During a ceremony June 26 on the steps of the Pentagon, Secretary of the Navy Dr. Donald C. Winter recognized 30 Navy Black Belts for passing the American Society for Quality Lean Six Sigma Black Belt exam. Nineteen of those recognized are NAVAIR employees.

Eight NAVAIR employees attended the ceremony. They are: Gary Blakely; Tom Labatt; Dave Parker; Dave Stapf; Randy Stone; Joann Tragesser; Solomon Waters; and Steve Whetstone. Each Black Belt received a certificate signed by Winter.

Winter stressed the importance of continuous process improvement in moving the Navy forward. He recognized the importance of black belts in making this happen. Also participating in the ceremony were Dr. Dolores Etter, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, and Nick Kunesh, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for logistics.

Other NAVAIR Black Belts receiving certificates who were not in attendance are Nancy Burton, Angela Byers, Tom Curtis, Joan Devlin, Arthur Felix, Jeff Flesher, Steve Goad, Theresa Lemerise, Don Markward, Michael Meaney, and Robert Spiotta.