Chenega IT Enterprise Services (CITES) is extremely proud to announce that Alexandra “Alex” Helwig, Capture Manager, has won the AFCEA Distinguished Young Professional Award for the AFCEA Belvoir chapter.
The Distinguished Young Professional Award recognizes and rewards exceptional performance in four areas: leadership and guidance for the Emerging Leader program; superior technical achievement in the professional arena; a record of going “above and beyond” at the local AFCEA chapter or region level; and mentoring provided for other Emerging Leaders.
AFCEA’s Regional Vice Presidents have the honor of personally selecting an individual from their region to receive the Regional Distinguished Young Professional Award. These honorees represent an elite group of individuals, and one of them is voted Distinguished Young Professional of the Year.
Alex will receive her award at a ceremony at AFCEA WEST 2024 on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
“I am extremely honored to have been given the AFCEA Distinguished Young Professionals Award. I am grateful to both CITES and Chenega MIOS, who have supported my AFCEA involvement at the International and Chapter levels. CITES and Chenega MIOS have greatly invested in my professional development and have allowed me to grow and learn in ways I cannot describe. Working for an organization that has a socioeconomic mission above all else brings a certain level of joy that is hard to find elsewhere,” Alex stated.
Over the past year, Alex has led and organized virtual gatherings for the AFCEA Belvoir Emerging Leaders and Small Business Community. Alex was even voted as the VP of Small Business on the AFCEA Belvoir Board. In this new position, Alex works on increasing membership and participation in the AFCEA Belvoir Industry Days. Alex has also acted as the Emerging Leader’s Liaison for AFCEA’s Homeland Security Committee. She also contributed to the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference by hosting a panel on Human Trafficking. Additionally, throughout the year, Alex organized featured speakers and a variety of discussion topics to facilitate government contracting conversations during monthly virtual happy hours for the AFCEA Belvoir chapter.
“I look forward to continuing to grow the AFCEA Belvoir Small Business Committee, and to support the AFCEA Homeland Security Committee, both of which bring industry professionals together to facilitate discussions that rarely happen in other environments. Special thank you to Aaron Schwaiger, Director of Operations for CITES, and Jeffrey Sallee, President of CITES, for seeing AFCEA’s value and for allowing me to participate in AFCEA in varying capacities. Additionally, thank you to Tom Perry of VG Systems for your mentorship over the past year, without whom I would not have received this award,” Alex said.
Alex is very involved in the AFCEA community, and the Distinguished Young Professional Award is well deserved. Congratulations Alex!