SgtMaj Everett Gilliam

A Mason and Shriner since 1997, Gilliam spends many off-duty hours volunteering and mentoring young people.

Born in Hopewell, Va., Everett Gilliam, learned about volunteerism from his father, a retired Army man, volunteer pastor and longtime Mason who exemplified the motto, “Service before self.”

Gilliam, over his 22-year career, has used his father’s example to help others. “It just carried on with me throughout my lifetime,” the 39-year-old sergeant major said.

Last year, through Operation Goodwill, Gilliam helped deliver thousands of household items to families in need.

Gilliam volunteered 450 hours, including many Saturday mornings, when he assembled volunteers to pack and box donated goods.

His volunteerism has made him a four-time recipient of the DoD Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal — “a testament to [his] lifetime dedication to community service,” wrote Lt. Col. Ricardo Miagany, the commander of 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines, among those who nominated Gilliam for Marine of the Year. “He has made a tremendous positive impact in the lives of those around him,” he added.

Master Sgt. Marshall Alexander Jr. wrote in his nomination that Gilliam “continues to set the example for others to emulate,” and noted his involvement in the weekly Operation Goodwill projects, which “provided 2,100 boxes of shoes, toys, clothing and linen to families in Japan, Philippines and Thailand.”

Even when deployed, Gilliam finds opportunities to stay involved in local community projects — and he’s never short of having Marines raise their hands to volunteer and join him.

“A lot of them do it just because they want to do it,” he said.

While on a break from training last year, for example, Gilliam encouraged Marines and sailors to volunteer their time at a Korean orphanage.

Gilliam, whose daughter is about to start college, said he likes to set the example for his young Marines. “They keep an eye on me. They see what Big Poppy — that’s what they call me — is doing, because I’m always volunteering for something,” he said. “I believe in this. If I have time to do it, there’s no excuse not to do it.”

While on Okinawa, Gilliam fills his off-duty time volunteering and leading his Mason chapter and looking for new projects to help those in need.

“If I can dream it, we can do it,” he said. “Lead from the front.” His recent work as a Shriner has included mentoring young people, including boys and girls participating in the island’s Young Marines program, and raising diabetes awareness and prevention, with a focus toward young people and the African-American community. Gilliam also has taken on the national fraternal organization’s push to raise money to fund scholarships, “a big drive in the last couple of years,” he said.

While he expects to leave Okinawa next year with new orders in hand, Gilliam has no plans to stop helping others. “Wherever I go,” he said, “I plan to do the same thing.”

MST2 Nicole Emmons

Recently married to Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Michael Emmons

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Adversity doesn’t scare Marine Science Technician 2nd Class Nicole Emmons.

When fellow recruits affectionately called a then-25-year-old Emmons “Grandma” at boot camp, she finished as the honor graduate. When a seventh-grader at a local school asked her what it felt like to do “a man’s job,” she began going to local high schools to encourage young women to join the Coast Guard.

And when Emmons was faced with the task of creating a homeland security unit from scratch at her home station, she helped build a team that’s thriving today.

For her tenacity, commitment to community service and drive to mentor younger colleagues, 30-year-old Emmons is the 2011 Coast Guardsman of the Year. She is stationed at Marine Safety Unit Lake Charles, where she helps plan the Coast Guard’s response to situations such as oil spills.

“She is willing to step up as necessary and take that authoritative lead, but she is willing to step aside and mentor and develop the strengths of others,” said Chief Marine Science Technician Chris Ellison, Emmons’ supervisor, who nominated her for Coast Guardsman of the Year.

Emmons joined the Coast Guard after working at a series of places that didn’t quite fit — a gem-mining tourist site, at Walgreens as a pharmacy technician and later assistant manager, and a veterinarian’s office.

One day, when she was unloading a Walgreens truck in Clearwater, Fla., a Coast Guard helicopter flew by.

“I thought, ‘That’s the job to have, right there,’” she said. “I was aware of the Coast Guard [in Clearwater], because it’s so big down there. But that was kind of my defining moment.”

Within about a month, she had gone to a nearby Coast Guard recruiting office and signed up. Soon, she gave her two weeks’ notice at work and was off to Training Center Cape May, N.J.

“I wanted to work my way up,” Emmons said. “Not that you don’t have respect if you don’t work your way up, but if I chose to be an officer one day and be a leader, I’d know what it’s like to clean bird stuff off the pier. I would know what it’s like to be scrubbing bilges and shining brass.”

Emmons wanted to be a marine science technician to do hands-on work with industry and protect the environment. Like many MSTs, she has tackled a number of roles in her field — pollution, law enforcement, facilities and now planning.

Among her peers, Emmons is known for jumping on any opportunities to volunteer — everything from breast-cancer walks to Habitat for Humanity to the Compass program, a diversity oriented program in which Coast Guardsmen go to local schools and talk to students about careers in the service.

She also takes time to mentor younger colleagues, helping them in any way she can to get their quals and move up in the service.

“It’s just Nicole,” said her direct supervisor, MST1 Daniel Lanno. “She never turns down an opportunity.”

As a law-enforcement instructor at MSU Lake Charles, Emmons took on the task in fall 2009 of building a homeland security unit for her station on top of her regular duties. She trained Coast Guardsmen to perform security boardings and conducted them herself, working 60 to 70 hours a week when the unit was in its infancy.

“She has stepped up to the plate numerous times,” said Lt. Michelle Ferguson, chief of response at the unit. “She’s a phenomenal person. She has drive, and that’s what separates her from a lot of others.”

Emmons hopes to be a leader in the Coast Guard, as either an officer or higher up the enlisted chain. She also hopes to start a family in the next few years with new husband and fellow Coastie Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Michael Emmons.

Nicole Emmons learned in June that for a second time she didn’t make the cut for Officer Candidate School. But she said, like so much else in life, facing a tough challenge ahead doesn’t mean she’ll quit.

“It’s going to be a bumpy road,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy, because it’s very competitive right now, but I’m going to keep trying.”

Lt Justin Vanden Heuvel

Married to Jennifer; son Arie, 5, and daughter Willa, 4

Lt. Justin Vanden Heuvel tackled two of the Coast Guard’s most challenging operations in 2010, taking both on with what fellow officers called quick thinking and careful planning.

On less than a day’s notice in early January, the 36-year-old prepared a crew for contingency operations after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti. As executive officer of the seagoing buoy tender Oak, Vanden Heuvel navigated into Port-Au-Prince’s harbor at night and helped get a crucial ship channel reopened within 36 hours of his ship’s arrival.

On Two months after the 30-day deployment to Haiti, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and began leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Oak supported nearly three months of response operations.

On Seen as a leader, follower and mentor, Lt. Vanden Heuvel personally gives of himself to junior enlisted like no other person,” Lt. Cmdr. Peter Niles, Oak’s commanding officer, wrote in nominating Vanden Heuvel.

On Vanden Heuvel left the Oak this month for an assignment starting Aug. 1 as school chief of the Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Course in New London, Conn.

YN1 Nicholas Durrant

Married to Kari

Yeoman 1st Class Nicholas Durrant doesn’t shy away from a long day at work.

As a recruit company commander at the Coast Guard’s Training Center Cape May, N.J., Durrant would frequently work 60- to 70-hour weeks to make sure recruits were trained and his shipmates were taken care of, District 13 Chief of Staff Capt. Anne Ewalt wrote in her nomination. .

Durrant, 30, also takes volunteering seriously, having donated time and materials over the past year to build two park benches dedicated to Coast Guard heroes. He’s an unpaid volunteer in his local police department in Washington state and arranged a food drive that collected more than 600 pounds of supplies for the Food Bank of Southern New Jersey in February 2010. .

Durrant not only leads subordinates, but also offers advice to senior leaders, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kimberly Angel, a friend and former supervisor at Cape May. “He takes time to listen and assist fellow Coast Guardsmen and ... women in need,” Angel wrote. “He is a true shipmate and a perfect example of someone in our service who took the charge of our commandant seriously.” .