RICHMOND, Va. –
Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, recognized staff from the Virginia Army National Guard Construction and Facilities Management Office March 17, 2025, in Richmond, Virginia, for receiving two first place national-level awards at the 2025 Programming and Guidance Conference at the National Guard Professional Education Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“The Virginia Army National Guard Facilities Management and Environmental team are by far some of the most dedicated and talented individuals that I have had the privilege to work with in my career,” said Col. Beau Mason, Virginia National Guard construction and facilities management officer. “They work behind the scenes with limited resources to keep our facilities operational and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.
“It’s through their hard work, dedication, and selfless services that the VAARNG was able to earn these awards,” he added. “I couldn’t be more honored or privileged to work with such a professional group of individuals.”
Virginia received first place in the Cultural Resources Management for Small Installations category for the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach. SMR is listed in its entirety as an historic district and includes several contributing cultural landscapes.
According to the award citation, over the past two years, SMR has been an integral part of large-scale offshore wind turbine construction by Dominion Power, the most recent innovation in a long process of building renewable and resilient energy resources in the region. To construct these turbines, horizontal underground boring from miles offshore and through SMR must be completed to lay cable conduits. Working through a Memorandum of Understanding conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the CRM program has developed a comprehensive mitigation strategy, implemented operational procedures for cultural impacts, and coordinated with construction leads to ensure training can still occur on post.
Virginia also received first place in Region 2 in the category of Best Overall Performance, which included top scores in real estate and real property, compliance and conservation. Every year the ARNG G9 Directorate sponsors the Installation & Environment Awards Program to foster excellence and esprit de corps among the CFMO and Environmental Offices of the 54 states and territories.
“It truly took a dedicated team to earn these awards,” Mason said. “They synchronized with NGB, Dominion Power, Virginia Beach, various localities, and numerous other entities to accomplish this. It’s one thing to work within DMA, it’s another to synchronize, track, and coordinate efforts across the state to make the Construction and Facilities Management team as successful as it is.
“With the expertise of Dr. Lisa Jordan, our cultural resource manager, and Mrs. Jennifer Beck, our real property branch chief, they provided the leadership, expertise and direction required to achieve these awards.”