Washington, District of Colombia-- The American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association (ASSA) announced earlier this year the creation of the Senator Thad Cochran Leadership Award.
Nominated by the ASSA membership, the award will be presented annually to a public servant who demonstrates dedication and commitment to supporting and maintaining a robust shipbuilding supplier industrial base. ASSA leaders recently met with Cochran to present him with a plaque to commemorate this recognition.
The first recipient of this prestigious award was the Honorable Rob Wittman, First District of Virginia, who was recognized at the ASSA Congressional Reception held in Washington D.C. in March of this year.
The award was established to recognize Senator Cochran’s leadership in maintaining a strong and capable US Navy and US Coast Guard supplier industrial base. Over the course of his 38 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Cochran has demonstrated a continuing and unwavering support to those large and small businesses that provide the critical technologies and components necessary to build Navy and Coast Guard ships, which are critical to U.S. national security.
“Our shipbuilders and the thousands of suppliers who support them are integral to the success of our Navy, Coast Guard, and other agencies. Their skill, expertise and dedication ensure that the ships that defend our freedom and project American strength are the most well-constructed and well-equipped ships in the world,” Cochran said. “I appreciate this honor.”
"Senator Cochran has been a stead-fast supporter of the shipbuilding supplier community. ASSA's Board of Directors and member companies recognize and appreciate his hard work and dedication to our industry,” said Chris Cikanovich, ASSA President. “It was recommended by the founder of ASSA, Carl Fisher, Vice President of Business Development for L-3 Technologies, that we name our annual award in his honor and the board agreed unanimously.”
As a member driven organization, American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association (ASSA), advocates for the US shipbuilding supplier community directly to Congress, the Navy and the Coast Guard on industry-wide issues. These issues include: unfair foreign competition, Jones Act, liquidated damages, impact of Federal budget cuts, etc. ASSA is committed to ensuring the shipbuilding supplier base remains viable and ready to meet any future ship construction build up required to defend the United States.
In addition to providing the latest supplier industry information directly from the US Government, ASSA provides suppliers with target rich networking opportunities with senior decision makers from the industry. Our member companies supply the Navy and Coast Guard with critical equipment such as radars, navigation systems, engines, generators, reduction gears, air compressors, valves, switchboards, power converters, circuit breakers, and power cables.