WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Bruce Henrickson, a public affairs specialist at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District, earned two national-level awards for superior performance in Corps public affairs programs during 2012.
In an April 30 e-mail sent to all Corps organizations, Deputy Chief of Engineers Maj. Gen. Todd T. Semonite announced the winners of the annual Locke L. Mouton competition honoring Corps of Engineers professional communicators in four categories: Media Relations and Public Information, Community Relations, Command Information and Emergency/Disaster Response.
Henrickson, a College Place, Wash., resident who joined the district Public Affairs Office team in 2009, earned a first-place Mouton Award in the Community Relation category for his role in supporting the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam's 50th Anniversary Celebration. His efforts on this “golden anniversary” event began almost a year before the June 16 event at the dam. Working with Corps leadership, Ice Harbor staff, retirees and other stakeholders, the event not only honored the facilities’ years of service to the nation, but also served as an opportunity to educate the public about all the benefits the lock and dam provide to the region’s economy and lifestyle.
Judges also selected Henrickson for a second-place award in the Media Relations category for his handling of the “Illia Dunes Trash Incident,” a public communications effort in response to more than 3,000 visitors using the dunes August 25-26, 2012. The dunes is a popular recreation site located at Snake River Mile 102 on the south shoreline about three miles downstream of Lower Granite Lock and Dam. During that one weekend, enormous amounts of trash were scattered on the beach, broken bottles and beer cans left in the water, refuse strewn about the parking lots and litter discarded along the roadway, creating potential health and safety hazards for future visitors.
Henrickson led the public affairs effort to facilitate media coverage of the incident and follow-on cleanup efforts. Media interest was the heaviest the District had seen in at least seven years, both regionally and nationally, with Henrickson personally providing 26 news interviews, as well as coordinating on-site media visits and interviews with other Corps staff.
“These were Corps team efforts to openly communicate with the public we serve and reporters covering stories of interest,” Henrickson noted. “My Corps colleagues deserve a lot of credit, too.”
Henrickson previously served as Chief of Public Affairs for the nation’s chemical weapons disposal project at the U.S. Army Umatilla Chemical Depot (UMCD) and its primary tenant activity, the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF), in Hermiston, Ore.
Earlier this year, Henrickson was also recognized for his broadcast expertise during the Corps’s annual Herbert A. Kassner Journalism Competition, placing first in the Television Information Program category for his work on the "Columbia/Snake River Fish Passage" video, which can be viewed on the district’s YouTube site www.youtube.com/wallawallausace. Among numerous other journalism and public relations awards, he previously earned a first-place Mouton Award for Community Relations in 2010.
Henrickson was born in Eugene, Ore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Colorado. Undergraduate studies also included Electrical Engineering and Anthropology. He is a U.S. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran and former Staff Sergeant who served in Texas, Iceland, Massachusetts and Colorado.
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