GSA Blog

Recognizing Public Service

Since 1985, the first week of May has been designated Public Service Recognition Week - a time to honor the people serving as federal, state, local, and tribal government employees. Earlier this week, the Partnership for Public Service announced the 29 finalists for the 2021 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (aka Sammie Awards), one of the highest awards for federal public servants. We’re pleased to announce that this year’s nominees include GSA’s Associate Administrator for Civil Rights, Mary D. Gibert, nominated in the Management Excellence category for her role as the Federal Transition Coordinator. As her nomination states, Mary “successfully coordinated the federal assistance effort for the 2020-21 presidential transition in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and a disputed election.” Winners will be chosen by a select committee, however finalists are also eligible to win a “People’s Choice” award - voting for that is underway. You can find information about the other nominees and instructions for casting your “People’s Choice” ballot here.

Public Service Recognition Week is also the topic of the latest edition of our podcast, GSA FAS Focus. In this edition, we talk about public service with GSA Acting Administrator, Katy Kale.

FAS Focus, which is produced by GSA’s Office of Strategic Communication, features interviews with agency leadership, project managers, thought leaders, and other experts about new projects, opportunities, and successes across FAS and the agency. The previous episode was a special edition devoted to Earth Day and how GSA’s green initiatives relate to the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Climate. One note: while FAS is in the title, GSA FAS Focus is produced for everyone – you don’t need to have a special interest in acquisitions or deep knowledge of GSA solutions to enjoy the conversations and subjects covered in each episode. We hope you’ll share the podcast with friends both inside and outside the agency. If you have suggestions for a FAS Focus featured guest, please send them to gsafasfocus@gsa.gov.

You can find our Public Service Recognition Week episode of GSA FAS Focus here as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.