Air Force names public service award nominee

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kazimer III is the Air Force’s nominee for the 2005 National Public Service Award.

Sergeant Kazimer is the assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of communications maintenance for the 702nd Munitions Support Squadron at Buechel Air Base, Germany.

The sergeant is credited with saving the Air Force more than $100,000 in construction and contractor fees during four self-help projects.

"Sergeant Kazimer is the ideal image of the ‘service before self’ motto everyone in the Air Force strives to attain,” said Capt. John Dines, 702nd MUNSS communications flight commander. “He has always given to the community around him without the thoughts of what it could do for him, because that's just the kind person he is -- genuine and caring."

The sergeant's volunteer spirit extended to several off-duty opportunities such as organizing a team of 10 people to restore a home destroyed by fire. He also volunteered more than 150 hours during an Easter Seals fund-raiser that raised more than $75,000 for community programs and donated 80 hours to help construct two Habitat for Humanity homes.

Being named the Air Force nominee surprised him, but he said the opportunities to help others are reward enough for his efforts. Having been offered compensation for his time, Sergeant Kazimer instead offers this suggestion to those people who want to give back to him.

"I charge them with seeking out someone else in need and helping them. My hope is that they will be infected with the joy of helping and pass that on to others, this way my volunteering compounds," he said.

The American Society for Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration established the award which honors people who make outstanding contributions and whose accomplishments can be viewed as models of public service within and outside the work environment. The program seeks to recognize people at all levels of public service who exhibit the highest standards of excellence, dedication and accomplishment over a sustained period of time. (Courtesy of Air Force Personnel Center News Service)