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My Coast Guard
Commentary | March 17, 2021

Check out 2020's best Coast Guard images, videos, articles and public affairs work

The Coast Guard has announced the recipients of the 2020 Chief Journalist (JOC) Alex Haley and Commander Jim Simpson Public Affairs Awards.Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Michelle Roberts, Engineering Petty Officer of Aids to Navigation Team New York, sits on top of a buoy during a transit back to homeport in Bayonne, New Jersey, November 19, 2020. Chief Roberts is the first female Native American to make the rank of Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard. (U.S. Coast Guard photo illustration by Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Pappaly)  

The awards recognize units and individuals for their role as educators, capturing the missions of Coast Guard activities through their cameras, content, and collaborations. 

The Coast Guard’s success depends in great measure upon the American public’s understanding and support of our missions, accomplished in large part through the development and distribution of public affairs efforts. 

The Seventh District public affairs team has been named the Coast Guard’s 2020 Public Affairs Office of the Year. D7’s aggressive, forward-leaning and creative approach provided outstanding support last year for Super Bowl LIV in Miami, and other high-profile efforts such as the Commandant’ 2020 State of the Coast Guard in Charleston, S.C., the Golden Ray public hearing, and the Cruise Ship Unified Command Joint Information Center. 

PA3 Anthony Pappaly of District 1 was named 2020 Coast Guard Photographer of the Year, for work including the portrait (right) of the Coast Guard's first female Native American to make the rank of chief petty officer.

PA2 Travis Magee of the Commandant’s Advisory Group is 2020 Coast Guard Videographer of the Year, for videos such as "You've Got Us Figured Out," a tongue-in-cheek showcase of female Coast Guard members.

The entire list of Public Affairs Award winners is below.

“Congratulations to the 2020 award winners and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who told the Coast Guard’s amazing stories this past year,” said Rear Adm. Jon Hickey, director of Coast Guard governmental and public affairs.

Unit Awards

The 2020 CDR Jim Simpson Public Affairs Awards recognize a unit’s overall achievement in supporting the Coast Guard’s public affairs program. 

Coast Guard Public Affairs Office of the Year Some highlights from District 7's public affairs efforts in 2020
1ST PLACE: Seventh Coast Guard District 
2ND PLACE: Fifth Coast Guard District 
HONORABLE MENTION: Eighth Coast Guard District 
HONORABLE MENTION: Fourteenth Coast Guard District 

Outstanding Unit Achievement in Coast Guard Public Affairs
(Air Station) 

1ST PLACE: Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak 

Outstanding Unit Achievement in Coast Guard Public Affairs
(Large Afloat) 
1ST PLACE: USCGC HEALY (WAGB 20) 

Outstanding Unit Achievement in Coast Guard Public Affairs
(Small Afloat) 

1ST PLACE: USCGC ROBERT YERED (WPC 1104) 

Outstanding Unit Achievement in Coast Guard Public Affairs
(Sector) 

1ST PLACE: Coast Guard Sector Mobile 

Outstanding Unit Achievement in Coast Guard Public Affairs
(Operations Ashore) 

1ST PLACE: Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Houma 

Outstanding Support Unit Achievement in Coast Guard Public Affairs 
1ST PLACE: Coast Guard TRACEN Cape May 
2020 Chief Journalist (JOC) Alex Haley Awards 

Individual Awards

The 2020 Chief Journalist Alex Haley Public Affairs Awards recognize the special achievements of individual Coast Guard members whose efforts and published works have furthered the operational goals of local commanders and the service at large. A Coast Guard Cutter Valiant crew member embraces his son Feb. 27, 2020, as he returns home to Naval Station Mayport, Florida. The Valiant crew returned home after completing a nine-week patrol in the Caribbean Sea supporting Joint Interagency Task Force South. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Dickinson)

Photo Products: News Photo 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA2 Ryan Dickinson, D8 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA1 Nathan Littlejohn, D17 
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Katlin Kilroy, Base Portsmouth 

Photo Products: Photo Series 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA3 Taylor Bacon, D11 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA2 Travis Magee, COMDT CAG 
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Katlin Kilroy, Base Portsmouth 

Photo Products: Feature Photo 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA2 Ryan Dickinson, D8 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA3 Taylor Bacon, D11 
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Katlin Kilroy, Base Portsmouth 

Photo Products: Portrait 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA3 Anthony Pappaly, D1 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA2 Travis Magee, COMDT CAG 
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Josalyn Brown, TRACEN Cape May 

Video Products: Video Story 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA2 Travis Magee, COMDT CAG 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA3 Anthony Pappaly, D1 
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Josalyn Brown, TRACEN Cape May 

Video Products: B-Roll 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA3 Ryan Noel, D1 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA1 Nathan Littlejohn, D17 

Written Products: Information Story 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA1 Cynthia Oldham, D13 
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Josalyn Brown, TRACEN Cape May 

Written Products: Feature Story 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA2 Melissa McKenzie, D17 
2ND PLACE Group A: PA1 Cynthia Oldham, D13 Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team conducts confined space training
1ST PLACE Group B: SN Josalyn Brown, TRACEN Cape May 

Written Products: Blog Post 
None Awarded 

Written Products: Photojournalism 
1ST PLACE Group A: PA1 Tara Molle, D5 

Coast Guard Writer of the Year 
None Awarded 

Coast Guard Communicator of the Year 
None Awarded 

Coast Guard Photographer of the Year 
PA3 Anthony Pappaly, D1 

Coast Guard Videographer of the Year 
PA2 Travis Magee, COMDT CAG 

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