Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, right, presents a Master of Science diploma to Ken Thomas of Fallon.
Ken Thomas of Fallon received in June a Master of Science in Contract Management (MSCM) graduate degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
The diploma was presented to Thomas by Robert Orton Work, United States deputy Secretary of Defense. Thomas’ degree is the culmination of 22 years of almost nonstop school attendance while simultaneously raising three children with his wife Shirl and changing careers six times in the process.
Thomas worked for the Navy for 13 years before going to work for the Army in Hawthorne in January as the contracting officer. While working for the Navy, among other things, Thomas performed the duties of energy manager in which he saved the Navy many hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy cost avoidance. His contributions were acknowledge in a ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. where he was awarded the Platinum Energy Award signed by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.