Mason & Hanger received the James S. Cogswell award on June 22 in Anaheim, California, one of the most prestigious honors given by Defense Security Service (DSS) - a national organization that strengthens national security at home and abroad. Mason & Hanger received four Superior ratings consecutively from March 2012 – February 2016 - submitted and awarded as Hankins & Anderson (acquired by Mason & Hanger July 2016). “Receiving the superior ratings is a team effort and all of the employees at Mason & Hanger contributed greatly to the success of our security program through their hard work and dedication,” said Mick McAreavy, President of Mason & Hanger. “We would also like to personally thank those directly responsible for the participation and gathering of information to achieve these ratings,” he added.
The core team supporting this direct initiative includes: Kathy Lester – Facility Security Officer, Mason & Hanger Linda Seay – Assistant Facility Security Officer, Mason & Hanger Hunter Gish – Assistant Facility Security Officer, Mason & Hanger Paige Snyder – Administrative Assistant, Mason & Hanger Jeremy Kappes – Director of IT, Mason & Hanger Chris Wofford – Senior Network Administrator, Mason & Hanger Mason & Hanger was chosen out of the more than 13,300 nationally cleared contractors and less than one percent are annually selected to receive this award.
The award focuses on the core principles of industrial security excellence, which includes establishing and maintaining a security program that goes well beyond the minimum National Industrial Security Program requirements, along with providing leadership to other cleared facilities to set high standards for security. To receive consideration for the James S. Cogswell award, a facility must be nominated by their assigned Industrial Security Representative and have two consecutive superior industrial security review ratings. They also must show a sustained degree of excellence and innovation in their overall security program management, implementation and oversight. The nominees then go through a vigorous national vetting process that includes external vetting and a national team review. The national review team then consolidates and ranks the nominations, and that ranked listing is submitted to the Director of DSS for final approval. About Defense Security Service The Defense Security Service (DSS) strengthens national security at home and abroad through their security oversight and education operations.
DSS oversees the protection of U.S. and foreign classified information and technologies in the hands of cleared industry under the National Industrial Security Program by providing professional risk management services. As Functional Manager for the Department of Defense (DoD), DSS provides security education, training, certification, and professional development for DoD and for other U.S. Government personnel, contractor employees, and representatives of foreign governments.
