Major General Francis D. Vavala, retired General of the Delaware National Guard will be honored with the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award!
The Award will be presented at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner on March 20th at the Chase Center on the Riverfront.
Keynote Speaker at this year’s event will be Dr. Dennis Assanis, president of the University of Delaware. The dinner is the Chamber’s largest event of the year and draws a crowd in excess of 500.
Vavala assumed duties as Adjutant General of the Delaware National Guard in February 1999, after serving as Assistant Adjutant General, Delaware Army National Guard.
As adjutant general, he was responsible for the mission readiness of all Delaware National Guard units, Army and Air, for both federal and state missions.
In January 2017, Vavala was promoted to Lieutenant General.
Born on June 28, 1947, in Wilmington, he joined the Delaware Army National Guard in March 1967 as a private. He was commissioned in June 1970 after completing the Delaware Military Academy Officer Candidate School.
General Vavala received his bachelor’s degree in business management from Wilmington College, now Wilmington University Before his appointment as Adjutant General, he was a Marketing Services Supervisor for the DuPont Company, Wilmington.
He led the Guard during a busy period that included numerous deployments.
Vavala and his wife Jane reside in New Castle County, Delaware. They have two daughters, a son, and three grandchildren.
