracker, receiving an unique giveaway item such as an Army Combat Uniform-design pattern computer bag or winning an incentive trip sponsored by National Guard Bureau.

Recently, the Recruiting Command took things to the next level by ensuring successful recruiters were recognized by the general public as well as their peers.

“With the increasing popularity of vehicle advertising, we decided to wrap a few of the GSA (U.S. General Services Administration) sedans that our recruiters drive on a daily basis,” said Maj. Jodie McFee, executive officer for the Recruiting and Retention Battalion. “Recipients of the wraps were selected based on the high levels of success in the command.”

McFee said four top recruiters and one Recruiting Company were selected to promote the Guard during their daily travels. “The vehicles attract so much attention, they can also be used as a part of a recruiting display, it’s really up to the areas how they are going to be used,” she said.

Two vehicles received a custom design developed by Revolution Wraps of Lincoln, Neb. With a base color of eye-catching blue, this design has an artistic rendering of the Ohio state flag on one fender, and the American flag on the other. The rear quarter panels display silhouettes of Soldiers on duty. The National Guard logo, the Soldiers’ Creed and combat boot prints are weaved throughout the design.

The wraps for the three other sedans were designed by Docupak of Alabaster, Ala. Two of the designs have the Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 car theme—one with the ACU pattern and one with the black and silver “Citizen Soldier” motif. The third Docupak wrap is also outfitted in ACU pattern, but it celebrates the role of the National Guardmember by showcasing silhouettes of Soldiers in combat gear.

The recruiters of Cleveland’s Company D (the Delta Dawgz) received one of the Revolution Wraps designs since they won the Fiscal Year 2008 “Private Roger Young Award,” which is presented annually to the best overall OHARNG Recruiting and Retention company by percentage of mission achievement. The Dawgz’ mission percentage was 127.64 percent; they enlisted 351 Soldiers on a mission of 275. The car will be driven by the monthly top Recruiting and Retention noncommissioned officer within Company D.

 

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