Enlisted Women of the Year Luncheon Honors San Diego Service Members

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Local service members gathered at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina for the 52nd annual San Diego Naval Services Enlisted Women of the Year awards luncheon March 27.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Rose T. Sanchez, assigned to Naval Medical Center San Diego, took home the award for Senior Enlisted Woman of the Year, while Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jody M. Jones, assigned to Commander Navy Region Southwest, took home Junior Enlisted Woman of the Year.

The Senior Enlisted Woman of the Year award is open to members E-6 and above in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. This year the award attracted 49 nominees, and the Junior Enlisted Woman of the Year award, open to E-5 and below, attracted 42 nominees.

Sanchez said she was taken by surprise when they started announcing the winners and was struggling to fully realize what she achieved.

"Receiving an award like this is definitely an honor, I have no words to explain it," said Sanchez. "Being nominated with so many women and coming up as the winner...it's so surreal."

The selection process involved a command recommendation followed by an essay from the service member where she outlined what military service means to her. The packages were then submitted to the Navy League where the winners were determined.

"The competition was extremely fierce, I had no idea that I would even stand a chance against them," said Jones. "It's amazing, it's very amazing."

For more information about the Navy League San Diego Council, visit www.navyleague-sd.com.>
For more news from Navy Public Affairs Support Element West, visit www.navy.mil/local/pacensandiego/.