Larris J. Marks of Fayetteville was selected by the Secretary of the Army to receive the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the highest civilian honorary award granted for a Department of the Army civilian.

Marks received the award at a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C., hosted by Secretary of the Army Peter Geren. She was chosen for the award from a group of 18 nominees from throughout the Army.

A FORSCOM employee for more than 24 years, Marks has served as Director, Human Resources, at U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Ga., since August 1999. She has earned numerous distinguished awards and citations including the 2005 Civilian Human Resources Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognized 32 years of excellence in the federal government’s human resources field.

“Mrs. Marks is a trusted advisor to the FORSCOM staff,” said Brig. Gen. E. Eric Porter, FORSCOM deputy chief of staff, personnel, who nominated Marks for the award.

“Since 9/11, Mrs. Marks’ role was no longer limited to civilian personnel management, but expanded to include Soldier and Family readiness. She was directly responsible for bridging the link between mission readiness, service member readiness and Family readiness during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom,” Porter said.

“Mrs. Marks is in tune with what our commanders need in the Soldier and Family readiness area. She visits them; she listens to them, and she returns to this headquarters to advocate for them. She worked tirelessly to establish a centrally funded program to provide paid Family Readiness Group Assistant services to support FORSCOM units during mobilization, deployment and redeployment. As a result of her significant input, the Army’s program is well on its way for implementation across FORSCOM and other commands around the world,” said Porter.

“Mrs. Marks is a true leader and outstanding manager of resources for this command,” said Troy E. Gilleland, Jr., FORSCOM Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel. “She truly epitomizes all the traits and qualities to which every employee and supervisor should aspire.

“There is nothing she does in her daily life, both professional and personal, that does not reflect the Army values we hold dear - she lives them. She is most deserving of this award, and is one of the true most valuable players in this command and the Army,” he said.

In congratulating Marks on this high achievement, Gen. Charles C. Campbell, FORSCOM’s commanding general, said, “You have earned this honor through years of hard work and dedication to duty and should be proud of your accomplishments.”

“I am extremely honored to have been selected by the Secretary of the Army to receive this award,” said Marks. “I am boundlessly grateful to the senior leadership of Forces Command who have trusted and empowered me to manage the civilian human resources of the largest Army command with civilian employees, Soldiers and Family members across the United States and in many overseas locations,” she said.

“I am proud of that trust and will continue to work in support of the greatest Army in the world.”

Marks, a Columbus, Ga., native resides in Fayetteville, Ga., with her husband, Simon and daughter, Simone.

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