2004 Combined Federal Campaign Heroes

TSgt Horn's leadership led to her unit doubling its donations and increasing participation by 28 percent in the 2004 campaign from the previous year. The unit had an amazing 90 percent participation rate and raised 300 percent of its goal. This earned her the prestigious gold award of achievement and the unit was given the Pikes Peak Region CFC's Excellence Award.

TSgt Horn whole-heartedly believes everyone is obligated to volunteer time in their community, and she leads by example. She helped sponsor an orphanage that housed over 100 children where she performed regular facility care and maintenance and hosted holiday parties and barbecues. She also spent four years sponsoring special needs children during annual Special Olympic competitions. As the volunteer activities coordinator at a local elderly care facility at Travis AFB, she played games, performed songs and engaged the residents in motor skill activities. During the holiday season she volunteers at a local food bank and always participates in Schriever Air Force Base's Cookie Caper program, which provides a small bag of goodies to every Air Force dormitory student. Currently, she volunteers twice a month at her local church as a preschool teacher.

Mr. Maxey created a powerful and inspirational video for the 2004 CFC, filming footage of nonprofits in action feeding the homeless, serving food at soup kitchens, and assisting children in hospitals. With an introduction by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and an endorsement from local newscaster John Pruett, Mr. Maxey spent many hours of his own time finalizing the video, making copies and distributing it to CFC kickoff events and numerous rallies throughout the area.

Despite taking a leave of absence to care for his terminally ill daughter, he served as a Loaned Executive, managed two divisions, both of which exceeded their campaign goals, managed the inventory of supplies and incentive gifts, and prepared a Power Point presentation for the Victory Luncheon. No task was beneath him.

Kirk also gives his time to the community volunteering as a Sunday school teacher and a Discipleship Group Leader for high school boys.

Over the past sixteen years, Officer McDaniel served as a member of the LFCC and Agency Evaluation Committee, was Chairman of Downtown United for CFC, volunteered as a keyworker, and organized a special collection of funds and supplies after the September 11th attacks. He helped to increase contributions in the TVA Police organization by personally visiting officers in the 24-county area served by the Smoky Mountain Region CFC.

During his three-year tenure as co-chair of the campaign, he oversaw a steady increase in contributions, leading to the campaign being recognized by OPM for the highest average gift amount in the nation in 2003. His successful strategies included ice cream socials for employees with executive sponsorship and attendance, an online E-bay-style auction, food and clothing drives for local shelters, a CFC Fair, tours of participating charitable agencies, and 2nd shift programs for other Police Officers and building personnel.

Officer McDaniel has been an employee of TVA for 32 years and is currently a Commissioned Officer of the Federal Government and graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He is also a graduate of the FBI Instructor Development Course and a member of the TVA Honor Guard and the Tennessee Gang Investigators Association. In 2002, he was honored as the TVA Police Officer of the Year and is frequently seen teaching school kids about gang prevention, water safety on TVA Lakes, and working with the Junior Olympics.

A product of the foster care system, he is a role model for foster care children because he "has been there" and shows them that they can be successful. In the words of his nominators: "He truly is a modest person who would rather stand in the background and let someone else have the glory, but he is the one who deserves this recognition for his many years of service to the community, TVA, and the CFC."

Captain McGillivray oversaw the Combined Joint Task Force solicitation in Afghanistan during the 2004 CFC, raising a record $463,969 with a 32 percent participation rate. This is particularly noteworthy as many potential donors were Reservists and National Guardsmen who were unable to make payroll deduction pledges. Also, on very short notice, he coordinated and conducted CFC trainings for over 100 unit volunteers in Bagram and 50 unit volunteers in Kandahar. Facing countless logistical challenges, he insured that every service member and Department of Defense civilian serving throughout Afghanistan received a 100 percent informed opportunity to give, even personally hand-carrying campaign materials over hostile terrain. This was accompanied by a campaign kick-off barbecue, fun runs, dunk tanks, mini-car racing events and various sports tournaments to raise funds for the campaign. He completed the campaign by personally delivering all 2004 Overseas pledge audit copies to the campaign office in Germany to make certain that donors' money was properly handled.

Captain McGillivray graduated from the Minnesota Military Academy in 1992 and was commissioned in 1994. He retired from the Army in 2002 and started a placement vendor business working with injured employees on workman's compensation benefits. In 2004, he was called out of retirement and received orders to deploy to Afghanistan. In May 2005, he returned to his wife and new baby girl.

Captain McGillivray is very active in both his stateside and overseas military communities. He volunteers with his church to deliver groceries to homebound residents, offers his time to the Carlos Avery Wolf Refuge to help abandoned animals, volunteers for Toys for Tots, and is preparing to become a big brother with Big Brothers of America. While deployed, he assisted fellow soldiers in registering to vote and submit their ballots in the Presidential election and helped to plan and execute recreational events for soldiers serving far from home He also solicited family and friends to send items such as clothes and school supplies, which he then distributed to the local population.

Postmaster Middleton served as a Loaned Executive for the USPS in 21 counties throughout southern Georgia. Her accomplishments included identifying and incorporating into the local campaign seven rural counties in Georgia that were not part of any CFC and organizing and conducting the first "Leadership Event" for local USPS employees. Her accounts doubled their pledges from the 2003 campaign, doubled the number of donors, and saw per capita giving go from $22 to $36. She was rewarded for her efforts with the Northeast Florida - Southeast Georgia CFC 2004 Loaned Executive of the Year award.

Ms. Middleton has been a postal employee for fourteen years and became involved with the CFC as a keyworker three years ago. In coordinating the first leadership event in Georgia for postal employees, she made it a family affair; her parents did the cooking!

Ms. Middleton is very active in her community as a member of the local Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce. She has been involved for a number of years with the Relay for Life, which supports the American Cancer Society, and has provided tremendous support to youth programs as well as church dinners and the associated ministry.

Ms. Sheppard served as a Loaned Executive in the 2004 CFC and is credited with an eleven percent increase in total funds raised in the 50 accounts she managed. She oversaw the second annual CFC Race for Freedom that attracted 350 participants and 60 volunteers to raise $5,000 for the campaign. The competitive run and fun walk garnered well-deserved publicity for the CFC and the Federal community. Throughout her Federal career at the FAA Oklahoma City campus, she has been a divisional keyworker for her organization, overall coordinator, and member, co-chair, and chair of the Department of Transportation's campaign planning committee. Her FAA Derby Race concept was incredibly successful and accounted for a $60,000 pledge and 26 percent participation rate increase in 2003. It also earned a national Innovation Award from OPM.

In addition to giving her time to the CFC and the Race for Freedom, Ms. Sheppard also lends her creativity and enthusiasm to the American Cancer Society and Paws for a Cause.

Chief Tappen served as an exceptional keyworker in the San Diego County CFC, organizing a campaign that increased pledges by almost 300 percent, increased participation from 23 to 78 percent, increased the average dollar from $100 to almost $170, and brought an "Our Experience" process to the campaign to demonstrate that everyone has a "story".

As a child, Chief Tappen was influenced by the Boys and Girls Club in Fall River, Massachusetts. His story and experiences of how a nonprofit organization had helped him greatly influenced his campaign onboard the Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer, USS MILIUS. Building a diverse team, from the Commanding Officer to the newest seaman recruit, he encouraged everyone to share an experience or story they were positively affected by. This encouraged the crew to feel that they could be part of a process that could make a difference, no matter how large or small the contribution.

Chief Petty Officer Tappen leads by example and is an ambassador for Navy Core Values. He also volunteers as a basketball referee with the San Diego Referees Association, contributing over five hours of his off-duty time each weekend to support youth basketball and military recreational functions. As the Command MWR Officer, he volunteered over 200 off-duty hours in a span of four months to coordinate tours, special events and recreational activities, which dramatically increased the morale and welfare of the ship's crew.

Patricia Taylor

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Coastal Georgia CFC

In addition to over 14 years of selfless service to the CFC as a district and internal division keyworker, Ms. Taylor distinguished herself as the Employee Campaign Coordinator for a 960-employee Federal agency during the 2004 campaign. She supervised over fifteen division keyworkers in the USACE and Coast Guard, facilitated a timely distribution of materials, and coordinated the collection of contributions. As a result, the agency surpassed its goal while increasing the number of Double-Eagle donors. Equally as impressive were her actions during the 2003 campaign when she filled as the District Chairperson for a colleague seriously injured in the middle of the campaign. Her efforts that year led to a 30 percent increase in contributions; the largest in the agency to date.

Ms. Taylor has been an employee of the Corps of Engineers for 26 years and has served on the National Logistics Emergency Response Team since 1998, deploying to natural disasters such as Hurricane Georges in Puerto Rico for 75 days where she was awarded the Commanders Award for Civilian Service. She also received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for her work as FEMA's Accountable Property Officer on Federated States of Micronesia as well as assisting the Corp of Engineers on Guam.

In 1987, she co-founded and is now serving on the board of directors of what is now the largest food and clothing closet in Effingham County, Georgia - the Manna House Ministries. The all-volunteer organization provides food and clothing to the needy as well as provides children's toys and books and household items for burnout victims and funds to help pay electric bills. Currently, she serves as President of the Employee Recreation Association and is an active volunteer in her Church, serving on the Social Committee, as a Choir Member, and as Director of the Benevolence Committee.

Valerie Vasquez-Elms

United States Postal Service

Greater Minnesota CFC

Ms. Vasquez-Elms has been a CFC keyworker in the Minneapolis Mail Processing Plan for several years. In 2004, she took on the responsibility to serve as the organizer for the entire district, which covers the state of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. In this role, she oversaw the CFC in hundreds of offices, traveling around the state to give trainings, provide supplies, give guidance as necessary, and coordinating the processing plant's campaign and annual bake sale. The campaign attributed a $46,000 increase in USPS receipts to her efforts.

Ms. Vasquez-Elms has been a volunteer for the CFC for more than sixteen years. As a member of the Northland District's Diversity Committee, she helped organize the adoption of families by Postal Employees during the Christmas holiday. She was also one of the main organizers of the Postal Service's efforts in a Habitat for Humanity project. Outside of the workplace, she serves as the coordinator of fundraising and videographer for the Youth Hockey Team.

Steve Waldorf

United State Postal Service

Southeastern Michigan CFC

Steve Waldorf began working with the CFC as a canvasser several years ago, moving up from a Loaned Executive position to a valuable member of the LFCC. He is one of a team of postal employees that is responsible for a 46.8 percent increase in donations from the postal sector over a three-year period. He is a key player on the USPS Detroit District Campaign Committee, the most successful district campaign in the entire Postal Service for the past several years. His dynamic personality clearly demonstrates great management skills and the kind of personal commitment to the CFC that is rare.

Mr. Waldorf has personally met with local charitable organization to answer questions about the CFC application and actively educates new organizations about the CFC. In addition, his many talents were an asset to the campaign. He has emceed kick-offs and has been a comedian, impersonator, DJ, and a motivational speaker at events. Of special note are his film credits; he engineered postal versions of the CFC video with real-life postal employees' testimonials.

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