PORT ANGELES — Two Coast Guard petty officers were lauded by Clallam County officials Tuesday for being named 2013 enlisted persons of the year.
Christine Bodnar, Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles storekeeper first class, and Andrea Bourcher, Sector Puget Sound reserve yeoman second class, received proclamations and a standing ovation at the county commissioners’ meeting.
The Coast Guard chose Bodnar from a group of more than 100 enlisted personnel at the Port Angeles station. She serves as a contracting officer and assumed the duties of supply chief for the better part of last year.
“That’s a huge job,” said Commissioner Jim McEntire, a retired Coast Guard captain.
Bodnar honored
Capt. Keith McTigue, commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, said Bodnar processed nearly 1,000 procurements worth more than $1.2 million in seven months as supply chief.
“Outside of her work as a storekeeper as a professional petty officer, she also is an exceptional member of our service through her volunteer work,” McTigue said.
Bodnar has been stationed in Port Angeles since 2011. She is a member of the American Legion and American Legion Riders Post 29.
This summer, Bodnar will be transferred to Ketchikan, Alaska, where her husband works aboard a Coast Guard cutter, McTigue said.
Bourcher arrived in Clallam County from California in 2004 as an active duty Coast Guard member.
She was chosen from a group of more than 180 enlisted reservists in Sector Puget Sound.
Bourcher played a key role in a project that modernized travel advances and coordinated multiple Coast Guard celebrations, according to the proclamation.
“She’s been selected as a reserve enlisted petty officer of the year for a much larger region,” McTigue said.
Sector Puget Sound covers the Washington coast, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound area and inland waters to the Montana-North Dakota border.
“On top of her reserve duties, we’ve hired Mrs. Bourcher as a civilian in our office back in October,” McTigue said.
“So she serves the Coast Guard in two different roles, as a civilian and a reservist.”
McTigue, who expected to be transferred to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., this summer, announced that he has received orders to work at the joint command in Germany.
“We’re excited for that,” he said.
“I think we’ll be leaving in July. Sad to leave as well, though.”
McTigue became commanding officer of the Port Angeles Coast Guard station in July 2012.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
