Col. Glenn Kennedy, Garrison commander, and Jim Green, director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate, signed the Employee and Customer Covenant June 3 in Alexander Hall. Bartley Harper In October 2009, as one of his first acts as Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John McHugh and senior Army leadership re-affirmed their commitment to Soldiers and Army families by resigning the Army Family Covenant. In response to this renewed commitment the Army Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Command developed a plan to provide Soldiers, single and married, and Army families a quality of life commensurate with their voluntary service, sacrifices, and dedication to our nation.

This program, called “Choose Excellence”, aims at strengthening the bond between military personnel, their families, and civilians served by Family and MWR to enhance their strength, readiness, and resilience. The cornerstone of the Choose Excellence initiative is the Employee and Customer Covenant. This covenant not only guarantees all employees are provided training and access to the tools necessary to perform their duties but also create a work environment where employees will choose to go the extra mile in providing exceptional service to Family and MWR patrons. Both employees and customers will benefit from the creation of a customer-focused environment.

The Employee and Customer Covenant supports the Installation Management Campaign Plan strategic imperatives of (1) Continue evolving the organization into a customer-focused combat support organization; (2) Embracing a performance-based management culture; (3) Equipping employees with the competencies, skills and enabling capabilities needed to provide extraordinary support to our customers now and in the future.

Employee and Customer Covenant signing events will eventually take place at every Army Installation worldwide to reinforce the Family and MWR commitment to workforce development, retention of quality employees, and the provision of exceptional service to customers. Garrison Commander Col. Glenn Kennedy and the Director of Fort Gordon Family and MWR James Green signed the Employee and Customer Covenant June 3 during the Garrison Commander’s first semiannual town hall meeting. This event made Fort Gordon one of the first installations worldwide to have made this commitment to all Family and MWR patrons.