The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce honored our community’s military personnel at the 2013 Military Appreciation Banquet on Wednesday, February 27 presented by Bright House Networks. More than 450 attendees, including leadership from all five service branches, were in attendance.
Lieutenant General Russel L. Honore, U.S. Army (Ret) gave a keynote address on the topic of “Leadership in the New Normal.” Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll and Mayor Bob Buckhorn also recognized the contributions of our local service members. This event represented the 15th year the Chamber has recognized our local military personnel for outstanding contributions to the greater good of the Tampa Bay community.
The 2013 winners included:
| Category | Winner |
| Army Officer of the Year | Major Rhonda L. McRae |
| Air Force Officer of the Year | Lieutenant Colonel Shawn Patrick Walrath |
| Reserve Officer of the Year | Major Zachary Glen Davidson |
| Army Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year | Staff Sergeant Christopher M. Bitwinski |
| Marine Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year | Staff Sergeant Damon Cecil |
| Navy Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year | Intelligence Specialist Second Class (EXW/SW) Nicanor P. Mendoza III |
| Air Force Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year | Master Sergeant Danell G. Hall |
| Coast Guard Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year | Yeoman Third Class Amanda L. McKillip |
| Reserve Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year | Senior Master Sergeant Tom Lehmann |
| Department of Defense Employee of the Year | Mr. Jay Kent |
| University of South Florida ROTC Cadet of the Year | Cadet Elizabeth S. Stevens |
| University of Tampa ROTC Cadet of the Year | Cadet Bryana Hedgepeth |
| Business Partner of the Year | AT&T |
| Military Affairs Council Bob Cutler Volunteer Award | Brigadier General David M. “Tanker” Snyder (Ret) |
| JROTC Essay Contest Winner | Thapani Sawaengrsi |
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