Yesterday we celebrated the accomplishments of National Archives staff across the country in our annual Archivist’s Awards Ceremony.
I read from Senate Resolution 99 which commends public servants for their dedication and continued service to the United States and acknowledging that ” … public service is a noble calling.” I also read from President Obama’s Public Service Recognition Week greetings: “In communities across our country, public servants at the Federal, state, and local levels tirelessly carry out the work of our government. Diligently serving without the expectation of fanfare, they enforce our laws, teach our children, and lay a strong foundation for our Nation’s progress. Our dedicated employees are committed to a cause greater than personal ambition, and each day, they tackle many of our most urgent challenges and help us move closer to a more perfect Union.”
Photograph of desk installed in National Archives Library, 1950. National Archives Identifier 3493214
We created a little internal fanfare yesterday by recognizing staff for protecting and recovering stolen records, for outstanding service and support of our nation’s veterans, for achievement in engaging our citizens, for developing the Presidential Memorandum and Directive on Managing Government Records, for efforts to increase National Declassification Center production, to name just a few of awards tied closely to our Transformation pillars.
We also celebrated long term service milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years!
For me, every week is Public Service Recognition Week and I take great pride every day in the work that my staff does-whether retrieving a page from an IRS return, or working with an agency official to review a classified document for declassification decision, or helping a researcher track down an obscure piece of information, or working about network security, or scanning a DD214 for a veteran to receive benefits, or working with an agency records officer to schedule a transfer, or helping a member of the public to navigate the FOIA process, or ensuring that the opening of a new Presidential Library goes off without a hitch.
Each member of the National Archives staff plays a vital role in fulfilling our mission of collecting, protecting, and making access happen. Congratulations to each one of you!