Nita Grace, ZAI’s longest-tenured employee, decided it was her time to ride off into the sunset and retire. Nita started with ZAI on September 12, 1988 and was an integral part of ZAI’s Navy Division for more than 35 years. Her last day of work at ZAI was February 29, 2024.
Over those years, she supported a multitude of Government customers and locations, such as the Washington Navy Yard (WNY) in Washington, DC and the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Philadelphia, PA.
As the ZAI WNY Office Facility Security Officer (FSO), she racked up a number of accolades through her hard work and dedication, most notably being solely responsible for ZAI being awarded the James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award in 2020 by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). Fewer than 1% of all cleared companies ever achieve this honor, so to say this was an amazing achievement is a massive understatement!
Her impact as a security professional was felt outside of ZAI, as well. She was an active and founding member of the Capital Industrial Security Awareness Council (CISAC), serving on its Board of Directors for 12 years. CISAC is a volunteer non-profit organization comprising cleared defense contractors and DCSA that addresses the security needs in the Capital Region and serves as a resource to cleared companies through education, seminars, and networking. CISAC posted a happy retirement message for Nita stating that her “commitment and leadership have been instrumental to [its] success.”
In the office, Nita was always a joy to work with—coming to work with a smile and a great attitude, and truly caring about every one of us at the office. While she supported Government customers and handled security, she wore many other hats for the WNY office. Nita was also a party planner, office manager, meeting coordinator, and building manager, but also—more importantly—a mentor and a true friend. We will miss her smile, her laugh, and her infectious positive attitude! It just won’t be the same without her.
Nita, your ZAI family wishes you the best of luck and nothing but happiness in your retirement!
Photo credit: www.capitalisac.org
