Denair native James Bickford has been named by the Navy Recruiting District in San Antonio, Texas as their 2018 Civilian of the Year.

Bickford, a 1988 graduate of Denair High School and a retired Navy chief petty officer, serves as the executive assistant to the commanding officer and command senior enlisted leader. He is the focal point for all internal and external scheduling of routine and emergent events directly supporting the Commanding Officer and Senior Enlisted Advisor across an area of responsibility covering two-thirds of the state of Texas, said Cmdr. Jeffrey Reynolds, the Navy Recruiting District San Antonio commanding officer.

“In addition to his demanding duties, he has taken it upon himself to assume a number of additional duties and responsibilities above and beyond his day to day job,” Reynolds said. “Mr. Bickford also serves as the coordinator for all production awards for more than 150 recruiters managing and executing more than $10,000 in budget expenditures.  Additionally, he is dedicated to the morale of the headquarters staff coordinating numerous command morale and welfare events throughout the year.  Most recently, he was the key headquarters representative responsible for the planning, budgeting and execution of the District's annual training event for more than 200 command personnel.”

During the event, the NRD was recognized as Recruiting Region West’s 2018 Most Improved District of the Year.

“This award is the accumulation of hard work by every member of the command,” said Reynolds. “I couldn’t be prouder.”

NRD’s area of responsibility includes more than 30 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory.
The Navy’s recruiting force totals over 6,100 personnel in more than 1,000 recruiting stations around the globe.