Hispanic Heritage Month

BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES

09.15.2022

Story by Adrienne Burns  

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Americans are asked to take the time to celebrate and honor the contributions and accomplishments of the Hispanic Americans of our nation.
Rather than dividing us, this month is an opportunity to come together as a nation and lift up a community that spent many decades underappreciated for the ways they helped build, defend and move our nation forward.
In both the history of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility and the history of the Navy, Hispanic and Latinx Americans have made—and continue to make— advances and contributions of significance and honor.
When we celebrate their culture and their contributions, we celebrate the many ways the diversity of our country, our military and our workforce makes us stronger. When we recognize the unique challenges and obstacles of this community, we create an opportunity to be allies for change and strengthen the bonds of our teams.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a chance to expand our understanding of the American experience, broaden the idea of American history and find points of connection through shared values and perspectives.
Aligned with that idea, the Hispanic Employee Resource Organization—an Employee Resource Group open to all PSNS & IMF employees—aims to create a space where our workforce can go to network, share experiences, address the needs of the community and support one another.
HERO provides opportunities that empower our workforce to thrive and develop into engaged leaders who make a difference through diversity.
"Through diversity we can learn from everyone and help others have a new perspective," said Nina Cole, co-lead for HERO. "When you get a room of diverse people, that is when you have really great innovation and ideas."
It is a concept that has been foundational to the success of our organization—and will continue to be a vital aspect of the future recruitment and retention of the talent that will lead the command into the future.
However, diversity on its own isn't enough. The key element to making diversity an asset is when the organization as a whole—and every individual within it—can see the value in and respect the experience of everyone on the team.
Respecting Every Individual is a core value at PSNS & IMF, and marking these monthly observances is just one of the ways we are able to show respect for our workforce.
As we celebrate the Hispanic community, we often recognize the biggest names in Hispanic American history—men and women who have embodied many of the highest values we cherish as Americans.
But, here at PSNS & IMF, we also recognize how important it is to honor the Hispanic employees at PSNS & IMF who embody those same values every day here at the command. Every community—and every individual in our command—brings a unique perspective can make us a better team. We celebrate that diversity.
Email [e-mail] for more information on how you can get involved and support HERO.

This story originally appeared on page 6 of the Sept, 15, 2022 issue of Salute.

• Date Taken: 09.15.2022
• Date Posted: 12.22.2022 17:57
• Story ID: 435817
• Location: BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US