April 17, 2014 -- Dedicated to the memory of her late husband, “best friend and soul mate” Ralph (Randy) Linahan, Marine Corps
Logistics Command retiree, Glenda Hanson, said farewell to her staff, to the command and to a 30-year, nine-month civilian career at a ceremony held in her honor.
A supervisory information technology specialist, Information Acquisition Branch, Command Support Division,
LOGCOM, Hanson’s April 3 retirement ceremony was not only a day of celebration, but also a day in which she honored the man whom she said was by her side for three decades of her service to the warfighter and this command.
Lt. Col. George Lampkin, operations officer, Command, Control, Communications, and Computers Department, officiated the retirement ceremony.
“It was a pleasure and an honor to serve as the master of ceremony for Ms. Glenda Hanson’s retirement,”
Lampkin said. “I say that because I was afforded a front-row seat during an event that celebrated and brought to light (her) 30-plus years of service and sacrifice. That length of time is a testament to her dedication to duty and country.”
Lampkin further commented on the honoree’s impact, service and support to Marines at home and abroad.
“Her dedication is even further surpassed by her unwavering care and concern for the Marines we support, whether it be here at LOGCOM, in the fleet and across the world,” Lampkin added. “Such care and concern is evidenced in her efforts in the Adopt-a-Marine Family Program. She has truly touched lives and has left a mark on the Corps through her service and through her compassion.
She will be missed tremendously.”
Reflecting on her service aboard the installation over the years, Hanson said although she had worked in various buildings/locations over the past three-plus decades, she never left the information technology/computer field.
“My passion is what I do,” Hanson reflected. “Not necessarily the job that I’m doing, (but rather) why I’m doing it. As minute as it may be, my staff could be (processing) a credit card or we could be (processing) a billion dollar contract, in some way,
I know it’s going to help that warfighter. And, that’s why I’m out here.”
Hanson admitted when she first came to Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, she worked just to earn her paycheck. But over time, she gained a new appreciation and purpose for what she was doing.
“I was a military child,” she said. “I didn’t know anything different, so I didn’t think that it was going to be anything different. But something about the Marines and this base - (although) my family was Air Force - it was (just) different.”
While pondering and pointing to some of the attendees at her reception, Hanson rattled off a list of her former/retired staff and recalled the more than 20-plus years, which she had worked with and supervised many of them.
“I’ve been in management since 1987 and I’ve been a supervisor,” she recalled. “Most of my staff (has) just stayed with me — (some) up to 25 years. We became friends (as well as) family. I’ve had to make sure (I knew) when to (remove) one hat and put the other (hat) on as their supervisor.”
Hanson said her staff knew her heart and attributed their longevity and decades of committed service in her work section to the way she treated her people.
She summarized her relationship with her staff over the years and recited, as her philosophy, an excerpt of a quote from author, Dr. Maya Angelou.
“Something that Maya Angelou once said has always stayed with me,” Hanson concluded. “‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ That’s something that my folks know. When you hear things about me, that’s how I tried to make them feel.”
Hanson’s service to the Marine Corps ended but now transitions to the community. Her prioritized plans after retirement include spending more time with her grandchildren, volunteering at the Lee County Animal Shelter, as well as volunteering with an initiative in Crisp County, which is devoted to helping first, second and third graders, who need assistance with reading.