Winners to receive awards at Annual Banquet Aug. 22

Brig. Gen. William H. Seely III to be guest speaker.

Congratulations to all the recipients of the 2017 Marine Corps Visual Information and Excellence in Communication (VIEC) awards, The COMMSTRAT Awards and the Marine Corps Association Leatherneck Awards.

Headquarters Marine Corps and the USMC Combat Correspondents Association (USMCCCA) will present awards at 6:15 pm on Aug. 22, during the USMCCCA Professional Development and Training Symposium in New Bern, N.C, Aug. 21-23.  Uniform is dress blues (active duty) or cocktail attire. 

Brig. Gen. William H. Seely III, Director of the Office of Marine Corps Communication, is expected to be the guest speaker.

All award winners are invited free of charge, however guests of the winners will be charged $25 to attend. Please go here to register. (PayPal requires you pay at least 1 cent for the FREE choice) if you would rather, just send an email to hq@usmccca.org indicating you are a winner and will be attending the banquet.

Commands of the winners are encouraged to send (and fund) recipients to the entire Professional Development Training Symposium as the schedule, is expected to include Brig. Gen. William H. Seely III, Director of the Office of Marine Corps Communication, who will share his perspectives on what important skills, issues, and opportunities need special emphasis from today’s strategic communicators, regardless of rank.  A schedule of events can be found here.

If you have any questions, contact Kate Stark, executive director at 352-448-9167 or email: hq@usmccca.org.

Marine Corps Visual Information and Excellence in Communication recipients:

Graphic design

       Digital Art:
            1st: Sgt. Elize McKelvey, HQMC
            2nd: Cpl. David Staten, DMA Marines
            Honorable Mention: Sgt. Cristian Bestul, HQMC

       Identity Design:
            1st: Sgt. Elize McKelvey, HQMC
            2nd: CWO3 Michael Kropiewnicki, MCB Hawaii

        Layout and Design:
            1st: Sgt. Elize McKelvey, HQMC
            2nd: Sharon McPeak, MCCSSS*
            Honorable Mention: CWO3 Michael Kropiewnicki, MCB Hawaii

       Animation:
            1st: Sgt. Hector De Jesus, MCI-West
            2nd: Sgt. Cristian Bestul, HQMC
            Honorable Mention: Cpl. Desiree King, MCI-West

        Military Graphic Designer of the Year:
            1st: Sgt. Elize McKelvey, HQMC

Photo        

        Operational Photo Series:
            1st: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, II MEF*
            2nd: Sgt. Kelly Street, DPAA
            Honorable Mention: Staff Sgt. Marcin Platek, MARFOREUR/AF

        Training Photo Series:
            1st: Lance Cpl. Danny Gonzalez, 13th MEU
            2nd: Sgt. Aaron Patterson, MCB Hawaii*
            Honorable Mention: Cpl. Jonathan Sosner, 26th MEU

        Picture Story:
            1st: Lance Cpl. Danny Gonzalez, 13th MEU
            2nd: Sgt. Dana Beesley, HQMC
            Honorable Mention: Sgt. Hector De Jesus, MCI-West

        News Photo:
            1st: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, II MEF*
            2nd: Sgt. Kelly Street, DPAA*
            Honorable Mention: Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Parish, 31st MEU

        Feature Photo:
            1st: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, II MEF*
            2nd: Sgt. James Skelton, MCCSSS*
            Honorable Mention: Lance Cpl. Alex Quiles, HQMC

        Portrait:
            1st: Sgt. Cristian Bestul, HQMC*
            2nd: Cpl. Molly Hampton, HQMC*
            Honorable Mention: Sgt. James Skelton, MCCSSS

        Military Photographer of the Year:
            1st: Sgt. Aaron Patterson, MCB Hawaii
            2nd: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, II MEF*
            Honorable Mention: Staff Sgt. Dengrier Baez, 26th MEU

        Sports Photography:
            1st: Gunnery Sgt. Robert Brown, 11th MEU
            2nd: Sgt. Aaron Patterson, MCB Hawaii
            Honorable Mention: Lance Cpl. Erin Ramsay, MCAS Beaufort

Print         

        Printed Publication:
            1st: “Lintai” MCAS Iwakuni

         Information Story:
            1st: Cpl. Bryann Whitley, MARSOC
            2nd: Sgt. Ian Leones, MARFORSOUTH
            Honorable Mention: Lance Cpl. Troy Saunders, DMA Marines

        Feature Story:
            1st: Cpl. Bernadette Wildes, III MEF*
            2nd: Lance Cpl. Luke Kuennen, MCB Hawaii
            Honorable Mention: Cpl. Melanie Wolf, MARFORSOUTH

        Photojournalism:
            1st: Sgt. Amaia Unanue, 31st MEU
            2nd: Cpl. Bryann Whitley, MARSOC
            Honorable Mention: Lance Cpl. Stephen Campbell, MCAS Iwakuni

Video         

           Short-form Production Video:
            1st: Pacific Fury, 11th MEU*
            2nd: Camp Pendleton 75 Year Anniversary, MCI-West
            Honorable Mention: Why We Stay 0352, 1st MARDIV

          Long-form Production Video:
            1st: Running Forward, SPMAGTF-CR-CC
            2nd: 242nd Marine Corps Birthday Message, HQMC
            Honorable Mention: Cobra Gold 2017 Exercise Video, MARFORPAC

          Operational Videography:
            1st: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, CJTF-OIR*
            2nd: Cpl. Juan Soto-Delgado, 26th MEU

          Training Videography:
            1st: Cpl. Devan Gowans, I MEF
            2nd: Sgt. Gregory Boyd, HQMC
            Honorable Mention: Lance Cpl. Derek Mol, MARFORPAC

         Multimedia Product:
            1st: Sgt. Laiqa Hitt, HQMC
            2nd: Cpl. Jamie Arzola, HQMC
            Honorable Mention: Sgt. Isaac Ibarra, III MEF

        Video Story:
            1st: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, 24th MEU
            2nd: Sgt. Isaac Ibarra, III MEF
            Honorable Mention: Lance Cpl. Bernadette Wildes, III MEF

        Video Spot:
            1st: Cpl. Jamie Arzola, HQMC
            2nd: Cpl. Raul Torres, MARFOREUR/AF*
            Honorable Mention: Sgt. Dana Beesley, HQMC

        Video Series:
            1st: Sgt. Conner Robbins, 1st MLG*
            2nd: Sgt. William Perkins, I MEF
            Honorable Mention: Cpl. Jamie Arzola, HQMC

        Military Videographer of the Year:
            1st: Sgt. Matthew Callahan, II MEF*
            2nd: Cpl. Jamie Arzola, HQMC
            Honorable Mention: Sgt. Laiqa Hitt, HQMC

Awardees designated with a “*” placed in the DMA program as well.

The COMMSTRAT Awards

The William T. Perkins CommStrat Marine of the Year award recognizes the Marine who most displayed exceptional performance, leadership, and courage and who embodies the total Marine concept. This prestigious annual award pays tribute to the heroic actions of Cpl. William T. Perkins who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions while serving as a Combat Cameraman in the Republic of Vietnam, Oct. 12, 1967.

This year’s recipient is Cpl. Juan C. Bustos, Marine Corps Installations Pacific (MCIPAC). Bustos was born in Cartagena, Colombia and migrated with his family to United States at age 6. Bustos grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he graduated high school and attended college.

The Charles M. Grow CommStrat Unit of the Year award recognizes the unit that has demonstrated superior execution of the 45XX Occupational Field core competencies and provided outstanding, professional communication and products. This prestigious annual award pays honor to Charles G. Grow, Combat Camera Officer, for his dedication, professionalism and leadership.

This year’s recipient is 1st Marine Division CommStrat.

The Marine Corps Association (Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines) Awards

The Master Sergeant Tom Bartlett Award: for Best Cover – LCpl Zachery Laning, (July 2017 cover)
The Lou Lowery Award: for Best Inside photo – LCpl Cody Rowe, (Frozen Fighter, March 2018)
The Ronald D. Lyons Award: for (Best Story) – Cpl Shellie Hall, (“Marines, Joint Partners Continue to Advise, Assist Iraqis,“ August 2017 (In Every Clime and Place))

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