Photo By Tamara Cario | U.S. Navy Logistics Specialist 1st Class S. Laquita Brooks accepts the Military...... read more read more
Fort Eustis, Virginia – U.S. Navy Logistics Specialist 1st Class S. Laquita Brooks was awarded the Military Citizen of the Year for the Navy for the Virginia Peninsula in Newport News, Virginia August 18, 2016.
The award, presented by the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, recognizes service members who serve the community they live in.
The keynote speaker, Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman, spoke about how people outside the US are amazed by the helpfulness of the United States military and by the ethos they have. “We are blessed to have that,” Wittman said. “It is what makes our military great.”
Brooks, the Leading Petty Officer for Logistics and Sustainment at Joint Task Force Civil Support, says she began seriously volunteering early on in her military career.
“The very first [volunteering] I did for the Navy was when I was in (military occupational school) school at Meridian, Mississippi,” Brooks, a Jacksonville, North Carolina native, explained. “In order for us to be able to go out on the town, you had to volunteer. So of course, I wanted to do that to get out of my barracks room.” It was an experience she wouldn’t forget and started her on her path.
Brooks helped mentor youth at Doris Miller Community Center in Newport News by building students future goal plans and put together a peer pressure seminar and lectured on forward thinking for success through education.
She also helped organize the command food drive for the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, putting together the plan and coordinating with installation agencies. She volunteered over 30 hours at the Ft. Eustis Branch of the Hampton Roads and Central Virginia USO, helping soldiers with professional development and restocking food storage bins and worked on the building maintenance and beautification operations for the facility. She volunteered at the Military Appreciation Day and Military Family Festival and the Allen Stone Braveheart Race.
Brooks learned early the value of giving back.
“My grandmother was the one who told me to get out there, get involved and be part of the community,” she said. “I realized dealing with people, interacting and meeting new people, I learned these things that expanded my world. It was like a learning experience at the same time while I’m giving back.”
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2016 13:59 |
| Story ID: | 207697 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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