Grissom's honorary commanders: Part 1

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GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. --  An educator, radio personality, quality manager, and program manager for the Honeywell Foundation are four of the individuals who will participate in Grissom's honorary commanders program during 2012.

The honorary commanders program provides select community and business leaders with a first-hand look at Grissom ARB, its mission, and impact on the local community.   Grissom's honorary commanders took their oath of office during a special ceremony on February 12.

Dr. Michael Harris, Chancellor at Indiana University Kokomo and a professor of public and environmental affairs, education and business, will serve as the honorary 434th Air Refueling Wing commander. He received his doctorate in public policy from Indiana University, his master's degree from Tel-Aviv University and his undergraduate degree in economics and business administration from Bar-IIan University. He is a graduate of two of the Harvard Graduate School of Education's leadership programs and has published four books and close to 40 articles in a variety of journals. Previously, Harris was provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Kettering University, vice president for academic affairs at Ferris State University, and associate provost and interim provost at Eastern Michigan University.

Jessica Green, an on-air personality at Hoosier AM/FM, is the honorary 434th Operations Group commander. Green is the co-host of the Allan & Jessica Morning show on Kokomo's Variety Z92Five radio station. She is also the public affairs coordinator for three radio stations that are part of Vox Media. She started her broadcast career as the host of a morning radio show on KZRX in Dickinson, N.D., before moving to be a morning radio co-host on KCAD, also in Dickinson.  A graduate of the Ohio Center for Broadcasting, Colorado Campus, Green is a board member for Kokomo Urban Outreach and co-publicity chair for the Howard County Relay for Life.

Leilan McNally, a network process and quality manager for AT&T, was selected as the honorary 434th Maintenance Group commander. His responsibilities at AT&T include data management for operations teams in Indiana and Michigan. However, it's through social media that McNally, also known as Big Kahuna, is more well known. He maintains a strong social media presence through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace. Awards for his social media work in Most Humorous Blog from Linking Indiana in 2010 and Top (Twitter) Tweep from MetroMix Indy in 2011. A graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications studies and is currently working on his master's degree. McNally is involved in various charitable work in the Indianapolis area, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Salvation Army.

Andrea Zwiebel, a program manager for the Honeywell Foundation in Wabash, Ind., is the honorary 434th Mission Support Group commander. As program manager, she is the lead member and primary contact for the foundation's staff programming team. Zwiebel supervises a variety or programs for  the Ford Theater, Clark Galley, Wabash Valley Music Association and the Honeywell House. A graduate of Hillsdale College, she joined the staff of the Honeywell Foundation in 2007. Her community involvement includes the Hoosier Salon Advisory Committee, Visual Arts Network co-founder, Wabash County Arts Council, Charley Creek Arts Festival Committee, Wabash Art Guild, Regional Advisory Council for Arts United and the Wabash Marketplace Committee.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command.

Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.

(Editor's note:  This is the first of a two-part feature on Grissom's honorary commanders program for 2012)