Kendra Mayes, fire program management assistant (FPMA) at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, has been honored with the 2007 Jeanie Harris Award. The award was presented by Len Dems, Intermountain Region Fire Management Officer, during the Fire Program Management Assistants’ Workshop in Omaha, Nebraska on February 5, 2008.
Kendra is responsible for the management of fire business administration at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, White Sands National Monument, Chamizal National Memorial, and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.
Kendra was nominated by her peers as a leader in the fire administration support organization. She does an excellent job working with non-fire staff on issues related to incident business management such as time, travel, appropriate charges to incident accounts, or conducting an annual incident business management refresher course for park administrative personnel.
Kendra is a contributing member on the NPS Fire Reporting Task Group, and zone meetings. In 2007, she coordinated an I-Suite session in Carlsbad, New Mexico that was attended by local personnel and individuals from outside the local area. Kendra updated the FPMA handbook which was distributed electronically at the February 2008 FPMA Workshop and also led a session on WFMI fire reports.
Kendra fosters an environment of cooperation within the NPS and with interagency partners, responding as an EMT and ambulance driver in the vicinity of Guadalupe Mountains NP and serving as a volunteer with the White’s City Fire Department. Kendra has also assisted as a dispatcher at Alamogordo Interagency Dispatch Center in New Mexico. She goes out on incidents as a single resource as needed.
As a mentor to others, Kendra has assisted other park and regional personnel in training new FPMAs, cross-training staff at the local level for fire-related duties, and guiding others in developing skills and competencies. Kendra provided support to new FPMA’s at Big Bend NP, Lake Meredith NRA, and Mesa Verde NP in 2007. In January 2008, an employee from the National Park Service Fire Management Program Center detailed with Kendra at Guadalupe Mountains NP to learn the duties and functions of the Fire Program Management Assistant position.
Kendra has an up-beat attitude, and is always willing to help. Her enthusiasm is contagious. She is usually the first one to e-mail new fire employees and welcome them with offers to assist in their transition. Kendra is a true mentor and leader in the wildland fire community.
Contact: Michelle Fidler, Fire Communication and Education Specialist
Phone: (520) 733-5136
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