Retired Army Colonel Wayne Richards has been awarded the 2024 John D. Harris Legacy Award, a prestigious discretionary award named after a past award winner.

Richards has been an instrumental figure in supporting the warfighters at RTX, making a significant difference in the lives of the troops and earning him the status of a true hero.

With over 30 years of experience in the defense industry, Richards’ expertise has been invaluable in ensuring that the troops have the necessary equipment and resources to carry out their missions.

He is a certified Raytheon Level 3 Program Manager, Earned Value Manager, Raytheon Six Sigma Specialist, and Project Management Professional (PMP).

Among his many contributions, Richards has been particularly influential in streamlining logistics processes, making them more efficient and effective. He has also been supportive of troops on the ground, providing morale-boosting support and working with defense contractors to develop new communication systems, weapons, and equipment.

In 2022, the John D. Harris Legacy Award went to Trena Lilly, a systems engineer and operations research analyst who has been appointed to the principal professional staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

Lilly is an expert in systems engineering and mission-level analysis for the Department of Defense and national security applications. She has influenced decision-makers at the highest levels of the United States Navy, serving as a scientific liaison officer in support of the Chief of Naval Operations Staff at the Pentagon. Lilly has also been a driving force in bringing more awareness of diversity and inclusion to APL.

John D. Harris, for whom the award is named, most recently served as vice president of business development for Raytheon Company and CEO of Raytheon International, Inc. He oversaw worldwide sales and marketing, international business, and government relations operations functions and was responsible for developing and leading Raytheon’s global business strategy.