NAVFAC EURAFCENT announces the 2022 Hard Hat Award winners

ByNavalFacilitiesEngineering Systems Command Europe Africa Central NAPLES, Italy Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Europe Africa Central (EURAFCENT) announced the winners of the 2022 Hard Hat Awards June2.NikolaosKokonasfromPublicWorks Department(PWD)SoudaBay,Greecewon in the Construction Engineer category and LeoTancretifromPWDRota,Spainwonin the Construction Engineering Technician category TheHardHatoftheYearprogramrecognizes construction field office technical staff, including Construction Engineers, Construction Managers, and Construction EngineeringTechnicians,whomakeday-todayconstructionmanagementdecisionsand exercisetechnicalauthorityonconstruction projects “NikolaosandLeodeliverinnovativeand pragmatic solutions to complex problems, Capt. Joe Harder III, NAVFAC EURAF-

CENT commanding officer said. “Both of thesegentlemenhaveexcelledandprotected thebestinterestsoftheNavyandsupported commands in one of the most challenging areasofresponsibilitywithinNAVFAC.”

Kokonas, a construction engineer in the Facilities Engineering and Acquisition Division (FEAD) Project Management and Engineering(PM&E)BranchatPWDSouda Bay, manages 16 projects valued at over $21 millionandwasanearlyadopterofutilizing theelectronicmanagementsystems(eCMS) andhasbeenactiveinprovidingfeedbackto improvetheproduct.

“It feels great to realize that my efforts havebeenacknowledged,andIamgrateful formycolleague’ssupportandassistancein performingmyduties,”Kokonassaid.

NavalSupportActivity SoudaBay,Public Works Officer (PWO), Lt Cmdr Matthew Reige said, Kokonas’ attention to detail and efforts in analyzing contractor baseline schedules, monthly updates, and time impactanalysesissecondtonone

“Nikos was nominated due to his highlevel performance managing one of the largest construction portfolios for a single construction manager in the region,” said Reige “His winning is a reflection of the commitment to the mission and high level ofperformanceofalltheemployeesatPWD Souda Bay, and is constantly recognized fromsupportedcommandsandvisitorsfrom theFEC[FacilityEngineeringCommand].”

Tancreti, a construction engineer technician in the FEAD PM&E Branch at PWD Rota, manages 11 projects valued at $17 million. He successfully provided quality assurance on completing five job-order contract actions, four indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity roofing projects, and the closeout and turnover of the Minnow Ground Terminal Project in support of the SpaceForce.

“I’mveryexcitedaboutwinningandbeing recognized.However,itwouldn’thavebeen possible without my colleagues and supervisors,” Tancreti said. “Leadership recog- nizes the work we all put in as a group The supervisorshereareverywell-awareofeach constructionmanagerandengineeringtechnician, and I am humbled that they nominatedme.

Naval Station Rota, Spain PWO, Cmdr. Joseph Dunaway said he has a team of outstanding professionals, and Tancreti’s awardisanexampleofthis

“Hewasnominatedduetothehigh-quality work he performs across his portfolio of high-profile projects, Dunaway said “Leo sets the standard in diligence and attention-to-detail,aswellaskeepingthecontractorsaccountableatalltimes.”

Harder said Leo and Nikos embody the spirit driven by a shared objective of outstanding support to the fleet and warfighters “Wehaveabiastowardsforminghigh-performing teams,” Harder said. “Taking the time to recognize their hard work will pay dividendsinthefuture.”