JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 6, 2011) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District will unveil a monument to honor and recognize the service of former Operations Section Chief James H. Hammond Thursday, Dec. 8 at the South Florida Operations Office, 525 Ridgelawn Road, Clewiston at 10:00 a.m.
The granite monument will be placed at the foot of a live oak tree planted in Hammond’s honor near the pavilion in the South Florida Operations Office complex in June 2011. Hammond served as the operations section chief from 2005 until he passed away at age 58 on March 25, 2011.
Hammond joined the South Florida Operations Office as an electrician in 1997 and was promoted several times. He became a supervisory facilities maintenance specialist and supervised 48 employees responsible for the operations and maintenance of approximately $1 billion worth of infrastructure within the Central and Southern Florida region. Hammond served 32 years of federal service with the U.S. Army, Navy Air Warfare Center and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“Jim was an invaluable coach and mentor to all employees,” said Steve Dunham, chief of the South Florida Operations Office in Clewiston. “He rose up through the ranks and never forgot his fellow employees. He was the supervisory heart and soul of our office and is dearly missed. He was a great friend and mentor to our employees.”
“Jim was our go-to guy, who knew everything about the Okeechobee Waterway, our locks and dams, water control structures and maintenance requirements,” said Jim Jeffords, chief of the USACE Operations Division in Jacksonville. “Jim served our nation as a great veteran and civilian. He earned the Jacksonville District’s Equal Employment Opportunity Award in 2009 and Supervisor of the Year Award in 2010.”
Release no. 11-60