WVCO Spotlight on SSgt Sarah McClendon!

A special thanks to Willamette Valley Company Office Manager, Dana Chaffin, for contributing to this post!

For many, 2020 has been a very tough year. Between the pandemic, the devastating wildfires here in Oregon and California, the hurricanes that battered the Gulf Coast, the civil unrest, and the many other trials and tribulations- 2020 is a year that most of us are unlikely to ever forget. Fortunately for the WVCO family, there were also many reasons to celebrate. 

One of the special highlights our company experienced this year happened on Monday, August 31st when WVCO Lithonia Site 16 welcomed SSgt Sarah McClendon home! SSgt McClendon, a valued member of the Willamette Valley Company Quality Assurance team in Lithonia, GA, served in the Air Force Reserve with the 55th Combat Communications Squadron, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. Since early February 2020, she was stationed in Niger with the 724th Expeditionary Air Force Base.

The 55th CBCS is one of four Reserve combat communications squadrons that fall under AFRC’s 960th Cyberspace Operations Group. The combat comm squadrons provide theater-deployable communications during wartime and contingency operations or humanitarian missions in austere locations (Source: www.robins.af.mil).  

Upon her return, Sarah was welcomed by her coworkers with beautiful flowers and a special BBQ lunch. During the welcome home celebration, she presented the WVCO team with an American Flag that was flown on the drone during Operation Juniper Shield that is now proudly displayed in our Lithonia, GA office.

Our team members enjoy listening to her share her experiences about her mission as a member of Combat COMM, a specialized unit of cyber warriors that can deploy, secure and maintain communications anywhere in the world!

Despite all the ups and downs in 2020, our company remains grateful for SSgt Sarah McClendon’s service to our country in addition to her outstanding work ensuring our products are manufactured to the highest standard. We are so happy to have her part of the WVCO family and for her safe return!