San Diego CA— Each year, the San Diego Fleet Week Foundation presents its Making a Difference Award to a service member in San Diego who has exceeded the commitments of their enlistment through noteworthy service in the community. The Foundation narrowed the highly –competitive pool of nominees down to five candidates, with the winner to be announced at the upcoming Enlisted Recognition Luncheon Nov. 6 hosted by SeaWorld San Diego.
Last year’s winner, Navy Chief Petty Officer Paz Rhyner, was instrumental in saving a man’s life while supporting a memorial ceremony aboard the USS Midway Museum in September of 2018.
“I just did what anybody would do,” Rhyner said.
Lifesaving efforts seem to be a common theme amongst nominees. One of the 2019 finalists aided in a medical evacuation from a cruise ship. This year’s nominees also contributed a recorded 1,228 hours coordinating beach clean ups, supporting the children’s hospital, mentoring students, and helping the homeless in and around San Diego.
“Our Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsman do so much more than serve our country in meeting national defense objectives,” said Gordon Rutherford, Fleet Week San Diego 2019 Board President. “They are active contributors in our community, and selecting just one of them for the Making a Difference Award, was no easy task.”
More information on the Cubic sponsored Enlisted Recognition Luncheon, USAA sponsored Making a Difference Award, and other upcoming Fleet Week San Diego events can be found at www.fleetweeksandiego.org.
About Fleet Week San Diego
Fleet Week San Diego is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation created by community and business leaders to honor and celebrate the men and women of the military through public events and alliances that support and thank these heroes. The Chamber of Commerce gave birth to Fleet Week San Diego in 1997 and by 2001 the event had grown into a nonprofit California Public Benefit Corporation. By expressing its support for the contributions made by the naval services to the many communities of the greater San Diego region, Fleet Week San Diego helps to maintain the vision of San Diego as a patriotic, pro-military city.