USDA honored a number of its employees, for their outstanding achievements, at its 58th Annual Honor Awards Ceremony, which took place June 25 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

Cecilia Matthews, USDA's incentive awards program manager with the Office of Human Resources Management and coordinator of the Ceremony, said that USDA honor awards were awarded to 102 recipients, including 32 individuals and 70 groups.

147 nominations, which included 50 individuals and 97 groups, had been submitted earlier to the USDA Honor Awards Evaluation Committee. That group, chaired by Alma Hobbs, special assistant for diversity and outreach in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, was composed of Hobbs and five individuals selected from within USDA and from elsewhere in the federal government. The six-member Committee had reviewed those nominations in April and had then made its recommendations to Secretary Ann M. Veneman.

At the ceremony Veneman delivered the keynote address. "In many ways, these awards are USDA's 'time capsule,' a reflection of the body of work we are building, and the times in which we live," she noted. Veneman then singled out Danny Woodyard, a staff attorney in the Office of the General Counsel's field office in Little Rock, Ark., who--while serving as a Lt. Col. in a U.S. Army Reserve Unit in Baghdad--helped to rebuild Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture and helped select the Ministry's new leadership.

LaWuan Waring, USDA's incentive awards assistant with OHRM, said that the highest USDA honor awards are the Plow Awards. Three individuals and four groups received Plow Awards this year. Those recipients have that particular annotation by their respective names in the lists that follow.

In addition to the 102 USDA honor award presentations, USDA's awards program noted the Department's 24 Presidential Rank Award recipients for 2003, the USDA recipients of major awards sponsored by external organizations, and the 521 Departmental employees across the country who have 40 or more years of federal service. Of those, 19 have 50 or more years of federal service. Within that group, and for at least the fourth year in a row, the USDA employee with the longest years of federal service is reported to be Harold "Bruno" Mangum, currently a program specialist with the Farm Service Agency's state office in Raleigh, N.C., who, at press time, has 68 years of federal service--and all of it is with USDA.

The 32 Individuals receiving USDA honor Awards included:

For Enhancing Economic Opportunities for Agricultural Producers: Larry Heatherly [Plow Award] (Agricultural Research Service), Stoneville, Ms.; Donald Martin (National Agricultural Statistics Service), Honolulu, Hawaii; and Mitchell Morehart, (Economic Research Service), Washington, DC; For Supporting Increased Economic Opportunities and Improved Quality of Life in Rural Areas: Thomas Birkett (NASS), Washington, DC; Terry Klopfenstein (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and the University of Nebraska), Lincoln, Neb.; Ambrose McGuire (Rural Housing Service), Des Moines, Iowa; Dave Paul (Risk Management Agency), Spokane, Wash.; Marilyn Smith (CSREES and the University of Nevada), Elko, Nev.; and Michael Taylor (RHS), Alexandria, La.; For Enhancing Protection and Safety of the Nation's Agriculture and Food Supply: John Huntley (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture), Albany, N.Y.; and William Lyons (California Department of Food and Agriculture), Sacramento, Calif.; For Improving the Nation's Nutrition and Health: Eliot Herman [Plow Award] (ARS), St. Louis, Mo.; Patti Mitchell (Food and Nutrition Service), Alexandria, Va.; and Judith Stern (CSREES and the University of California), Davis, Calif.; For Protecting and Enhancing the Nation's Natural Resource Base and Environment: James Doolittle (Natural Resources Conservation Service), Newtown Square, Pa.; Helen Flach (NRCS), Davis, Calif.; Jeff Goebel (NRCS), Beltsville, Md.; Hal Gordon (NRCS), Portland, Ore.; Robbie LeValley (Colorado State University), Delta, Colo.; and Lena Ma (CSREES and the University of Florida), Gainesville, Fla.; For Supporting the President's Management Agenda and Civil Rights: John Cooper [Plow Award] (RHS), Raleigh, N.C.; Carl Butler (Agricultural Marketing Service), Memphis, Tenn.; Karen Citizen-Wilcox (Office of Inspector General), Atlanta, Ga.; Jane Kohlman (Forest Service), Madison, Wis.; Thomas Mills (FS), Washington, DC; Irene Seastrum (Farm Service Agency), Washington, DC; and Douglas Wolfe (OIG), Beltsville, Md.; For Heroism and Emergency Response: Thomas Ackerman (OIG), East Lansing, Mich.; George Aldaya (FSA), Kansas City, Mo.; William Coats (AMS), Washington, DC; Mark Hopko (OIG), Lakewood, Colo.; and Mary Kennedy (Montana Conservation Corps), Helena, Mont.

					Larry Heatherly Donald Martin Mitchell Morehart Thomas Birkett Terry Klopfenstein
					Ambrose McGuire Dave Paul Marilyn Smith Michael Taylor John Huntley
					William Lyons Eliot Herman Patti Mitchell Judith Stern James Doolittle
					Helen Flach Jeff Goebel Hal Gordon Robbie LeValley Lena Ma
					John Cooper Carl Butler Karen Citizen-Wilcox Jane Kohlman Thomas Mills
					Irene Seastrum Douglas Wolfe Thomas Ackerman George Aldaya William Coats
		Mark Hopko Mary Kennedy

The 70 Groups--which include over 955 Group members--receiving USDA honor awards included:

For Enhancing Economic Opportunities for Agricultural Producers: the Audit, Review, and Compliance Branch (AMS), Washington, DC, James Riva, Group Leader; the Biotechnology Team (Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration), Washington, DC, David Shipman, Group Leader; the California Marketing Order Program Team (AMS), Fresno, Calif., Kurt Kimmel, Group Leader; the "Fantesk" Research Unit (ARS), Peoria, Ill., George Fanta, Group Leader; the Market Analysis Program Team (ERS), Washington, DC, Joy Harwood, Group Leader; the Ministerial Conference and EXPO on Agricultural Science and Technology (Foreign Agricultural Service), Washington, DC, Christian Foster, Group Leader; the North Dakota Sham Farm Operations Investigative Group (OIG), Bismarck, N.D., Paul Ward, Group Leader; the United States Embassy Mexico City North American Free Trade Agreement Team (FAS), Mexico City, Mexico, William Brant, Group Leader; the United States Rice Genome Consortia (CSREES and the University of Arizona), Tucson, Ariz., Rod Wing, Group Leader; and the Wheat-Based Bioproducts Group (ARS), Albany, Calif., Gregory Glenn and William Orts, Group Leaders; For Supporting Increased Economic Opportunities and Improved Quality of Life in Rural Areas: the Pohnpei Field Office [Plow Award] (NRCS), Pohnpei, Micronesia, Philip Giles and Jed Johnson, Group Leaders; the American Growers Resolution Team (RMA), Kansas City, Mo., and Washington, DC, Denise Hoffman and Michael Hand, Group Leaders; the Hawaii Fruit Fly Area-Wide Pest Management Core Team (ARS), Hilo, Hawaii, Roger Vargas, Group Leader; the Lower Hamakua Ditch Watershed Implementation Team (NRCS), Honolulu, Hawaii, Douglas Toews, Group Leader; and the Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (CSREES and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station/Cornell University), Geneva, N.Y., Olga Padilla-Zakour, Group Leader; For Enhancing Protection and Safety of the Nation's Agriculture and Food Supply: the Food Safety Incident Response Group [Plow Award] (Food Safety and Inspection Service), Washington, DC and Chicago, Ill., Vella Holmes and Paul Wolseley, Group Leaders; the Canadian Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Response Team (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), Washington, DC, Peter Fernandez, Group Leader; the Carcass Inspection Systems Team (ARS), Ames, Iowa, Thomas Casey, Group Leader; the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Transition Planning Group (APHIS), Washington, DC, Ric Dunkle, Group Leader; the Exotic Newcastle Disease Eradication Project (APHIS), Washington, DC, Ron DeHaven, Group Leader; the Federal Register Notice Rule Change and Implementation Group (APHIS), Riverdale, Md., Rebecca Bech, Group Leader; the Food Safety Mobile Team (FSIS), Beltsville, Md., Susan Conley, Group Leader; the Food Safety Regulatory Essentials Team (FSIS), Washington, DC, Bobby Palesano, Group Leader; the Memorandum of Agreement Development and Implementation Team (FSIS), Washington, DC, Laurie Lindsay, Group Leader; the Operational Rations Inspection Management Team (AMS), Washington, DC, Terry Bane, Group Leader; the Oversight of Production Process and Recall at ConAgra Plant Audit Team (OIG), Kansas City, Mo., Dennis Gannon, Group Leader; and the Security Analysis System for United States Agriculture (ERS), Washington, DC, Paul Chan, Group Leader; For Improving the Nation's Nutrition and Health: the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program 2002-2003 (FNS), Alexandria, Va., Peter Murano, Group Leader; the One Public Face Website Development Team (FNS), Alexandria, Va., Ronald Johnson, Group Leader; and the USDA Food Security Measurement Team (ERS), Washington, DC, Mark Nord, Group Leader; For Protecting and Enhancing the Nation's Natural Resource Base and Environment: the Protozoan Parasite Epidemiology Team [Plow Award] (ARS), Beltsville, Md., Ronald Fayer, Group Leader; the Airport Training Committee (APHIS), Morris Plains, N.J., and New Market, Md., Janet Bucknall and Alton Dunaway, Group Leaders; the Animal Waste Management Team (ERS), Washington, DC, and Beltsville, Md., Noel Gollehon (ERS) and Daniel Meyer (NRCS), Group Leaders; the Ecological Area-Wide Management (TEAM) of Leafy Spurge (ARS), Sidney, Mont., Gerald Anderson, Group Leader; the Florida Automated Weather Network (CSREES and the University of Florida), Tavares, Fla., John Jackson, Group Leader; the Hayman Fire Restoration Team (FS), Colorado Springs, Colo., Brent Botts, Group Leader; the Master Tree Farmer/Master Wildlifer Programs (CSREES and Clemson University), Clemson, S.C., George Kessler, Group Leader; the North Carolina Phosphorus Loss Assessment Team (NRCS), Raleigh, N.C., John Havlin, Group Leader; the Resource Conservation and Development Coordinators (NRCS), Emmett, Idaho, Russel Manwaring, Group Leader; the Rhode Island Eelgrass Restoration Partnership (NRCS), Emmett, Idaho, Andrew Lipsky, Group Leader; the Saltcedar Biological Control Research Team (ARS), Albany, Calif., and Temple, Texas, Raymond Carruthers and Jack DeLoach, Group Leaders; the Shasta County Conservation Partnership (NRCS), Redding, Calif., Robert Bailey, Group Leader; the SmarTech Development Team (NRCS), Fort Worth, Texas, Arnold King, Group Leader; the Southeast Region American Indian Initiative Workgroup (NRCS), Atlanta, Ga., Charles Adams, Group Leader; the Sustainable Coffee Production Team (NRCS), Atlanta, Ga., Charles Adams, Group Leader; and the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Team (CSREES and the University of Florida), Quincy, Fla., Joseph Funderburk, Group Leader; For Supporting the President's Management Agenda and Civil Rights: the Emergency Loan Streamlining Taskforce (FSA), Washington, DC, Michael Hinton, Group Leader; the Emergency Preparedness and Programs Branch (FSA), Washington, DC, Lynn Tjeerdsma, Group Leader; Extension en Espanol (CSREES and Texas A&M University), College Station, Texas, William Watson, Group Leader; the Farm Loan Program Chief Mentoring Project (FSA), Washington, DC, Almeda Cole, Group Leader; the Food Aid Request Entry System (FSA), Kansas City, Mo., Ethel Bowers, Group Leader; the Hazard and Flood Compliance Team (RHS), St. Louis, Mo., Thomas Morris, Group Leader; the Labor-Management Agreement Implementation (FSIS), Washington, DC, Cheryl Dunham and Jonathan Theodule, Group Leaders; the Mentoring Program (CSREES), Washington, DC, Gladys Vaughn, Group Leader; the National Employee Development Team (FNS), Alexandria, Va., Geoff Gay, Group Leader; the RadioSource.net Land-Grant Internet Audio Project (CSREES and the University of Florida), Gainesville, Fla., Ashley Wood, Group Leader; the Small Business Capacity Building Team (Departmental Administration, the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization), Washington, DC, James House, Group Leader; the Streamlining and Cost Savings Initiative Team (NRCS), Fort Worth, Texas, Humberto Hernandez, Group Leader; the Travel Card Audit Team (OIG), Washington, DC, Richard Davis and Jane Bannon, Group Leaders; the Water and Waste Grant Eligibility Audit Team (OIG), Kansas City, Mo., Dennis Gannon, Group Leader; and the Zone 2--District Conservationists and Tribal Resource Conservationists (NRCS), Stillwater, Okla., Mark Habiger, Group Leader; For Heroism and Emergency Response: the Space Shuttle--107 Columbia Recovery Mission Group [Plow Award], (FS), Zavalla, Texas, James Sowell, Group Leader; the Afghanistan and Iraq Agriculture Reconstruction Team (FAS), Washington, DC, Lee Schatz, Group Leader; the Exotic Newcastle Disease Research Response Team (ARS), Athens, Ga., David Suarez, Group Leader; the Glen Pittsenbarger Rescue Team (FS), Marlinton, W.Va., David Buck and Edward Burton, Group Leaders; the Mountain Area Safety Task Force (FS), San Bernardino, Calif., Gene Zimmerman, Group Leader; the Old Fire--Highway 18 Defense Group (FS), Big Bear, Calif., Randall Clauson, Group Leader; Preclearance Programs (APHIS), Riverdale, Md., David Reeves, Group Leader; the Ralstonia Incident Response Team (APHIS), Riverdale, Md., Matthew Royer, Group Leader; and the Wildlife Services Hurricane Isabel Relief Team (APHIS), Annapolis, Md., Stephen Kendrot, Group Leader. •