As the year comes to an end I want to advise you of some changes to the USA staff to support the fleet. First, two long time staff members, Bill Ponec and Kevin Moles, will be retiring from USA at the end of the year.
Please join me in thanking both of these folks for their years of dedication and commitment to the fleet. They will be missed and we wish them all the best in retirement.
Bill and Kevin’s responsibilities will be divided among the remaining staff members.
Jim Kitchens will assume leadership of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Business Unit as the Director Economic Strategies. Jim’s primary responsibilities will be to provide management oversight of USA Supply Chain activities, successful accomplishment of Business Plan Objectives and supporting other opportunities to obtain economic benefit.
He will also assume responsibility for the planning and implementation of USA conferences (Executive Summit and Supply Chain Winter Conference) and will become owner of the annual member financial benefit reporting program (workbooks). Management oversight of the Procurement Engineering and Obsolescence Teams will also be transferred to the Supply Chain organization. Jim will report directly to me.
Tim Donovan will continue his work on the Operational side of the house where he will serve as our Director Projects & Programs. He will continue his current duties overseeing projects and will provide support to the new CFAM process. He will also assume overall responsibility for the Integrated Schedule, Mid-cycle Support, MRM and Nuclear Safety Culture Assessment (NSCA) programs. Tim will continue to report to John Christensen.
Margaret Ware Vinsant starts as our Manager Supplier Relations, reporting to Jim Kitchens, on January 2, 2016. In this position Margaret will work with the Supply Chain Team focusing on increasing the value the USA Agreement portfolio brings to our members.
Margaret graduated from Birmingham Southern College with her B.S. in Business Administration. Subsequently she graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University with her J.D. and from Brock School of Business at Samford with her M.B.A. She is a licensed attorney in Tennessee and Alabama.
She worked as the Vice President of Compliance and Business Services for Gilmartin Engineering Works, Inc. She brings valuable experience to USA having practiced contract law over the last four years. Margaret enjoys gardening, hiking, and spending time with her husband and three dogs—Zoe, Ralph, and Ella Lou. She is also a member of the Knoxville Sport and Social Club.
Sarah Blaufuss is the new USA Office Manager in Overland Park KS. In addition to managing the USA Office, Sarah will help support Operational logistic requests, help Jim with conference planning and will support the Supply Chain organization with savings and rebate reporting throughout the year. She graduated from Kansas University in 2011 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Business (she loves her Jayhawks)!
She has spent the last nine years in various retail management positions, bringing those organizational and customer services skills to USA. She is very interested in learning, especially personal & local history. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys watching classic movies, discovering new music and reading thriller novels.
As I have stated before, as a team, we will likely identify other changes that need to be made in order for us to effectively drive improvements in station safety and performance and help achieve cost-effective operations. Please join me in looking for additional opportunities to help make our fleet organization and processes as simple and cost-effective as possible.
On behalf of the entire USA staff, I want to wish you and your families safe and peaceful Holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year!
Best Regards,
Carl