Yongsan manager wins 'Executive of the Year' award

by David McNally(USAG-Yongsan Public Affairs)

YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea - Installation Management Command officials are set to recognize winners of the prestigious Directorate of Public Works Awards program April 7 in Houston.

U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan employee John Ghim won the DPW Operations and Maintenance "Executive of the Year" award.

"John plays a critical role as a team member and leader at one of the best installations in the Army today," said Chuck Markham, USAG-Yongsan Public Works director. "This award recognizes his positive contributions to the complex activities and responsibilities he carried out in planning, programming and executing the engineering operations, sustainment, maintenance and repair mission of the USAG-Yongsan DPW."

Last year, Ghim was responsible for implementing a new annual maintenance program to address "critical needs and services" for Yongsan. The aging Yongsan infrastructure has led DPW officials to think outside the box to bridge the gap until the eventual installation closure.
Since Ghim started the maintenance program, infrastructure related service order numbers dropped by more than 50 percent. This resulted in a savings of $1.4 million and 40,000 man hours per year.

The program also led to the cancellation of 108 previously identified projects that are no longer necessary, saving a potential $11 million.

Ghim has also been proactive in seeking out alternative energy solutions. He developed and submitted a winning Yongsan energy savings package to the Department of Energy, which resulted in a $1.3 million Energy Conservation Investment Program for USAG-Yongsan for 2009.

USAG-Yongsan is one of only eight U.S. Army installations worldwide to win and receive the funding to implement ECIP. Once implemented, USAG-Yongsan will save more than $2 million a year or 800,000 gallons of fuel a year.

As USAG-Yongsan moves to close in the future, USFK provided another challenge. In a move toward "tour normalization" in Korea, USFK increased the number of command sponsored families. As a result, USAG-Yongsan is actually increasing its population.

With the additional community members, the support structure must grow, but remain within severe budgetary constraints.

"This mission has called for creative leaders," Markham said. "John was the lead in successfully completing a DoD school expansion project on time and under budget."

Markham said Ghim personally took on the responsibility and risk in developing and guiding the DPW in-house and external contracting team to complete this fully functional classroom building in three months and under $600,000.

"This Herculean effort greatly benefited the students and the school," he said. "Furthermore, he served as the USFK subject matter expert for infrastructure sustainment requirements at the command's contingency underground command and control facility."

Ghim routinely briefed the senior leadership on sustainment and infrastructure issues, status and solutions. Garrison officials recognized Ghim for his outstanding support during recovery from a real-world emergency operation resulting from a power outage during a recent high-level military exercise.

Ghim, a former U.S. Army officer, served as Utilities Branch chief for nearly five years, and worked as the Operations and Maintenance Division chief for almost a year and a half. His is now the Deputy Director and Business Operations chief for USAG-Yongsan DPW.

"My goal is to continue to pursue my career and work on bigger challenges in IMCOM," Ghim said. "I'm pursing a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma to broaden my horizons.
Ghim said the award is a reflection of his workforce.

"It's not just what I have done, it's a team effort," Ghim said. "It involves the hard work of all the O&M Division that made the transformation possible."

Ghim is no stranger to recognition. He won the 2006 Secretary of the Army Energy Award for the individual category.

"Mr. Ghim is a highly valued member of the USAG-Yongsan and IMCOM-Korea Public Works team," said Garrison Commander Col. Dave Hall. "His personal efforts contributed immensely to the sustainment and improvement to the quality of life in the garrison."