Reno, NV: The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) is excited to announce its Boating Access Program Manager, Lance Murray, has been named as the State of Nevada’s Employee Veteran of the Month for November 2022.
Murray, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, was selected for this recognition and honor due to his enthusiasm and dedication in his role as the Veteran Peer Mentor for NDOW. In this role he helps newly employed veterans navigate and assimilate into state service and disseminates veteran-related news and materials to current veteran employees to improve moral and create a sense of comradery among veterans.
As NDOW’s Boating Access Program Manager, Murray’s job duties include identifying boating access needs and partners to develop boating access projects, overseeing boating access construction projects, tracking budgets, preparing grant applications and closing out those grants, site inspections, and more.
Murray’s commitment and positive attitude are not only evident while performing his duties as boating access manager, but also when assisting on engineering and maintenance projects. Examples include his help with housing maintenance for fish hatchery and wildlife management area technicians, sanitary sewer line repairs for dispatch staff, and the role he played in the construction of storage facilities.
In addition, Murray selflessly volunteers a great deal of his personal time, whether sampling harvested animals for chronic wasting disease, capturing and releasing sheep, sampling domestic sheep or manning phones for the big game draw.
“Although Lance works for the Engineering Section of the Director’s Office as the Boating Access Program Manager, division lines do not prevent him from assisting other NDOW staff when the need arises,” said Rodd Lighthouse, NDOW Supervising Professional Engineer. “He is always ready and willing to lend a helping hand no matter the project, problem, or division.”
While in the Navy, Murray served as a Damage Control Petty Officer Second Class from 2007 to 2011 aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), stationed at Kitsap Naval Base, Bremerton, Washington. In 2009, he spent deployment throughout the Western Pacific. He received multiple decorations, including an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Flag Letter of Commendation, and the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon. Murray spent four years of Reserve duty service from 2011 to 2014.
The Employee Veteran of the Month award initiative was launched in January 2021. Each month, an employee veteran is honored by the Nevada Department of Administration Director and the Administrator of the Division of Human Resource Management.