A1 Sustainment Services Flight Tech of the Year - Kelly R. Thomas

  • Published
  • By Ryan Larsen
  • Hilltop Times correspondent
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  Hill often has the privilege and the honor to have some of the best men and women, civilian and military, working toward the common goal of serving, protecting and defending the country. Every person serves a vital role in accomplishing that goal. One person who has gone above and beyond their required duties for the betterment of our Air Force is Kelly R. Thomas.

Thomas will be receiving the Sustainment Flight Technician of the Year Award for her services working at the Warrior Fitness Center. The award encompasses the entire Air Force, nominations start at the unit level and then go up from there. She was nominated by her supervisor, Sustainment Flight Chief Roger Braner.

"She had a lot of competition and the award is well deserved," he said.

She is certified as a group fitness instructor with AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America), level one cross fit instructor, Air Force fitness specialist and a cycling instructor also with AFAA.

With those certifications she helps patrons of the Warrior Fitness Center achieve their fitness goals whether they are active duty, civilian, retired or dependants. Thomas is especially proud of her work with FIP (Fitness Improvement Program) and her work in establishing a combat fitness course that helps ensure Air Force personnel are mission ready for the field and maintain the fitness standards established by the Air Force.

"Nobody is going to take care of you, except you," she said. "Listen to your body and tell me what I can do to help. I am available, and I care and I want to see people succeed and I especially want to see them pass their tests. I want to be the person that they know they can come to."

Thomas was quick to mention that she could not have achieved this award without the advice and support of her co-workers, Ashley Mitchell, Catherine Purser and Adam Clemm as well as her leadership staff. Clemm worked with Thomas in establishing the Combat Fitness Course.

Thomas who is 43, looks to be in her early to middle 30s, and is a living example of how fitness and a healthy lifestyle can keep a person youthful. She and her daughter are vegetarians, but she does not mind if others are not -- it is an ethical choice for her, she said. Thomas does eat eggs, but only the eggs she gets from her own chickens. In fact her husband, who recently retired from the military, does eat meat and is proof that these two types of eating styles can co-exist in a family.

She also has a cheat day on Saturdays with her husband where they eat less than healthy food choices. Her favorite food on those days is ice cream, Breyer's Triple Chocolate is among her favorite.

"Be fit and make changes for you, not someone else," she said.

Braner said there will mostly likely be an award presentation at Hill to congratulate Thomas for her extraordinary efforts sometime in the near future.

"It is never too late for fitness. Even if you are 40, 50 or 60 years old, it is never too late. We have the facility and it's free -- it is here, use it," she s said. "Utilize everything that you can, because we only get one chance at life and you have to live it to the fullest so you have to stay fit."