VA Rocky Mountain Network
VA Rocky Mountain Network Honored with Two Awards for Service to Veterans
May 19, 2022
Glendale, Colo. – The Veterans Affairs (VA) Rocky Mountain Network announced today that it recently received two distinct awards for excellence in service to Veterans.
Mr. Ralph T. Gigliotti, director of VA Rocky Mountain Network, received the Presidential Rank Award, while the communications team received a Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Award from the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC).
Ralph Gigliotti, received the Presidential Rank Award from VA Secretary, the Honorable Denis McDonough, during a ceremony on May 11. The Presidential Rank Awards Program honors senior executive service (SES) and senior government employees for a sustained record of exceptional professional, technical, and/or scientific achievement recognized on a national or international level.
Mr. Gigliotti won the award for his efforts overseeing the most complex hospital replacement move in VA in over 25 years, supporting VA's "Fourth Mission" during the COVID-19 pandemic by deploying 186 staff to different areas of the country to provide critical clinical assistance, and led several VA-wide initiatives to help Veterans during the pandemic, to include being the first network in VA to pilot a program to fly COVID-19 vaccine to rural areas of Montana.
VA Rocky Mountain Network was also recently honored with a national award for its communications and marketing efforts by the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC), during its Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky on May 12.
VA Rocky Mountain Network brought home a first place award in the Video-Documentary (10 minutes or more) Category for their 14-minute mini-documentary, “Learning from the Past…Positioning for the Future.” (Video posted at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MorGAzA1h_s)
“It’s a privilege to be recognized for our efforts by NAGC, capturing how our VA employees, at facilities throughout our network, cared for the veterans we serve during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jason T. Strickland, chief communications officer. “This is a tremendous award, as we competed against other top-tier federal, state, and local organization from across the country.”
The Blue Pencil and Gold Screen awards recognize excellence in communication at all levels of government across the nation. Listed as one of the 21 most coveted government leadership awards, the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen awards program has 51 categories in which communicators from local, county, state, tribal, and federal agencies may compete.
For more information, please contact Jason Strickland, VISN 19 chief communications officer (VHAV19CCO@va.gov, or 303-619-1145), or Kayla Holst, VISN 19 deputy public affairs officer (kayla.holst@va.gov).
