PATUXENT RIVER, Md., June 25, 2025 — Three individuals and four teams from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) were recognized as winners of the Department of the Navy’s (DoN) annual Financial Management Awards during a ceremony at the Pentagon on June 18. The awards celebrate excellence in fiscal stewardship, innovation, and improvements in workforce readiness and business processes across the DoN.
The NAVAIR winners were evaluated for their contributions to cost savings, cost avoidance, and maximizing resource efficiency, as well as their ability to enhance financial management through technology, automation, and streamlined processes. “What we’re here to recognize today is really those folks who went above and beyond, either as an individual, as a team, or as both. This year, we had more nominations than any other year,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Financial Management Systems, Gregory Koval, during the ceremony.
Individual award recipients included Charles Vallandingham, a financial management analyst at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) in Patuxent River, who received the Outstanding Trainee Award. Tess Butner, a financial management analyst supervisor in the F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office in Patuxent River, was honored for her Contribution to Business Processes and Internal Controls. Andrew Frossard, a financial management analyst supervisor at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) in Cherry Point, North Carolina, earned recognition for his Contribution to Optimize Stewardship in the Budget Process.
Butner expressed gratitude for the acknowledgment, stating, “This recognition not only reflects the hard work and dedication I strive to bring every day but also motivates me to continue serving with integrity and excellence alongside my incredible team.” Vallandingham noted, “It feels good to see all my hard work pay off.” Frossard emphasized the collaborative effort behind his success, saying, “The success we have achieved is a direct result of collective resilience, strategic collaboration and an unwillingness to settle for anything less than the best for our mission.”
The team awards highlighted innovative contributions across NAVAIR. The Knowledge, Networking, Orientation, Workshop (KNOW) for Financial Managers Team, led by Mandy Miedzinski at NAWCAD Patuxent River, was recognized for enhancing a highly skilled financial management workforce. Miedzinski praised her team, saying, “Thank you for your dependability, amazing work ethic and contributing to the success of the KNOWFM entry-level training program.” She noted that the program has trained 97 team members to date.
The Conversion and Fixed-Price Document Process Improvement Team at FRCE Cherry Point, led by Jennifer Bean, and the Purchase Requisition Robotic Process Automation Team at NAWCAD Patuxent River, co-led by Kari O’Brien and Shelbee Mattingly, were both honored for their contributions to business processes and internal controls. Mattingly highlighted her team’s achievement, stating, “We’re proud to have developed a robotic process automation solution that not only saves time and money but also empowers our team to focus on higher-value tasks.”
The Control Account Project Team at NAWCAD Patuxent River, led by Amy Peele, was recognized for optimizing stewardship in the budget process. Peele said, “This recognition highlights the positive impact of the initiative [using new control accounts], reinforces our commitment to continuously optimizing our financial management processes and is a powerful affirmation that the work we do matters and contributes directly to our mission.”
The awards underscore NAVAIR’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and innovation. More information about the DoN Financial Management Awards is available on the DoN website.
The ceremony marked a record number of nominations, reflecting the DoN’s growing emphasis on recognizing financial management excellence. NAVAIR’s winners demonstrated leadership in automating processes, improving training programs, and ensuring effective resource allocation, directly supporting the Navy’s mission readiness.
