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News | Jan. 5, 2016

Oklahoma’s Pearson recognized at 48th annual DLA award ceremony

By Brianne M. Bender DLA Distribution Public Affairs

Pearl Pearson, Jr., a packer assigned to the Preservation, Packaging, Packing and Marking Branch at Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Oklahoma City, Okla., was awarded the 2015 Outstanding DLA Employee with a Disability Award at the 48th employee recognition ceremony held on Dec. 10, in the auditorium of the Andrew T. McNamara Complex in Fort Belvoir, Va.

DLA director Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy Busch, along with Distribution’s commander Army Brig. Gen. Richard Dix were on hand to present the award.

“Mr. Pearson has proved over the past year that he is an exceptional employee who does not perform at the highest level to seek out attention or praise, but does so due to his hard work, dedication and work ethic,” said DLA Distribution Oklahoma City director, Ned J. LaViolette.

Pearson was responsible for packing over 10 percent of the work orders and over 16 percent of the items packed over the past year, ranking him in the top one percent of his co-workers. This contributed to a recovery of over $63,000 of the distribution center’s reimbursable packing costs. His actions have led to DLA Distribution Oklahoma City maintaining its monthly metrics for delivery of material to both internal and external customers. His efforts directly contributed to reducing the average KC-135 aircraft maintenance time from 224 days to 112 days for over 60 aircraft per year.

Continuously having been one of DLA Distribution Oklahoma City’s PPP&M’s top performers, Pearson packed more than 4,600 work orders consisting of over 5,400 items, all while maintaining a zero discrepancy rating.

Not one to shy away from challenges, Pearson has consistently ensured fellow employees know the correct packing procedures, taking it upon himself to volunteer to train over ten new employees per the standard operating procedures and job breakdown sheets. Despite the communication barriers he has faced, he made certain the employees he trained understand the procedures. Additionally, the employees he has trained have stated they feel they received the best training available.

Having graduated from the Oklahoma School of the Deaf in 1969, Pearson maintained honor roll and earned awards for participation in basketball and football. He spent nearly 20 years in the private sector before entering the federal workforce. He now has 25 years of federal service under his belt, 23 of those with DLA. In his spare time, Pearson volunteers for the Central Oklahoma Association for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired assisting in making hearing aids available to low-income individuals and by providing information and referral services, including assistance for hearing impaired such as sign language training, TDD/TTY equipment, written information and some financial assistance.

Additionally, Pearson’s performance, professionalism, enthusiasm and attention to detail have made him an integral part of the PPP&M team, as well as a highly productive member of the DLA Distribution Oklahoma City team.

“Mr. Pearson is not only a highly valuable member of the PPP&M team, but also an employee any supervisor would love to have work for them,” explained LaViolette. “Pearl is most deserving of the recognition of this prestigious award.”