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For Pat O'Connor Rippey '82, seeing the West Wing in person was better than the TV show. At a June 12 ceremony, she received the White House Closing the Circle Award, presented annually to Federal agency personnel who demonstrate success and commitment to recycling, waste reduction, and pollution prevention. John Howard Jr., the Associate Director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, along with Department of Defense dignitaries, presented the award.
Rippey, a geology graduate, is an environmental scientist with Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. She started in 1983 as an intern developing disposal methods for hazardous wastes, but soon found her background more suited to the Ground Water and Solid Waste Program. In recent years, her focus has been on solid waste management, recycling, and affirmative procurement-the government's buy recycled program. Buying recycled products supports and strengthens recycling programs, as well has having other environmental benefits such as conserving energy and resources. On her own initiative, Rippey developed a seminar on the subject and began presenting it “to anyone who would listen,” which included Army installations, Air Force bases, and other federal facilities. The only seminar of its kind within the federal government, it is in demand.
Rippey shared the award with coworker Beth Martin. Rippey and Martin have been job-sharing since 1986, and were the first professional job-sharing team at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
