| Amy S. Courter | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 (age 63–64) |
| Place of birth | Flint, Michigan |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | Civil Air Patrol |
| Years of service | 1979 – present |
| Rank |
 Major General, CAP |
| Commands held |
CAP National Commander (August 2008-August 20, 2011) CAP Vice Commander (2006-2008) Michigan Wing Commander (1999-2002) |
| Awards |
 Distinguished Service Medal  Exceptional Service Award  Meritorious Service Award  Commander's Commendation Award  Unit Citation Award |
Major General Amy S. Courter, CAP, is the former National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol. She was elected by a unanimous decision of CAP's National Board on August 7, 2008.[1][2]
Education[]
Amy Courter graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education, minoring in computer science and mathematics. She also earned secondary school teaching certifications in psychology, computer science and mathematics.[3] Courter played basketball and field hockey as a Kalamazoo Hornet, and studied abroad in France at the Université de Strasbourg.
Career[]
Courter served as Vice President of Information Technology and Telecom at Valassis, a marketing company in Michigan. Courter began as a mid-level manager at Valassis, accepting increasingly more strategic roles, overseeing all IT efforts globally for the last 14 of her 20 years there.[3][4] Valassis is a publicly traded $2.3 billion company (NYSE:VCI).[5] In 2005, she planned her departure from Valassis to enable her to work in other industries - notably health care[3] and manufacturing.[6]
Civil Air Patrol Service[]
Early career[]
Courter joined Civil Air Patrol as a senior in High School. She served as Michigan Wing Commander from 1999 to 2002. She also served as the female senior advisor to CAP's National Cadet Advisory Council.[3]
Courter has received the Garber, Loening, Yeager and Wilson awards; as well as the Distinguished Service Medal with two clusters, National Commander’s Commendations and Exceptional Service, Meritorious Service and Commanders Commendation awards.[7] While serving as wing commander, Courter played a pivotal role in creating a new National Cadet Special Activity, the Civic Leadership Academy. This gives cadets an in depth view of the United States Government.
National Commander[]
Courter was the first female member of CAP to attain the rank of Brigadier General and Major General. In 2007, Courter became the Civil Air Patrol's Acting National Commander. She was elected to a regular three year term as National Commander in 2008.[1][7]
On August 7, 2008, during the 2008 Civil Air Patrol National Board and Annual Conference, Courter was elected to remain as Civil Air Patrol's National Commander. She was promoted two days later at the conclusion of the conference.[1][2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Courter elected CAP national commander". Civil Air Patrol. Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20080916181448/http://cap.gov/visitors/news/cap_news_online/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&nodeID=6192&newsID=4541&year=2008&month=8. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 PDF of "Courter in Session: First Female Vice Commander Ready to Serve," Civil Air Patrol Volunteer, November–December 2006.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Biography - Major General Amy S. Courter". http://www.capvolunteernow.com/media/cms/Courter_Bio__Dec_09_1650CE8E2B6D8.pdf.
- ↑ "Association for Women in Computing Honors Valassis Vice President Amy Courter". Valassis Investors. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=119431&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=566717&highlight=. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ↑ "About Us". Valassis. http://www.valassis.com/about-us.aspx. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ↑ "From Great To Greater Still". Corp Magazine. http://www.corpmagazine.com/features/cover-stories/itemid/434/from-great-to-greater-still. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "COURTER ELECTED CAP NATIONAL COMMANDER". August 2008. http://indiana-wing.org/IN001/images/7/79/2008-08.pdf. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
The original article can be found at Amy Courter and the edit history here.