MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. — A Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) East supervisor was selected as the Federal Managers Asso­ciation’s (FMA) Manager of the Year during the organization’s 78th national convention March 14 in Alexan­dria, Virginia.

Sue Thatch, production support logistician (PSL) team supervisor, was honored for demonstrating exception­al leadership, supervisory and communication skills, active involve­ment in the local FMA chapter and contributions to the local community.

“She is trustworthy, honor­able, knowledgeable and effi­cient…and has the ability to communicate on multiple levels by providing an attentive ear of understanding,” said Lori Glass, FRC East program analyst and FMA Chapter 21 president.

In the nomination form, Glass highlighted Thatch’s abilities of organiza­tion, leadership and motivation: “She is firm and fair,” wrote Glass. “Sue is extremely responsive to her employees' needs, going far out of her way to ensure they have all tools necessary to achieve success. She possesses a calm wisdom that adds to her level-headed processes and infectious posi­tive attitude. This mindset energizes her employees and inspires them to achieve goals beyond expectations. She is a mentor to all, providing encour­aging leadership grounded in common sense and experience.”

Thatch, with 26 years of government service, built and supported the PSL team that she took the reins of as supervisor in 2013. She initiated a new Production Support Module (PSM) at FRC East, and her work with the Production Support Engineering Supervisor gave PSLs a voice and buy-in on the supply health for the shops. The PSM tool made a huge difference in communication, time savings and supportability at FRC East, according to Glass.

Thatch’s involvement in the lo­cal FMA chapter led to the authoring of the Wounded Warrior Fed­eral Leave Act, which provides wounded veterans with 30 per­cent or more disability a bank of 104 hours of sick leave to use within their first 12 months of civil service em­ployment in order to obtain treatment for their disabilities.

In the community, Thatch has initiated coat drives, candy sales and 5K fun runs to support local homeless and women’s shelters. She also leads the local FMA chapter’s annual golf tournament to fund scholarships and stuffed animal drives to support children who have experi­enced various traumas.

“She has a big heart and en­joys donating her time to those in need,” said Glass.

FMA is a professional as­sociation representing the in­terests of the nearly 200,000 managers, supervisors and ex­ecutives serving in today’s fed­eral government. More than 200 regular and associate members are employed at FRC East.