USDA honored a number of its employees, for their outstanding achievements, at its 57^th Annual Honor Awards Ceremony, which took place June 13 at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

Sandra Anglade, USDA’s employee recognition program manager with the Office of Human Resources Management and coordinator of the Ceremony, said that USDA honor awards were awarded to 84 recipients, including 30 individuals and 54 groups.

140 nominations, which included 50 individuals and 90 groups, had been submitted earlier to the USDA Honor Awards Evaluation Committee. That group, chaired by Chris Alsop, deputy administrator for community programs in the Rural Housing Service, was composed of Alsop and five individuals selected from academia, from elsewhere in the federal government, and from within USDA. 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 and then presented the major USDA awards to the employees. “The Honor Awards highlight the dedication and talents of USDA employees who contribute in so many ways to improving the world around us,” she said. “These honorees, and all those recognized through this award program, represent just a small fraction of the many creative and hard-working employees at USDA.”

Cecilia Matthews, USDA’s incentive awards program manager with OHRM, said that the highest USDA honor awards are the Plow Awards. Four individuals and five 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 84 USDA honor award presentations, USDA’s awards program noted the Secretary’s Special Award to the Farm Bill Working Group, the Department’s 15 Presidential Rank Award recipients for 2002, the USDA recipients of major awards sponsored by external organizations, and the 621 Departmental employees across the country who have 40 or more years of federal service. Of those, 17 have 50 or more years of federal service. Within that group, and for at least the third 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 67 years of federal service—and all of it is with USDA.

The 30 Individuals receiving USDA honor Awards included:

For Expanding Economic and Trade Opportunities for United States Agricultural Producers: Katherine O’Rourke [Plow Award] (Agricultural Research Service), Pullman Wash.; Willard Dickerson (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture), Raleigh, N.C.; Diane Sharp (Farm Service Agency), Washington, DC; Larry Sivers (National Agricultural Statistics Service), Washington, DC; and Henry Spelter (Forest Service), Madison, Wis.; For Promoting Health by Providing Access to Safe, Affordable, and Nutritious Food: Brian Federici (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and the University of California), Riverside, Calif.; For Maintaining and Enhancing the Nation’s Natural Resources and Environment: Thomas Jackson [Plow Award] (ARS), Beltsville, Md.; Daniel Kaffer [Plow Award] (Natural Resources Conservation Service), Carson City, Nev.; Leroy Brown (NRCS), Des Moines, Iowa, Richard Crane (NRCS), Houghton, Mich.; Clifford Dils (FS), Tijeras, N.M.; and Ronald Neilson (FS), Corvallis, Ore.; For Enhancing the Capacity of All Rural Residents, Communities, and Businesses to Prosper: Reggie Skains [Plow Award] (National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils and NRCS), Downsville, La.; Mark Barnhart (Office of Inspector General), Columbus, Ohio; Calvin Beale (Economic Research Service), Washington, DC; Rueben Flores (FSA), Honolulu, Hawaii; William Hagy (Rural Business-Cooperative Service), Washington, DC; James Maetzold (NRCS), Washington, DC; Richard Moore (Risk Management Agency), Topeka, Kan.; Lynn Pike (CSREES and the University of Missouri), Columbia, Mo.; and Eugene Watson (FS), Ogden, Utah; For Operating an Efficient, Effective, and Discrimination-Free Organization: Michael Bosak (Rural Housing Service), Syracuse, N.Y.; Mary Ann Jarvis (ARS), Washington, DC; Debra Kenerson (NASS), Nashville Tenn.; Asa Manning (NASS), Washington, DC; Rita Medina (RHS), Davis Calif.; Jerry Robinson (FSA), Idabel, Okla.; Kalven Trice (NRCS), Little Rock, Ark.; and Mary Winters (FSA), Kansas City, Mo.; For Heroism and Emergency Response: Marilyn Lambert (FS), Bartow, W.Va.

					Katherine O'Rourke Willard Dickerson Diane Sharp Larry Sivers Henry Spelter
					Brian Federici Thomas Jackson Daniel Kaffer Leroy Brown Richard Crane
					Clifford Dils Ronald Neilson Reggie Skains Mark Barnhart Calvin Beale
					Rueben Flores William Hagy James Maetzold Richard Moore Lynn Pike
					Eugene Watson Michael Bosak Mary Ann Jarvis Debra Kenerson Asa Manning
					Rita Medina Jerry Robinson Kalven Trice Mary Winters Marilyn Lambert

The 54 Groups--which include over 950 Group members--receiving USDA honor awards included:

For Expanding Economic and Trade Opportunities for United States Agricultural Producers: the Audit Verification Program for Good Agricultural and Good Handling Practices Developmental Team (Agricultural Marketing Service), Washington, DC, Leanne Skelton, Group Leader; the Doha Development Team (Foreign Agricultural Service), Washington, DC, Mary Chambliss, Group Leader; the Embassy San Jose Team (FAS), San Jose, Costa Rica, Alan Hrapsky, Group Leader; the False Phytosanitary Certificate Task Force (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), Salem, Mo., Daniel Hutchings, Group Leader; the Farm Bill Analysis Team (ERS), Washington, DC, C. Edwin Young, Group Leader; the Farm Bill Preparation Team (FSA), Washington, DC, Diane Sharp, Group Leader; the Global Food Security Team (ERS), Washington, DC, Shahla Shapouri, Group Leader; the Margin of Preference Group (FAS), Washington, DC, James Grueff, Group Leader; the Meat and Poultry Inspection Seminar Team (Food Safety and Inspection Service), Washington, DC, Cheryl Davis, Group Leader; the Russian Poultry Markets Team (FAS), Washington, DC, Robert Macke, Group Leader; and the Water Management Research Laboratory (ARS), Parlier, Calif., Thomas Trout, Group Leader; For Promoting Health by Providing Access to Safe, Affordable, and Nutritious Food: the Global Food for Education Initiative [Plow Award] (FAS), Washington, DC, Mary Chambliss, Group Leader; the Audit Enforcement Strategy Team (FSIS), Washington, DC, Sally Stratmoen, Group Leader; the Eat Smart.Play Hard.Campaign Team (Food and Nutrition Service), Alexandria, Va., Judy Wilson, Group Leader; the Farm Bill Team (FNS), Alexandria, Va., Bonny O’Neil, Group Leader; the Fit WIC Team (FNS), Alexandria, Va., Jay Hirschman, Group Leader; the Food Safety Systems Correlation Team (FSIS), Omaha, Neb., Donald Smart, Group Leader; the Master Hoof Care Technician Program Team (CSREES and the University of Florida), Gainesville, Fla., Jan Shearer, Group Leader; the Meat and Poultry Import Inspection Improvement Team (FSIS), Washington, DC, Mary Stanley, Group Leader; the Northeast Multistate Research Group Northeastern 179 (CSREES and the University of Massachusetts), Amherst, Mass., Steve Goodwin, Group Leader; the Nutrient Data Laboratory (ARS), Beltsville, Md., Joanne Holden, Group Leader; and the Special Projects Team--Frankfurter Study (ARS), Wyndmoor, Pa., John Luchansky, Group Leader; For Maintaining and Enhancing the Nation’s Natural Resources and Environment: the Biotechnology Regulatory Response and Enforcement Team (APHIS), Riverdale, Md., Margaret Jones, Group Leader; the Cooperative Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Areawide Management Team (APHIS), Riverdale, Md., Lloyd Wendel, Group Leader; the Greater Parks Fuels Reduction Project (FS), Williams, Ariz., Susan Skalski, Group Leader; the Jalisco Pilot Study and Learning Center (FS), Fort Collins, Colo., Celedonio Aguirre-Bravo, Group Leader; the Nutrient and Pest Management Training Development Team (NRCS), Colchester, Vt., James Wood, Group Leader; the Partnership for Environmental Potato Production (CSREES and the University of Wisconsin), Madison, Wis., Jeffrey Wyman, Group Leader; and the Phosphorus Indexing Research Group (ARS), University Park, Pa., Andrew Sharpley, Group Leader; For Enhancing the Capacity of All Rural Residents, Communities, and Businesses to Prosper: the Pay.Gov Development Team [Plow Award] (RHS), St. Louis, Mo., Brian Barton, Group Leader; the Area Office Eight (RHS), Kinston, N.C., Edwin Causey, Group Leader; Fishing for Success (CSREES and the University of Florida), Gainesville, Fla., Daniel Canfield and Charles Cichra, Group Leaders; the Georgia Rural Development Single Family Housing Partnership Group (RHS), Athens, Ga., Joseph Walden, Group Leader; the Healthful Foods Research Team (ARS), Albany, Calif., Tara McHugh, Group Leader; the Kauai Loan Project Team (Rural Utilities Service), Washington, DC, Sally Price, Group Leader; and the Technology Marketing Unit (FS), Madison, Wis., Susan LeVan-Green, Group Leader; For Operating an Efficient, Effective, and Discrimination-Free Organization: the Human Capital Management Team [Plow Award] (NRCS), Washington, DC, Karen Karlinchak, Group Leader; the Office of the Chief Financial Officer Management Team [Plow Award] (Office of the Secretary), Washington, DC, Edward “Ted” McPherson, Group Leader; Chronic Wasting Disease Management (APHIS), Washington, DC, Ron DeHaven, Group Leader; CYFERnet (CSREES), Washington, DC, Sharon Wright, Group Leader; Field Automation and Information Management (FSIS), Washington, DC, Peter Kuhmerker, Group Leader; Field Service Laboratories (FSIS), Athens, Ga., Patrick McCaskey, Group Leader; the Massachusetts Rural Development Staff (RHS), Amherst, Mass., Richard Burke, Group Leader; the Mid-South Area Workforce Diversity Committee (ARS), Stoneville, Miss., Edgar King, Group Leader; the Program Integrity Team Leaders (RMA), Washington, DC, Larry Piatz, Group Leader; the USDA Human Capital Team (Office of Human Resources Management), Washington, DC, Joe Colantuoni, Group Leader; and the Washington Telecommunications Services and Operations Branch (Office of the Chief Information Officer), Washington, DC, Vernell Archer, Group Leader; For Heroism and Emergency Response: the Cindi Talkington Rescue Team [Plow Award] (FS), Marienville, Pa., Christopher Thornton, Group Leader; the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics Investigations Group (OIG), Lakewood, Colo., John Horrigan, Group Leader; the Core Team to Assess Homeland Security Issues in the Forest Service (OIG), San Francisco, Calif., Sam Currie, Group Leader; the Extension Disaster Education Network (CSREES and the University of Missouri), Columbia, Mo., David Baker, Group Leader; the Infectious Salmon Anemia Leadership Team (APHIS), Sutton, Mass., William Smith, Group Leader; the Iowa Food Product Tampering Investigations Group (OIG), Des Moines, Iowa, Craig Hangsleben, Group Leader; and the Virginia Avian Influenza Task Force Leadership Team (APHIS), Raleigh, N.C., Thomas Holt, Group Leader.