The Army Public Affairs Association is proud to announce Army Sgt. 1st Class Heather Denby is the 2020 recipient of the Master Sgt. Marcia Triggs Award for Excellence. Denby is the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 28th Public Affairs Detachment, in Hawaii. The Triggs Award is an annual recognition for an Army noncommissioned officer in grades E-6 through E-8 who has demonstrated outstanding and sustained excellence in leadership.
According to her award nomination,
Denby served as a master instructor at the Defense Information School, directly contributing to the revision of several classes in the Public Affairs and PA Leadership Departments that service all four branches of the military. She also served as a military adviser during the development of the Mass Communication Foundation course, which trains entry-level service members on a multitude of communication tasks, increasing PAO value added to military units. She also successfully mobilized 87% of her unit’s personnel and equipment to provide public affairs support for Pacific Pathways missions in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and New Zealand. In addition, her leadership and ability to resource also led to the successful implementation of the 25th Infantry Division’s first Media Operations Center during the Warfighter 20-01 exercise.
The award citation reads: “In her U.S. Army and public affairs career, SFC Heather Denby has excelled at every assignment she's held. Although SFC Denby never met MSG Triggs, she shares many traits with her. SFC Denby volunteers for tough missions, requests difficult assignments, and puts the needs of her Soldiers before her own. MSG Triggs would be proud to know that an NCO of SFC Denby's caliber is a recipient of this award in her name.”
“Sgt. 1st Class Denby is the ninth recipient of this prestigious award, and we are thrilled to welcome her into these auspicious ranks,” APAA President Kathy Rhem said. “The other members of the association’s Board of Directors and I look forward to honoring Heather with the appropriate accolades once it is safe to gather to fete her in person.”
The Triggs Award is named after Master Sgt. Marcia J. Triggs, an Army print journalist and public affairs noncommissioned officer, who remained on active duty until her death. She deployed to Iraq twice with the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia, and was working at the Office of Chief of Public Affairs at the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
The Army Public Affairs Association would like to take this opportunity to thank Bell for their sponsorship of the Master Sgt. Marcia Triggs Award for Excellence.