JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — City of Jacksonville, Chief Human Resources Director, Kimberly Williams has been nationally recognized by the Association of Defense Communities (ADC), with the Defense Community Champion Award for making a difference in the lives of our military, military families, and veterans.

The Defense Community Champion Awards were recently given to a select and diverse group through a competitive process. Williams was among ten individuals from around the country selected for the award for her inspirational achievements in serving our military community.

Kimberly Williams, who is a finalist in WNCT’s Remarkable Women event, joined the City of Jacksonville as the City’s Human Resources chief 10 years ago and quickly looked at the community’s exiting service members from MCB Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River for job placement. Shortly after beginning with the City, she established a public-private partnership called North Carolina For Military Employment, or NC4ME. Through NC4ME Williams works with leaders in the military and in the civilian industry to help identify new careers for those leaving the military by matching the military’s unique skillsets to company needs.

“I always tell my employers, ‘Look, you trust them with your country, you can certainly trust them with your company.’” says Williams. The City of Jacksonville is a reflection of that statement, employing veterans throughout the organization.

 Williams has more than 20 years of experience leading human resource professionals in the private sector, public sector and nonprofit environment. She has served as a volunteer with Virginia Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, as State Director for their Employment Initiative Program and initiated the Virginia Values Veterans program, a statewide initiative to ensure employment of our military service members.

“Here in Jacksonville, we are very proud of our military,” Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips said. “We support them while stationed here and after they leave service. Kimberly has helped to add more veterans to our workforce with the City and we attribute our strong workforce to the efforts of her tenure here.

“We congratulate Kimberly on this national recognition and applaud her efforts to assist our local military and all service members in finding a career after their service to our country. This award is well-deserved.”