Guard volunteer earns highest civilian award

Capt. Steven Toft, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 35th Engineer Brigade, pins Family Readiness Group lead volunteer Janet Shepard with the Conspicuous Service Medal. Shepard donated 1,000 hours of her time to the Fort Leonard Wood company's Family Readiness Group in 2010. (Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Receiving an award for her efforts as the Family Readiness Group lead volunteer for the Missouri National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 35th Engineer Brigade is something Janet Shepard never anticipated.

Naturally, Shepard was surprised to be called forward to receive the Missouri Conspicuous Service Medal, the highest honor available to civilians, during formation at a recent drill weekend.

"I'm blown away," said Shepard, who lives on post. "It is an honor and such a prestigious award. I'm thankful that the time and energy I put into the unit is appreciated. I love working with all of our Soldiers and their Families."

Receiving recognition was unexpected by Shepard.

"This award is icing on the cake," she said. "My reward is being with the Soldiers and getting to help them and their Families. I do this because helping the Soldiers and being a part of them is a worthwhile endeavor. I do it to be part of a Family, because these guys are my Family and we support each other."

Since taking over as the Fort Leonard Wood based unit's Family Readiness Group leader on May 1, 2009, Shepard has worked diligently to find ways to provide guidance, counseling financial assistance, food, clothing and furniture to Soldiers and their Families in need. In 2010 alone, Shepard volunteered 1,000 hours, equivalent to a 20-hour work week for the year.

The amount of time Shepard put in stood out to Capt. Steven Toft, company commander, who put Shepard in for the award.

"I saw that and I thought, 'Wow,'" Toft said. "So I started looking at the criteria for different awards and it went anywhere from 100 hours to 250, but nowhere did it talk about someone who was approaching 1,000 hours, which she had."

But Toft deemed Shepard worthy of the award more for her quality of work than the quantity.

"She doesn't do it for any kind of recognition, so that was more of an emphasis than anything," said Toft, who lives in Jackson. "I'm proud of all of her hard work and very appreciative, as is the entire unit. I thought if anyone was deserving of the highest award I could give her, she was it."

Shepard said she and Toft have a great working relationship.

"Capt. Toft has been amazing to work with," Shepard said. "The Family Readiness Group is the commander's program and everything that I've done has been through him and with his support and encouragement. Without his support, the Family Readiness Group could not have been as successful as it has been."

The wife of Staff Sgt. Michael Shepard, the company's logistics noncommissioned officer, Shepard hasn't found all the success on her own. She has five to 10 other Family members who consistently volunteer to assist her.

"I am grateful for their dedication" Shepard said.

Shepard attributed much of her success on the company's previous Family Readiness Group lead volunteer, Cindy Harding.

"Cindy was amazing and she had a great foundation already set up," Shepard said. "Without her foundation, we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are at right now. She had so many things well established that I was able to continue to build on it."

Shepard said Harding has always been available to her for assistance or advice.

"She has been great in that I can go to her, ask her questions and learn from her," Shepard said.

Toft remembered Shepard being hesitant to take the job because Harding would be such a tough act to follow.

"But she told me from the outset, if I do this, I don't do anything halfway," Toft recalled. "She said 'I put all of myself into everything I do.' And she really delivered. I didn't expect what I was going to get, what she brought to the game."

Among Shepard's accomplishments are: the development of an extensive listing of all resources and entities available to military Families that she organized into a convenient file system accessible to anyone; the enhancement of efficiency within the Family Readiness Group; and the assistance she provided to help raise more than $750 to donate to Operation Homefront.

"We were able to put on a golf tournament this past August," Shepard said. "We raised $750 for Operation Homefront, which benefits Soldiers all over Missouri."

The organization also has helped the unit.

"It's been a huge cycle in that they support us and we turn around and support them," Shepard said. "Through their resources, I've been able to help Soldiers in need of material items.

The Family Readiness Group also has provided breakfast for Guardsmen or brought fresh food out to the weapons ranges on lunch during drill weekends.

As part of her volunteered time, Shepard spent several weekends attending workshops and gathering donated items to replenish her stock of supplies given to soldiers and their Family members throughout the year. Shepard also was selected to attend the Family Readiness Group Conference in New Orleans, and more recently, was accepted as a Missouri Region 7 Council Member.

"These opportunities have given me a chance to be a part of our Soldiers' lives in a personal way -- chances to support all of them regardless of rank, and to know them on a personal level," Shepard said.

Shepard said she couldn't be the Family Readiness Group lead volunteer without the encouragement of Michael and their two sons, Sean, 5, and Ian, 3, as well as the rest of the Headquarter and Headquarters Company, 35th Engineer Brigade Family.

"I couldn't do it without them," Shepard said. "I want to thank Michael for being a supporter in everything that I've done and the time that I've dedicated to this, as well as him letting me be a part of his unit."

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.blog.moguard.com

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For more information about this release, please contact Matthew J. Wilson at 573-638-9500 EXT. 4853 or e-mail him at matthew.j.wilson4@us.army.mil.

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