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Distinguished Public Service Award Presented to Will Jenkins

Jen Fyke Web
by Jennifer Crowley Fyke
March 17, 2021

Will Jenkins, Coast Guard Foundation Board member and former Chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, was presented with a Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award on March 16 at the Coast Guard Foundation’s Board of Directors Meeting.

Will was recognized for his distinguished volunteer service and dedication to supporting the Coast Guard and “its most important assets - its people and their families.”

Will began his tenure on the Coast Guard Foundation Board of Directors in 2009, and he served as the organization’s Chair for six years, starting in 2015 and retiring from that role in early 2021. He continues to serve on our Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

The presentation came as a surprise to Will, and he declared himself “speechless” at the reading of the award.

“I deeply appreciate the work the Coast Guard does, and it has been an absolute honor, and a highlight of every day, to serve as the Chairman of the Coast Guard Foundation,” shared Will. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with all of my fellow Board members to support the men and women of the Coast Guard.”

From the Award:

Remarkably, under Mr. Jenkins’ leadership and indefatigable commitment during his six-year tenure as Chairman, the Coast Guard Foundation delivered more than $13 million in direct support to Coast Guardsmen and their families during some of the most trying times in our Nation’s history marked by an unprecedented 35-day partial federal government shutdown where “Coasties” worked without pay, two of the most active Atlantic Basin hurricane seasons on record, devastating wildfires across the West Coast, and the COVID-19 global pandemic. Demonstrating sheer altruism and unmatched admiration for the Coast Guard, Mr. Jenkins himself was among the top donors to the Coast Guard Foundation, and he spearheaded the establishment of the annual fundraising event in Texas, which in just five short years became the Coast Guard Foundation’s second-largest grossing event. He also established the Coast Guard Foundation’s first needs-based scholarship program in honor of Admiral Robert Kramek, the 20th Commandant of the Coast Guard, ensuring all children of Coast Guard members have an opportunity to receive funding to enable the pursuit of their higher education goals.

Mr. Jenkins’ legacy will be felt for years to come in Coast Guard support, as he continues his selfless service to the Nation and Coast Guard by serving on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the foreseeable future. Mr. Jenkins’ selfless dedication and distinguished public service are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.

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