LOS ANGELES — The LA District celebrated a quarter of achievements and exceptional service by its employees Feb. 5 during a town hall award ceremony at its main headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.
“I want to first start off by acknowledging that 2025 was a challenging year in terms of our workload,” said Col. Andrew Baker, Los Angeles District commander. “However, in terms of our work placement and delivery — we knocked it out of the park, awarding 811 contracting actions for an incredible $2.17 billion.”
Highlights for the second quarter of the district included closing out all 34 contracts related to the Los Angeles County Wildfires Debris Removal Mission approximately a year after the tragic Eaton and Palisades wildfires as well as visits to the district from higher headquarters staff including Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil and emergency operations deputy commanding general, Brig. Gen. John Lloyd, South Pacific Division commander and division engineer, and Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), who were apprised of the essential civil works projects undertaken by the Los Angeles District for the region’s benefit.
One of those projects included the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Spinal Cord Injury and Community Living Center in San Diego, which is on track towards contract physical completion after attaining substantial completion as of the end of January. The center will provide a coordinated life-long continuum of services for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders.
Also highlighted by Baker was the ability for the district to fill critical vacancies for the district, including 10 exception to policy approvals and use of the talent marketplace portal to leverage existing talent in the corps with temporary promotions, 120-day details and reassignments.
Looking forward to a new, successful quarter, Baker spoke on the district’s ambition to earn the Army Safety Star.
“This evaluation will be an “all-hands” effort. Personnel at every level will be interviewed,” said Baker. “Be prepared to speak about your personal responsibility to safety, your knowledge of our district’s programs and how our safety culture has directly benefited you and your team.
Let’s earn that star, let’s do it for each other,” he continued. “We have a righteous mission and we couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. Thank you.”
The following awards were given to employees of the Los Angeles District during the town hall award ceremony:
Mary Wrightson received the John D. Oshima Center of Gravity Award.
Michael Turanitza received the Kevin Inada Employee of the Quarter Award.
Lisa Lugar received the Jennie Ayala “Beyond the Call of Duty” Award.
Orville “Dan” W. Collins received the Innovator of the Year Award.
Shawn Davis and Josh Sena received the Rising Star Award.
Jesse M. Rice received the Casten Compass award.
Michael Cho and David Myles received the H2O Helping Hands for Others award.
Sean Patrick Hutchison received the Outstanding PDT Member Award.
Aaron C. Burke, Joshua G. Pendergrass, Fany C. Anderson, December N. Winters, and Maria L. Randolph of the Safety Team received Civilian Service Achievement Medals.
Robert DeDeaux of the Los Angeles District received the Office of Public Affairs USACE Clark Taylor Civilian Videographer of the Year Award.
James Elsberry of the Los Angeles District received the Office of Small Business USACE Small Business Champion of the Year Award.
Chadi Wahby of the Los Angeles District received the Office of Small Business USACE Program Manager/Engineering Professional of the Year Award.
Roger Minami of the Los Angeles District received the Office of Small Business Beyond the Call of Duty Award.
The following awards were presented to the Los Angeles District as a whole:
Directorate of Contracting District/Center of the Year
Directorate of Civil Works Planning Excellence Award-Enterprise