From enhancing operational efficiencies to winning new task orders, the 2025 SMS award winners have made a remarkable impact across every corner of the company. We applaud the distinct achievements of David Argabrite, Zach Cayou, Steven Hyde, Jay Metzler, Ivan Pavlovic, and Jamie Woehrle — each serving as a testament to individual strength and the collective excellence that drives SMS’s success.
David Argabrite – Linh Pham Team Player of the Year
David Argabrite, Enterprise Systems Administrator, is our 2025 Linh Pham Team Player Awardee. David’s steady presence and people-first approach defined his work in 2025—thorough troubleshooting across onboarding/offboarding, endpoint management, access, and A/V support kept employees productive, while his consistent willingness to help, delivered with a smile, strengthened morale across HQ. David’s mission-first mindset and care for the people around him exemplify this award. Since joining SMS in 2000, he has supported the SAN Team, Pentagon CCSP, AFPCA, Naval Public Works, and U.S. Capitol Police.
Zachary (Zach) Cayou – Engineer of the Year
Zachary (Zach) Cayou is our 2025 Engineer of the Year. Zach’s career has been defined by technical excellence—from leading the JRSS routing redesign to reinventing himself as a leader in cloud-native engineering for AGUN. In 2025, Zach drove AGUN modernization through Kubernetes and Infrastructure-as-Code adoption, earned his CKA certification, advanced automation safety practices, and shared his expertise broadly through Technical Leadership Program presentations and technical blogs. Zach’s rare combination of deep technical expertise, adaptability, and mission-first leadership exemplifies engineering excellence at SMS.
Steven Hyde – Principal Contributor Award
Steven Hyde is the Principal Contributor to our CMMC Level 2 certification—the most consequential federal cybersecurity certification SMS has ever pursued. Steven personally owned the hardest parts of the 110 control set, translating dense regulatory requirements into working technical controls across identity, access, configuration management, audit, and incident response, and authoring the System Security Plan and evidence package that anchored our assessment. His mock-assessment leadership and real-time responsiveness during formal review delivered a perfect 110 score. Steven’s precision, ownership, and quiet leadership exemplify principal-level contribution at SMS.
Jay Metzler – Business Development Executive of the Year
Jay Metzler is our 2025 Business Development Executive of the Year—his third such recognition in his 21-year SMS career. Jay’s relationship-building and capture leadership drove one of SMS’s largest task order awards to date, the AFCENT NOSC contract win, capping six years of capture work begun in 2019. His sustained stewardship of long-standing customers like DTRA and continued Air Force portfolio growth reflect his ability to assemble winning teams and earn lasting customer trust. Jay’s strategic vision exemplifies business development excellence at SMS.
Ivan Pavlovic – Service Delivery Manager of the Year
Ivan Pavlovic, Manager on the AFRL ARTEMIS program, is our 2025 Service Delivery Manager of the Year. Ivan’s meticulous attention to detail, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to delivery excellence set the operational standard across our Service Delivery organization in 2025. His clear, proactive communication on employee onboarding/offboarding, contract document changes, and funding updates enabled accurate planning in a fast-paced environment, while his consistent use of our Spotlight platform to recognize teammates strengthened culture and engagement. Ivan’s responsiveness, transparency, and people-first leadership exemplify the impact this award represents.
Jamie Woehrle – Administrative Excellence Award
Jamie Woehrle is the recipient of our 2025 Administrative Excellence Award, recognized for his outstanding behind-the-scenes contributions to SMS operations. Jamie ensures projects are set up correctly, billings go out accurately and on time, and payments come in when they should—work defined by precision and persistence, especially in complex reconciliation such as aligning labor hours between SMS timesheets and customer systems. Jamie brings genuine passion and a morale-boosting presence to colleagues, reminding the team that great work and great people go hand in hand—qualities he has brought to SMS every day since 1997.
SMS HQ Awards Event, May 2026
