John Valliere

Retired Col. Richard Kingman (Col ’74 CM) and fellow Air Force ROTC alumni from 1973 to 1977 attended the 2024 Joint Service ROTC Awards Ceremony at UVA to present the inaugural Colonel James A. Ball Outstanding UVA ROTC Instructor of the Year award.  The award is named after Colonel James A. Ball, who served as the assistant professor of Air Science at UVA from 1971-1975 and is a lifelong friend, mentor, and example to the officers he helped train, as well as someone who reflects the best traditions of the U.S. military, the Air Force, and UVA.

The award was the brainchild of Kingman, who solicited support for the effort and endowment from fellow alumni. Also attending the April 16 ceremony were retired Col. Barry Bryan (Col ’76), retired Col. James Holaday (Col ’75 CM), retired Lt. Col John Valliere (Engr ’76 CM),  Bruce Webster (Engr ’74 CM), and Michael Skojec (Col ’ 76 CM).

Ball presented the award to USAF Major Tim Robles of AFROTC Detachment 890 for his outstanding efforts over the 2023-2024 school year demonstrating “instructional and counseling abilities, civic engagement, and overall contributions to [his] ROTC unit.”

John Valliere (Engr ’76 L/M) retired in May after 11 years as the senior disaster planner at the U.S. Small Business Administration headquarters in Washington, D.C. In this role, he served as the deputy director of the Office of Continuous Operations and Risk Management and principle author of the agency’s Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan and its Continuity of Operations Plan. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997, and in the private sector. He lives with his wife, Shirley Hottot, in Montclair, Virginia.

John Valliere (Engr ’76 L/M) is the lead program analyst in the disaster recovery office of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Shirley Hottot, reside in Montclair, Va.