USDA Spotlights Its "Unsung Heroes"

USDA recognized 10 employees as “Unsung Heroes” during its recent observance of Public Service Recognition Week.

According to Otis Thompson, a retired USDA public affairs specialist who then served for 13 years as executive director of the Organization of Professional Employees, U.S. Department of Agriculture (OPEDA) until he retired from that position in May 2004, the purpose of the “Unsung Hero” designation is to identify those employees who have been “unusually dedicated and efficient and had a positive attitude.”

He noted that nominees as “Unsung Heroes” are based on actual “hands-on” activities rather than on supervisory or managerial efforts. “However,” he added, “all USDA employees were eligible to be nominated.”

The idea for an “Unsung Heroes” contest was developed in 1987 by a group of six representatives of professional organizations in the Department. In addition to OPEDA, current sponsoring groups include the Association of Technical & Supervisory Professionals, USDA’s Employee Services & Recreation Association, the National Association of Federal Veterinarians, and the USDA Chapter of the Senior Executive Association.

This is the 17th year of the contest, which was conducted USDA-wide. Thompson said that following a Departmentwide solicitation, 26 employees were nominated by fellow USDA employees. The final selection was made in April by a team of USDA officials. Related photos can be found at www.usda.gov/opeda.

USDA’s “Unsung Heroes” for 2004 include:

1. Bill Beverley, head of the Utilities Services Section at the Agricultural Research Service’s Beltsville (Md.) Agricultural Research Center (BARC), who oversaw three capital construction projects that replaced or upgraded BARC’s water production plant, wastewater treatment plants, and central heating plants--while ensuring there was no disruption of service or negative effect on the agricultural research conducted at BARC.
   
2. Marie Buchanan, the national program outreach manager for the Risk Management Agency, who has administered over 200 cooperative agreements and other outreach activities for RMA over the past two years--to ensure that small and limited resource, women, and other historically underserved farmers and ranchers are provided an equal opportunity to participate in RMA programs and activities.
   
3. Rondi Hammond, an equal employment opportunity specialist with the Office of Civil Rights, who processed allegations of discrimination at the Department while using a good knowledge base in the complaint area, applying a personality designed to lend confidence and calm to the complainants, and displaying a high level of empathy without losing her objectivity or professionalism.
   
4. Frank Lee, deputy administrator for commodity and marketing programs in the Foreign Agricultural Service, who employed within his area of responsibility 35 Student Cooperative Education Program employees, seven Student Temporary Employment Program interns, and 18 Summer Interns all during his three-year tenure in that position to date; assigned a graduate from USDA’s 1890 Scholar program to a permanent position as an agricultural marketing specialist; and provided support for employee development through short-term and long-term detail opportunities.
   
5. Virginia Lewis, the National Asian and Pacific Islander (AA/PI) Program Manager for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, who was one of the founders of the Asian Pacific Islander Organization (APIO), an employee organization in NRCS; initiated and coordinated the first AA/PI Strategic Plan for the agency in 1999; and recommended and then assisted in establishing an AA/PI liaison officer for NRCS at California Polytechnic Institute in Pomona, Calif., in 2000.
   
6. Joe Realdine, the regional import supervisor for the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Northeast Region, based in Philadelphia, who uncovered unsafe and unsanitary conditions in a meat and poultry processing plant in Linden, N.J., and documented the infractions. This led to the withdrawing of the grant of inspection at that plant, to ensure public health. This case is currently being used as a training module for new FSIS enforcement investigation and analysis officers.
   
7. Doris Roach, an equal employment opportunity specialist with the Forest Service, who has been dependable, has performed well under pressure, has served as a gentle coach, a co-worker, and a team player, and has been diligently conscientious, all with a high sense of integrity and ethics.
   
8. Susan Scarcia, an enforcement investigation and analysis officer at FSIS’s District Office in Philadelphia, who was a member of FSIS’s first Consumer Safety Officer Class in 2002 and who monitors lab results on meat and poultry samples. If there are presumptive positive findings for Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli0157:H7, or salmonella, she ensures that the meat or poultry product is placed on hold, or can be located quickly, and then provides the District’s recall officer with information within two hours.
   
9. Steve Shelor, the assistant director for program delivery and outreach with the Civil Rights Staff in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, who has maintained a steady calm and provided a great deal of stability in the flow of work and in the workforce, with knowledge, dedication, and professionalism, in helping to achieve voluntary compliance with civil rights laws and Departmental regulations.
   
10. Sam Vang, a soil conservationist with NRCS at the USDA Service Center in Fresno, Calif., who collaborated with several community-based organizations--including the Khmer Society, the Lao Family Community Inc. of Fresno, and the Agape Refugee Ministry and Services (ARMS), a faith-based organization--to plan, initiate, and implement a USDA-focused outreach educational program on behalf of Hmong, Laotian, Cambodian, and other Southeast Asian ethnic groups and families in the area. •