Shaw youth honored at Pentagon

Published Oct. 3, 2011
By Airman 1st Class Daniel Phelps
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Dyshali Lammey, son of Air Force Master Sgt. Roger Lammey, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Unit maintainer, and Michealla Reddin-Lammey, had the privilege of being one of 50 teens honored at the Pentagon for the annual Air Force Youth of the Year ceremony.

The ceremony held on Aug. 3, 2011 in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Youth of the Year Program, recognizes Air Force youth for contributions to their installation youth programs, families, schools and communities.

Lt. Gen. Charles B. Green, the Air Force surgeon general, hosted the event and presented Disney "Mouscars" to major command honorees and plaques to the installation-level honorees.

The Shaw youth said that he was surprised to find out he was nominated and would be competing at this level.

"I thought it was amazing," he said. "I wasn't expecting it. It was something I had never thought about."

Lammey first became involved with Shaw AFB youth programs after arriving from Nellis AFB, Nev. in 2009.

"My first encounter with him was during a fall feast when I observed him asking the teen coordinator what he needed to do," said Deborah MacQueen, 20th Force Support Squadron chief of youth programs. "Over the next few months he was everywhere. He put himself out there and made it known to Shaw that he was willing to take on anything."

On top of volunteering at the youth center, 16-year-old Dyshali is also highly involved with his high school as well. The tall, shaggy-haired adolescent is on the soccer, baseball and basketball teams as well as being the school mascot.

He is also active with his local church youth group in going out to soup kitchens to volunteer.

Even with all of these various activities, he still maintains straight A's in school.
"I like helping people," said Lammey. "By being kind and generous to others, I believe one day it will come back to me at a time when I need it."

Lammey has volunteered every Fall Festival, Fall Feast, Easter Egg Hunt, Day for Kids, National Kid's Day, Month of the Military Child Carnival, Fourth of July Celebration, Youth Center lock-ins, Family Bingo, local shelters, book fairs, sports program, America Kid's Run, library and day-to-day operations of Youth Programs, said MacQueen.

"He is truly a role model for all ages," she said. "His enthusiasm is so powerful and contagious that all the staff and members of the youth center know that Dyshali will get the job done. His dedication supersedes all others due to his unselfish time he gives to us. Anytime I brief the staff on events, a voice turns to me and says 'Dyshali will love this.' It does not get much better than that."

He participated with other teens in weeklong events at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md., including an Air Force Teen Council presentation and leadership and public speaking training. Additionally, the teens began developing Air Force-wide projects to reach out to other Air Force teens in order to get them more involved with their local communities.

"It was kind of like a vacation camp," he described. "We also got to tour the monuments in D.C. and the Pentagon."

After graduating high from high school, Lammey eventually plans on attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. and becoming a hematologist, a doctor who specializes in blood.

"I just want to help others," he said.

"Dyshali's interactions with peers and staff are admired by all because of his unique personality," commented MacQueen. "It has been a privilege and honor to have such a fine outstanding young man, who has the drive and dedication to become a leader for our nation with boundless potential and determination. He is the pillar of what Air Force Youth Programs stand for."