Story and photos by Lauren Hall, Torii Station Public Affairs

TORII STATION, Okinawa – Forty-eight volunteers received recognition at Torii Station’s annual Army Family Team Building/Army Community Service Volunteer Appreciation Celebration held at the Coral Cove Club on Dec. 15.

“I have been continually inspired by your service and commitment to our community,” Debbi Coubrough, community life officer for the Army on Okinawa, told the volunteers during the ceremony. “Our ACS programs have received high praise from the Department of the Army for the number of volunteers we have, the quality of your work, and the impact on programs in support of Soldiers and families.

“Because of your support, we are able to make great things happen and provide substantially more service than our number of employees would allow,” added Coubrough.

For the second year in a row, Sgt. Charles Sapp, assigned to the 58th Signal Battalion, was named as Torii Station’s AFTB Soldier Volunteer of the Year.

“[Sapp] has made a mark for himself as an AFTB instructor, office worker, special programs helper and Army Family Action Plan volunteer,” said Coubrough. “He continues to encourage and support Soldiers and family members in so many different ways. It has always been clear that he is an outstanding Soldier, and he is an outstanding volunteer as well.”

Tammy Dockins, also assigned to the 58th Signal Bn., was named the AFTB 2010 Volunteer of the Year. Dockins is not only a Department of the Army-certified ACS master trainer; she also serves as the AFTB/Army Volunteer Corps’ volunteer program manager, an AFTB instructor, an English-as-a-second-language instructor, an AFAB volunteer, and an AFTB mentor.

“I don’t know where [Dockins] gets the time and energy to also be the battalion-level family readiness group leader, but fortunately for ‘Team 58’ and our Army community, she does,” said Coubrough. “Her dedication to Soldiers and families across the Army is evident in everything she does. Her support has resulted in many improvements in the programs and has helped establish our Army Family Team Building program as one of the best in the Army.”

Dockins is the spouse of an Army retiree and the mother of an U.S. Army Apache helicopter pilot.

“I do this not for the accolades, but because of the Soldiers and families who sacrifice more than I could ever sacrifice in a day or in a lifetime,” Dockins told the audience. “I appreciate each and every one of you for those commitments and sacrifices that you make on a daily basis.”