For its community-outreach programs and efforts to help local officials anticipate how the Defense Department's base realignment and closure process would affect the Ft. Meade area, the National Security Agency was recognized on June 22 as the 2010 Employer of the Year by the BWI Business Partnership, an association that focuses on economic development and transportation issues in the Baltimore-Washington corridor.
NSA Deputy Director John C. Inglis accepts the 2010 Employer of the Year Award from the BWI Business Partnership. Catherine S. Hill, NSA's director of state and local government and community relations, looks on. (Source: NSA)
NSA Deputy Director John C. Inglis accepted the award yesterday on behalf of the agency, one of the partnership's six founding members in 1985. "We view this as a responsibility," he said, commenting on the NSA's various outreach efforts. "We live here. This is our home, figuratively and literally."
More than 200 people attended the annual meeting, which was held at the BWI Airport Marriott. Linda Greene, the group's executive director, also recognized the unflagging support of Catherine S. Hill, NSA's director of state and local government and community relations, who is a charter director of the partnership.
NSA's roots in the community run deep. For example, the agency's education initiatives offer internships, scholarships and professional-development opportunities for high school and college students, as well as teachers. NSA's business deals with companies across the state were valued at more than $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2009. The agency also recycles nearly 4,600 tons of material annually, and promotes both energy-conservation measures and a storm-water management plan to help protect the Chesapeake Bay.
The BWI Business Partnership, now comprised of more than 170 public and private organizations, plays an important role, Hill told the gathering. "You help us to be the employer of the year," she said. "We value your partnership, and we appreciate your support."