USDA Spotlights Its "Unsung Heroes"

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

According to Otis Thompson, executive director of the Organization of Professional Employees, U.S. Department of Agriculture (OPEDA) and retired USDA public affairs specialist, 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 16^th year of the contest, which was conducted USDA-wide. Thompson said that following a Departmentwide solicitation, 40 employees were nominated, either by fellow USDA employees or by customers of USDA programs and services. The final selection was made in April by a team of USDA officials.

USDA’s “Unsung Heroes” for 2003 include:

1. Brenda Halbrook, the food safety coordinator with the Food and Nutrition Service in Alexandria, Va., who activated and then coordinated USDA’s “Commodity Food Hold and Recall” procedures on three different food items simultaneously that were destined for school children and and/or food bank recipients located in over half of the states in the country. Those food items had been declared a potential food safety risk. Typically the Department averages only one commodity food recall every few years.
   
2. Anita Nelson, a biological science technician with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Rhineander, Wis., who runs APHIS’s Wisconsin Wildlife Services “Nuisance Wildlife Hotline,” a toll-free number that citizens of northern Wisconsin can call for advice on how to resolve conflicts with resident wildlife, such as skunks in garages and bears in backyards. Often callers express frustration, anger, or fear about their interaction with resident wildlife. But Nelson typically handles an estimated 2,500 annual calls with a positive, courteous, and friendly manner.
   
3. Jim Oftedal, director of the Forest Service’s Central California Consortium based in Clovis, Calif., who has volunteered over 1,000 hours over the past three years as a mentor, speaker to students and parents, a chaperone, and a host to students for job shadowing and mock interviews, as he works to instill confidence and leadership qualities to youth in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
   
4. Nick Owen, a soil conservation technician with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in El Reno, Okla., who has used his training talents to train new soil conservation technicians in central Oklahoma. He has also provided NRCS expertise, for the last three years, as a guest speaker and hands-on soils demonstrator to undergraduate students in a soils class at a local community college.
   
5. Sandie Stasiak, an administrative support specialist with the Office of Communications in Washington, DC, who has consistently helped to provide quality customer service to members of the public who contact USDA at its headquarters office. Her efforts include ensuring that she and/or other OC staffers respond to customer phone calls in a timely manner. In addition, for the past 10 years she has managed OC’s response to correspondence addressed to USDA’s secretary, on a variety of agricultural issues and inquiries, and has done so with painstaking research, an attention to detail, and excellent organizational skills.
   
6. Dave Steube, a civil engineering technician with NRCS in Burley, Idaho, who planned, designed, and coordinated the planting of 2.5 miles of pine and juniper trees, plus shrubs, to serve as a “living snow fence” along a particularly dangerous stretch of highway in southeastern Idaho. He also interacted with the affected property owners, convincing them of the value of those plantings on their property. As a result, the snow fence is not only helping to reduce wind erosion but also reducing blowing dust and snow which had caused numerous auto fatalities at that location.•