Spotlighting Service To America

n June 1, nominations will close for the new Service to America Medals program, an initiative I hope will make a significant difference in the public's appreciation for the work done in the federal government, and the people who do it.

The program will honor eight to 10 people in the federal government each year with cash awards ranging from $3,000 to $10,000. More significantly, the winners will serve as role models for citizens. By their example, these civil servants will show what kinds of interesting and important work is done in government.

By their achievement, they will demonstrate the satisfaction that comes with excellent performance in the advancement of national goals. Government Executive and its sister publications, The Atlantic Monthly and National Journal, have teamed up with the Partnership for Public Service to establish this awards program. The Partnership is a new nonprofit group launched last year with a $25 million grant given expressly for the purpose of reviving interest in working for the federal government. It brings a singular focus to a problem that worries such leaders as Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Comptroller General David Walker, who placed the "human capital crisis" on the General Accounting Office's list of high-risk federal problems.

The coming retirement tsunami is at the root of their concern: In just five years, more than half the federal workforce will be eligible to retire, including 70 percent of senior management. Meanwhile, little has been done to recognize the critical work these people do, or to publicize the opportunities for exciting careers in service to the nation.

The Service to America Medals program addresses that lack of recognition in ambitious fashion. Through our own publications and a broad media outreach beyond them, we hope to tell the stories of government people whose careers are fascinating, challenging and consequential for the welfare of the nation and the world. We all know these stories are there. Indeed the dream of living one of them is what brought many, many people to government service in the first place.

The Service to America Medals will highlight government work through the lens of people at different stages of their careers. There will be an award for a young person who has just six or seven years of service, and another for someone who is winding up a distinguished career, and others for people at stages in between. We will get at the broad scope of possible federal careers-in environmental and scientific or international work, or in efforts to improve the health and welfare of citizens here at home.

My plea to you, gentle readers, is to help us find candidates whose work in government can tell these stories. Please consider sending us a nomination, by filling out the form found at www.govexec.com/pps. Allow me also to commend to your attention the upcoming Excellence in Government conference, which convenes here in Washington July 15-17. Over the past seven years, this gathering has become the best forum for learning what's new and effective in addressing the management issues that are common to many government agencies. With the aid of an expanded program committee of your colleagues, the Council for Excellence in Government has produced a terrific agenda you'll find in this issue of the magazine.