Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division’s (NSWC PHD) Rodolfo “Rudy” Calasin is the recipient of the Department of the Navy (DoN) Agency/Organization Program Coordinator (A/OPC) Excellence Award.
Calasin is being recognized for his outstanding efforts managing the command’s government travel charge card program. As the Agency Program Coordinator, he manages more than 2,100 cardholder accounts ensuring each person is properly trained and informed in order to avoid delinquencies. Calasin’s ongoing efforts reduced the overall delinquency total below the two percent threshold, as mandated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
According to Colin Burgess, travel lead for NSWC PHD’s Employee Services Division, Calasin takes a proactive approach by working with employees, supervisors, and department heads to identify and quickly correct aging delinquencies.
Burgess noted that “Rudy works with travelers and their supervisors where a delinquency situation is occurring to make sure that all travel vouchers have been submitted and processed correctly, and also helps to resolve any potential reporting or posting errors that may have occurred by the bank servicing the travel card program. These efforts have not only assisted travelers with their delinquency issues but have also allowed PHD to consistently stay favorably below the assigned OMB and DoN travel card delinquency metric.”
Selected among more than 600 entrants, Calasin is both “surprised and delighted” to receive the A/OPC Excellence Award and attributes his success to four personal guidelines he continues to use throughout his career.
“First, be a team player,” he said. “Unless I can see the broad picture and cooperate with others for the good of the organization, I won't be much good to the organization. Second, be an achiever; someone who will get the job done. Third—and perhaps most important—be a self-starter who doesn't wait to be told what to do all of the time. And fourth, be dependable. If nobody can count on me to be dependable, anything else I do is overshadowed.”
Ultimately, Calasin is pleased to have his hard work pay off and appreciates the inherent value of award recognition.
“Having worked for the Travel Office for several years,” said Calasin, “I am passionate about providing outstanding customer service and going 'over and above' for our travelers is something I continue to enjoy. Winning an award shows that your efforts are recognized. It’s a symbol of achievement, showing that your time and effort spent in rendering customer service was not in vain.”
NSWC PHD is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and provides the global United States Navy fleet with integration, test and evaluation, life-cycle logistics, and in-service engineering for today’s and tomorrow’s warfare systems. Located at Naval Base Ventura County, Calif., NSWC PHD employs more than 2,000 personnel.