The Air Force announced the winner of the 2013 Exceptional Sexual Assault Response Coordinator award. The award recognizes the Air Force SARC who performed exceptionally throughout the previous year. 

Cindy Graver of the 78th Air Base Wing SARC at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the winner and the Air Force’s nominee for the Department of Defense-level SARC of the Year Award. The DOD will announce its award winner later in April.

Graver, who served as the SARC at the 78th ABW since 2005, demonstrated exceptional service above and beyond her daily responsibilities and made lasting impacts on the base populace with her tireless efforts to raise awareness of this issue.

“It is an absolute honor for us to recognize Mrs. Cindy Graver for this prestigious award,” said Brig. Gen. Gina Grosso, the Air Force Sexual Assault Response Office director.  “Cindy was selected from a field of highly-competitive candidates and we could not be more proud of her. We are privileged to have professionals like her on our team of experts dedicated to taking care of victims and ensuring they have the support required to recover from this life-changing crime.”

According to the nomination package, Graver is described as an “out of the box” thinker who continually strives to find new and relevant ways to connect with Airmen. She helps bring a true understanding of the impact of sexual assault on the victims, their families, units and the Robins AFB team.

Although Graver was recognized for many notable accomplishments, one of the more visible initiatives was her creation of the “iT” campaign. This program was designed to recognize that conversations on sexual assault were difficult for leaders and Airmen alike, and provided the total force team at Robins AFB tools and education to help discuss this issue with those under their charge. 

The nomination package continued, “Graver provided tireless service to more than 25,000 people across three services, six major commands and 37 tenant units. Her remarkable ability to educate and raise awareness resulted in her Sexual Assault Response team being named the Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command’s best Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program of the Year for 2013.” 

“Our SARCs have a difficult job, but I’m constantly amazed at the dedication, service-before-self-attitude and compassion of these professionals,” Grosso said. “Cindy is just one shining example of the more than 120 Air Force SARCs world-wide – I truly thank each and every one of them for their continuous service.”