Bennett named best in Air Force Reserve Command Published Feb. 1, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. Doug Hays 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind -- When a group of inspectors swoop in, and rate your program the 'best program seen' that makes quite a statement. That's what a unit compliance inspection team had to say about Merilyn Bennett, and the Air Force Reserve Command agreed, naming her the command's Financial Analysis Civilian of the Year. "It is a great feeling to be recognized by my peers, but I owe everything I am or will ever be to the God I serve," said Ms Bennett. Ms Bennett developed a comprehensive resource management training class for 434th Air Refueling Wing resource advisors and cost center managers. The program received rave reviews from a unit compliance inspection team. She is recognized as the expert within the Air Force Reserve Command on various programs and is routinely called upon to provide training and guidance to financial management personnel at other bases.In addition, her guidance, training and direction were key factors in the successful execution of Grissom's $100 million-plus budget, said Mike Ayers, Grissom comptroller. "She has an uncompromising attention to detail and meticulous record keeping. Her scrutiny helped her to identify areas where funds could be released for more mission critical wing needs." Her actions enabled to the wing to meet its day-to-day training requirements while meeting the standing strategic integrated operations plan and other short or no-notice mission taskings at the same time, he added. In her duties, Ms. Bennett works with unit resource advisors and senior commanders to ensure spending decisions maximize the value of each dollar spent. She personally validated the unfunded requirements list for fiscal year-end close out. By doing so she ensured the wing was ready to commit any last-minute funding provided to the 434th Air Refueling Wing. "Merilyn is the epitome of 'excellence in all we do,'" Mr. Ayers said, "she is a team leader in every aspect of her personal and professional life and balances the workload demands across the full-time and Reserve teams." In addition to her duties at Grissom, Ms Bennett is very active in the local community and is a board member of the Miami County Community Corrections Board, secretary of the New Perspectives Minority Health Coalition of Howard County and a member of the Miami County Tobacco Awareness Project.
