Marine Corps Recruiting Command/Recruiting Station St. Louis presents the Recruiting Station Recruiter of the Year, Rookie Recruiter of the Year and Staff Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge of the Year award during the 242nd Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Lumiere Place, St. Louis, Missouri, Nov. 10, 2017.

            Marine Corps Recruiters are the power house behind the mission to attract and select the most highly qualified candidates for the organization. 

            St. Louis Recruiting Station Recruiter of the Year was presented to Gunnery Sgt. Shane Greer, supply administrator from Norfolk, Virginia.

Greer joined the Marine Corps in July 2000 and has been on recruiting duty for RS St. Louis, Recruiting Sub Station Mount Vernon, for two years, where he has exceeded expectations and emitted continuous motivation for the duty. 

            “Our mission is to enlist as many highly qualified applicants to ensure the survival of our illustrious Marine Corps,” said Greer. “Being a recruiter has taught me to always be ready, be creative, and to adapt and overcome. It’s awesome to achieve an award of this caliber, and I should have done this duty years ago.”

            The Rookie Recruiter of the Year award is an award presented to a new recruiter who has only been a recruiter for a year and has exceeded their fellow newcomer peers in that short amount of time.

            The RS Rookie Recruiter of the Year was presented to Sgt. Jonathan Orlando, an aviation ordnance technician, from Shorewood, Illinois.

            Orlando joined the Marine Corps in February 2012 and has been on recruiting duty for RS St. Louis, RSS Morris, since October 2016.

            “This duty has presented me with many challenges,” said Orlando. “But I have learned that a plan only lasts as long as you keep it going. With a solid plan and making yourself stick to it, life becomes much easier. This job is important because we ensure the future of the Marine Corps.”

            The Staff Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge of the Year award was awarded to Staff Sgt. Ryan Payne, Marine Air Ground Task Force planner, from Bethalto, Illinois.

            Payne is the SNCOIC of RSS Mount Vernon. He has been in the Marine Corps since May 2009, on recruiting duty for a total of two years and seven months, and has been the SNCOIC for a year and two months.

            “Being the SNCOIC of a recruiting substation, you have a team and you are a leader of that team,” says Payne.

            “On a daily basis I have four Marines who look to me to make them successful and to take care of them for their hard work and efforts,” said Payne. “I have learned a whole new meaning of leadership; as a SNCOIC it is easy to get wrapped up in the mission letter and constantly drive the team with no reward at the end of the road. I believe it is very important to highlight recruiters and their effort who are successful on this duty. I do not look at this as a personal award, being the SNCOIC of the Year is a direct reflection of my team and all the hard work they did over the last 12 months.”

            “A successful recruiter has many more tasks and obligations than a recruiter who barely gets by,” says Payne. “It is very important to constantly recognize the top performers and never let any of their outstanding performance go unnoticed.”