AGE technician wins AMC maintainer of the year award

by Senior Airman Rebecca Blossom
62nd Maintenance Squadron unit public affairs representative

6/17/2014 - JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Dallas Nickerson, 62nd Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment technician, was awarded Air Mobility Command's civilian maintenance professional of the year award and was recognized by Brig. Gen. Warren Berry, Headquarters Air Mobility Command director of logistics, at an awards ceremony June 12, at the McChord Field collocated club.

The AMC Maintenance Professional of the Year award is given to top performers in the maintenance field with a record of outstanding work and technical expertise. Nickerson, who retired after 20 years of Air Force service and continued on as a civilian maintainer, has been an AGE technician for more than 30 years and has consistently impressed all those around him.

"Whether it's an engine that needs to be rebuilt, a generator that's in dire need of an overhaul, or an Airman who needs help reading an electrical schematic, Mr. Nickerson is right there in the middle of it, said Master Sgt. Michael Applegate, 62nd MXS AGE flight chief.

"He's always on the lookout for equipment to fix or processes to improve. It will be on the shoulders of people like him that will carry the Air Force through upcoming challenges such as force management programs."

This is the second year in a row that Nickerson has been honored as the maintenance professional of the year at the AMC level, and his third consecutive year receiving the 62nd Maintenance Group's Civilian Technician Maintenance Professional of the Year award.

Nickerson has been lauded by his coworkers and superiors as an exceptional mechanic, and has proven his skills on many occasions, making these awards well-earned.

"Due to his overall knowledge and experience, Mr. Nickerson has continuously chosen to head up the largest and most in-depth maintenance at the AGE shop," said Matthew Zubrod, 62nd MXS AGE power production supervisor. "His meticulous approach to troubleshooting has led to the repair of the most elusive of faults on some equipment more than 30 years old."

Mr. Nickerson believes it is his upbringing that motivates him to be the best.

"My mother always had two jobs, and my father was never out of a job," said Nickerson. "My dad is still working today at almost 80 years old, and I have to remind him to get off of the ladder. My whole career, I've always given 110 percent all the time. I find the problems, do the research, and fix them."

While he has shown himself to be an ever-capable technician, Nickerson's favorite part of his job is mentoring the new Airmen in the AGE flight.

"Teaching the Airmen, investing in them, and watching them grow to become awesome mechanics, that's the best part of what I do," said Nickerson. "More and more they start to diagnose problems right the first time, and one day they'll replace us and carry on what it means to be a mechanic through what we teach them."

Staff Sgt. Samuel Coleman, 62nd MXS AGE technician, who has been stationed at McChord for all seven years of his career, says Nickerson has been training him from the very beginning.

"Mr. Nickerson's knowledge and skills in this field helped shape me as an Airman," said Coleman. "I won the 2010 62nd Maintenance Group Professional of the Year award in the Airman category due to the experience I gained working with him. So much of what he taught me went into winning that award, and he carries on this legacy of success with every airman that he mentors."