A Scotland County carpenter working in Iraq was recently nominated for the "Excellence In Quality Award" from the Kellogg, Brown, and Root company of Houston, Texas.

Mark Vann of Laurinburg was acknowledged for his "outstanding work and the quality along with the pride that he takes in his job" after he and his crew removed unwanted structures at a military establishment in Baghdad.

"(Carpenter Foreman) Mark Vann is relatively new to KBR but during his short time here he has proved to be an employee with an eye for quality," Site Manager Anthony Mathhues said. "Mark and his crew removed 10 unauthorized wood structures left behind by a unit (that) demobilized."

When the work was completed, according to Mathhues, a member of the 'mayor cell' (a military unit that handles facilities and infrastructure) at Camp Steeler said that it looked as if the structures "never existed in the first place".

"With the outstanding work and the quality of work along with the pride he takes in his job ... Mark has been nominated (for the award)," Mathhues said.

The winners will be decided in August.

According to his wife Lori Vann, human resources manager at the Carolina Container Company of Laurinburg, Vann will stay in Baghdad through 2011.

"He was home recently on a two-week leave, and he said he enjoys what he does," she said. "He said being in Iraq makes one appreciate living in the United States."

Vann and his wife Lori have two sons, Gage and Dalton.

A Little League coach for the past 10 years, Vann said he considered his accomplishment as "another way to give back to the community".