It’s official, ladies and gentleman. The Naval Station Everett Civilian of the Quarter results are in.

Earning the station’s top DoD civilian honors this quarter are Dave Smid, Public Works management analyst, and Rolando Regalia, Pierside Plaza site manager.

Smid has worked in Everett’s Public Works department for the last three years keeping account of the base’s utility consumption and processing and certifying its utility bills among his other responsibilities. 

Though the job can be both interesting and challenging, Smid said he’s had a little experience with this type of work in the past. The San Francisco Bay area native is also a Navy veteran who specialized in this type of work during his military career.

“Paperwork wise it’s a lot like what I’ve done before,” said Smid. “Certifying, verifying and analyzing data. It’s all pretty similar to what I did for 20 years in the Navy.”

Smid’s supervisor, Public Works Planning and Engineering director, Gary Grayson, said the retired personnelman’s time in the service shows through in his work. He said his job is an integral one at Public Works and requires a high level of precision to run the utility program.

“It’s a six million dollar program and he does an excellent job,” said Grayson. “Mr. Smid works whatever it takes to get the job done. He’s a hard worker, very involved in what he does. He’s one of those people that are behind the scenes. Nobody really knows they’re there, but they’re what really makes the machine work.”

Smid attributes his award to Grayson for allowing him to work independently and “learn the job on my own.” He said it’s been invaluable to his career development. Smid also cites the unity of the tight knit public works team with providing him some of the greatest job satisfaction and a reason to come to work every morning.

When Smid isn’t calculating the combined cost of the stations utility bills, he can be found on the lakes of Washington trawling for his favorite quarry: rainbow trout, or at home working around the house when he can find the time. In Arlington, Smid resides with his wife Norma.

Also earning the award for the first time is Rolando Regala, better known as Mike to those he works with. Regala took on the nickname years ago when he and some other friends from the Phillipines decided they wanted more “American” names. The handle has stuck ever since.

Born in Angeles City, Philippines, Regala spent 20 years in the Navy as, a then, mess specialist. After retiring onboard USS Abraham Lincoln, he made the transition to Everett where he worked in both the barracks and All-American helping each earn the coveted Ney and Zumwalt awards.

Today, Regala continues his tradition of serving Sailors at the Pierside Plaza. There, he oversees most aspects of the plaza’s operation from monitoring food supplies to purchasing and serving the highest quality provisions to hungry servicemembers. Despite doing it for 20-plus years, Regala said the job is still interesting and fun for him.

“I’m happy to help the Sailors,” he said. “I enjoy talking with them and finding ways we can better serve them.”

Jocelyn Cardona, NAVSTA Everett food, business and entertainment manager, put Regala up for the award for the outstanding quality of his work.

“He’s dedicated and wants to ensure that everything is taken care of,” said Cardona. “He makes sure that both his internal and external customers are taken care of. And he keeps the morale of employees high despite all the work that they have to do to accommodate Sailors.”

Regala attributed his success to many of the people he works with.

“They’re my back bone,” he said of his employees. “Without them, I couldn’t have done it. Also, my boss Jocelyn, she gives me a lot of support and she works really hard for us. And the Sailors that come to the plaza, I wouldn’t have a reason for doing this without them.”

But Regala isn’t stopping with this award. He said he’ll continue to try and improve the Pierside Plaza for the hungry shipboard Sailors he sees there during his 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. workday.

He said his next improvement will be to try and expand the traditional fast food menu of pizza and hamburgers to include Asian cuisine as well as some Italian dishes.

When he’s not serving Sailors, Regala enjoys running and playing basketball. He also has a fondness for automobiles. He recently finished helping install a front lift kit on his son’s car and is currently looking for another project.

Regala lives in Marysville with his wife Priscilla.