FRANKFORT, Ky. –
Sgt. 1st Class Lori Lawson takes home the Army National Guard Recruiter of the Year award for the state and regional competition.
Lawson, assigned to Kentucky Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion’s Bravo Company, was awarded this honor by helping to sign the most recruits into the guard within that fiscal year.
By winning the state award, she was able to compete at regions where nine other recruiters competed against one another in a board style format. Lawson came out on top there and won the title for Recruiter of the Year for Region 3, as well. This sends her to the national competition to be held in March.
Lawson had a mission to put in 20 recruits and was able to best that by six to get a total of 26 new Soldiers in 2022. This fiscal year, she has already gone above and beyond by meeting her recruiting mission numbers within the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Command Sgt. Maj. Johnnie Parton, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, said, “Sgt. 1st Class Lawson continues to demonstrate a passion for changing lives and her recruiting profession. She’s in perpetual motion of extremely high achievement through dedication and mission focus.”
Lawson was prior service in the Marine Corps and re-joined the Kentucky Army National Guard after a 13-year break in service. She made it her mission upon getting back in to become a recruiter.
“I got to know more about the guard and who we are," said Lawson. "I want your job; I want to change lives.”
After boarding for a recruiting job several times, she was selected to recruit in her hometown.
Lawson’s recruiting efforts now cover Madison County, and she is the primary military liaison for Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.
“I get up everyday thinking I have the best job in the world! The best thing I get to do is to change lives,” she said.