{"id":227464,"date":"2024-07-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=227464"},"modified":"2024-07-18T00:10:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T00:10:31","slug":"camp-zama-boss-program-earns-presidential-award-for-community-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=227464","title":{"rendered":"Camp Zama BOSS program earns presidential award for community service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Command Sgt. Maj. David A. Rio, left, senior enlisted leader of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, accepts the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award along with Camp Zama’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program president, Spc. Myaisa Mason, and its advisor, Randy Benton, during the annual BOSS Training Forum held in June 2024 in Leesburg, Virginia.
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 The Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program here recently earned a significant presidential award after its members recorded 735 volunteer hours helping the community last year.<\/p>\n

The program received the gold level of the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award during the annual BOSS Training Forum held last month in Leesburg, Virginia.<\/p>\n

Command Sgt. Maj. David A. Rio, senior enlisted leader of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, accepted the award along with the group\u2019s president, Spc. Myaisa Mason, and its advisor, Randy Benton.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BOSS program here at Camp Zama is very proud of having won the presidential service award for its community service activities last year,\u201d Rio said. \u201cWhat it really means is we totally nailed one of the pillars of the BOSS program, which is community service. We were out in our community, both on post and off post, and really helped our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. Army Installation Management Command nominated the Camp Zama program for the award, which was also given to a handful of other programs at the forum.<\/p>\n

Last year, Soldiers in the Camp Zama program volunteered to help clean up nearby parks, teach English to Japanese students and support Japan\u2019s largest bicycle race, among other events.<\/p>\n

Rio said the Soldiers regularly demonstrated how to be good neighbors to the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really shows the commitment of our BOSS Soldiers to community service amidst all the other ongoing activities they have from mission to just life,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve really committed to helping out those around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mason, who served as the BOSS representative for the 311th Intelligence Battalion last year, said the group appreciated being honored for their efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to me and also to the team because it shows that our hard work doesn\u2019t go unnoticed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt means something.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while they may speak another language than their Japanese partners, Mason said that her and the group\u2019s volunteerism still translates well by showing the community that they care.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the language barrier, I can still have an impact on the community based simply on my actions,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m valued by doing community service.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the group\u2019s new president, Mason also said she was able to learn more about her role and of all the aspects of the BOSS program while attending the forum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really nice to see what the other installations are doing and what BOSS means to them and how they engage with the community,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it would be in a different country or just from state to state, it\u2019s very interesting to see how people get involved to make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Several members of Camp Zama’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program join local volunteers of \u201cHanaue-tai,\u201d or Flower Planting Group, to plant an array of new flowers June 5, 2024, at Zama City\u2019s Yatoyama Park near Camp Zama. The BOSS program recently earned the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award after members recorded 735 volunteer hours helping the community last year.
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\n Members of Camp Zama’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program and other volunteers drop off bags of garbage they helped clean during a volunteer event Oct. 29, 2023, at the Sagamihara City Shindo Sports Park near Camp Zama. The BOSS program recently earned the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award after members recorded 735 volunteer hours helping the community last year.
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\n Sgt. Joshua McMath, right, a member of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program, participates in a dodgeball game with children from the Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home during an outreach event at Camp Zama, Japan, April 3, 2024. The program recently earned the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award after members recorded 735 volunteer hours helping the community last year.
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Benton said he was initially surprised when it was announced that their team had received the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning this award is a direct reflection of our Soldiers\u2019 commitment to being there for our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In 2003, the President\u2019s Council on Service and Civic Participation created the award to recognize volunteers whose service positively affects communities and inspires others to do the same.<\/p>\n

If an organization achieves over 500 hours of community service, they are eligible for the gold-level award.<\/p>\n

Benton, who has served as the BOSS advisor for six years, said the time and effort that Soldiers put into the program continues to make it better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of the Camp Zama BOSS program is not dependent on me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt depends on the Soldiers that come out and the unit reps that they select to get the information that needs to go out to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more active that they are in the program, the better the program is going to be,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Besides community service, the program offers its members recreational activities, life skills training such as cooking classes, and serves as an avenue for Soldiers to address quality-of-life issues.<\/p>\n

Membership is also available to single parents and geographic bachelors, Benton said.<\/p>\n

Eric Hill, director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, also congratulated the BOSS team for its recent recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo receive the award at the gold level with a certificate signed by the [U.S.] president and the commander in chief, it\u2019s a very big deal,\u201d he said, \u201cespecially if you look at the size of Camp Zama versus some of the other winners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill, who has been involved with BOSS programs in various roles over the years, said any service member assigned to Camp Zama is able to join the program.<\/p>\n

The vice president of the program here, for instance, is an Air Force staff sergeant, who along with the rest of the members, gets to enjoy the benefits of being part of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been an important program that has been near and dear to me,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIt provides these opportunities to our Soldiers and it\u2019s actually open to all service members. I certainly encourage everyone to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rio said members can also build lasting memories through their volunteerism. He recalled a recent day of back-to-back events where the group joined in a post cleanup with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and then hosted residents of a Japanese children\u2019s home to play dodgeball at Camp Zama\u2019s Yano Fitness Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing the kids and their excitement and their happiness, it makes you feel good about what you\u2019re doing,\u201d he said of why people volunteer. \u201cAnd that extends to the other community service we do as well. I think it\u2019s that sense of accomplishment and being part of something bigger [that makes it worthwhile].\u201d<\/p>\n

Related links:<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S. Army Garrison Japan news<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Japan official website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Command Sgt. Maj. David A. Rio, left, senior enlisted leader of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, accepts the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award along with Camp Zama’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program president, Spc. Myaisa Mason, and its advisor, Randy Benton, during the annual BOSS Training Forum held in June 2024 in Leesburg, Virginia. (Photo Credit: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227466,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=227464"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227471,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227464\/revisions\/227471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/227466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=227464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=227464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=227464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}