Public Service Recognition Week

While the fact that it is Public Service Recognition Week http://publicservicerecognitionweek.org/ provides a convenient entry point for my initial EPP 2012 Blog post, the larger truth is that I am reminded every week (every day, depending on how up to speed I am with reviewing assignments!) of the fantastic work and contributions undertaken by Federal employees.

As EPP program manager the last four years I have been floored by the vast and varied amount of interesting and essential jobs in which participants are engaged. Every year I learn about five or six new ones and think to myself, "Wow, I didn't know somebody in the government did that, that's really cool."

Yes, I said "cool." President Obama himself used the term last year, when he talked about making government employment cool again. And anyone who disputes that government work can be cool, hasn't met the EPP participants at the FAA Test Center in Atlantic City and seen them run tests on airplanes, engines and runways, or the USDA employees running research labs or the USCIS employees who helped process Haitian refugees after the earthquake or the myriad of other exciting and rewarding jobs held by current and former EPP participants.

Beyond being recognized for "what" they do, federal employees also deserve to be recognized for "how" they do what they do. In my book, federal employees possess an undervalued and under appreciated ability to take the long view and keep focusing on a goal or initiative until it is achieved- whether putting a man-on-moon or sequencing the human genome. The fruits of these efforts are not measured in quarterly reports, but in long-term societal impacts.

I was reminded of the importance of this type of perseverance while watching the "Today" show Tuesday morning. Host Matt Lauer was discussing the killing of Osama Bin Laden. While rightly praising the amazing efforts of the Navy Seals, Lauer said something to the effect of, "Let's not forget all of the other people involved in this effort- those that spent years at their computers, crunching and analyzing the data that ultimately uncovered Bin Laden's whereabouts."

Lauer's comments provide a fitting and appropriate recognition of those and other public servants during Public Service Recognition Week.