Celebrating the Accomplishments of America’s Public Servants

The Service to America Medals (Sammies) awards program pays tribute to America's dedicated federal workforce, highlighting those who have made significant contributions to our country. Honorees are chosen based on their commitment and innovation, as well as the impact of their work on addressing the needs of the nation. Awardees are announced each fall at a dinner and awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

 

Due to inclement weather in the Washington, D.C. area, if you have concerns about completing a nomination by the deadline, please contact Jim Seymour at sammies@ourpublicservice.org or (202) 775-2758. We will plan to keep the nomination form online a few extra days to make sure that you have the opportunity to complete your nominations.

 

Ten Stand-Out Public Servants Receive Coveted Service to America Medals

The Partnership for Public Service presented nine Service to America Medals to outstanding public servants whose remarkable work is making the world safer, healthier and greener—at a Washington, D.C. gala held in their honor, September 23.

The Service to America Medals have earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious awards dedicated to celebrating America’s civil servants, often referred to as the “Oscars” of government service.

See all the 2009 recipients »

Video: Dave Braun Film and Video / Photo: Sam Kittner

The top medal, Federal Employee of the Year, went to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Janet Kemp, whose work has the ultimate impact: it saves lives. Kemp created a national suicide prevention hotline for veterans, which has resulted in more than 5,000 immediate rescues.

Additional Service to America Medals were presented to nine federal workers who boast achievements in international affairs, homeland security, health research, patient care, reducing homelessness, combating environmental degradation, helping Americans avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes, and reducing air pollution.

Medalists come from the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Justice, the CIA, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center, and National Cancer Institute. They work and live in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New York and Pakistan.

“The recipients of the Service to America Medals exemplify the very best of our public servants,” said Max Stier, Partnership president and CEO. “The remarkable work that they do touches our lives each and every day—from protecting our veterans to reducing air pollution.”

The 2009 Service to America Medals recipients are:

• Don Burke and Sean P. Dennehy, Homeland Security Medal. As the Intellipedia Doyen, Burke, and Intellipedia and Enterprise 2.0 Evangelist, Dennehy, promote information sharing across the intelligence community through the development and implementation of “Intellipedia,” a Wikipedia-like clearinghouse of intelligence expertise.

• T. Allan Comp, Environment Medal. Working in the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement at the Department of the Interior as a Program Analyst, Comp built a network of volunteers to revitalize communities in Appalachian coal country and the Western Hardrock mining region to repair decades of environmental degradation.

• Michael German, Citizen Services Medal. As the National Team Leader at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, German created partnerships to reduce homelessness with more than 850 state and local leaders, which have contributed to a 30 percent reduction in long-term homelessness.

• Patricia Guerry, Science and Technology Medal. Guerry is the Chief of the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Branch at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center. Guerry created the promising Campylobacter vaccine to prevent the world’s top cause of food-borne intestinal illness.

• Walter Benjamin Fisherow, Justice and Law Enforcement Medal. Fisherow is the Deputy Section Chief in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. Fisherow coordinated the largest Clean Air Act enforcement actions ever, which will result in the reduction of harmful air pollutants by nearly two million tons each year.

• Janet Kemp, Federal Employee of the Year. As the National Director of the Suicide Prevention Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Kemp established a national suicide prevention hotline for veterans, which has resulted in more than 5,000 immediate rescues so far.

• Amy Meyer, National Security and International Affairs Medal. Meyer is the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Economic Growth in Pakistan where she helped build the program to a $200 million initiative.

• Clare Rowley, Call to Service Medal. As an economic analyst at the FDIC, Rowley helped thousands stay in their homes by working to implement IndyMac’s mortgage modification program after the bank failed, and advised the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce foreclosures.

• Thomas Waldmann, Career Achievement Medal. Waldmann is the Chief of the Metabolism Branch at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Over the course of a 52-year career, Waldmann made cutting-edge discoveries that have led to effective treatments for previously fatal forms of T-cell leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple sclerosis.
  

Congratulations to the 2009 Finalists

On Wednesday, May 6, the Partnership for Public Service will announce 29 finalists at a Capitol Hill luncheon in Washington, D.C. Together, their work represents the important contributions of all federal employees, across the country and around the world, to protect our homeland, safeguard our health, and better the lives of their fellow citizens.

See all the 2009 finalists »

This year’s 30 finalists include public servants who boast achievements in fields including alternative energy, home foreclosure relief, physics, medical research, hubble science, the presidential transition, homelessness, the prosecution of terrorists and international development.

“The Service to America Medals are important because they tell the true stories of the remarkable work that our federal employees do each and every day. There is not a day that passes where government does not touch our lives in some way — whether it is stopping the spread of disease, combating fraud and corruption, or protecting our environment,” said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service President.

 

© 2002-2009 Partnership for Public Service