More than 50,000 individuals from all walks of life passed through the “big white tent” on the National Mall that housed more than 100 government and nonprofit exhibitors as part of Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW), May 4-10. The 2009 PSRW was co-organized by the Partnership for Public Service and the Public Employees Roundtable.

The event on the Mall, which kicked off with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization ceremony, was the highlight of PSRW’s 25th anniversary celebration. ICMA joined the ranks of predominately federal agencies to celebrate and promote local government and professional management.

“It was an excellent opportunity for ICMA to educate a wide variety of people about local government and what our members do,” said Rob Carty, who leads ICMA’s Next Generation Initiative.  “The lack of knowledge about local government still surprises me.”

“This was a terrific chance to talk with everyone from 10-year-old students to federal employees and potential funders about the role of local government and the value of professional local government,” added Abigail Lundy, manager of development for ICMA’s Fund for Professional Management. “The profession was the primary focus [of our booth], and we touched a lot of people we wouldn’t normally reach”

On the national front, local and state governments and the federal government throughout the country used PSRW as an opportunity to demonstrate the valuable role that local government plays in the quality of life in our communities. Examples include:

• Corvallis, Oregon, which conducts an annual fundraising event during PSRW to support employee recognition programs. The mayor issues a proclamation and joins the city manager in presenting service awards to employees. The recognition committee sells balloons with thank-you cards attached, and individuals purchase the balloons to give to fellow employees whom they want to thank for their support. Recognition committee members deliver the balloons during PSRW, and they are allowed to float throughout the workplace for several days. Individual departments plan and hold events on their own as well.
• The Washington State Legislature created a Productivity Board (which includes representatives from state agencies, higher education, private businesses, and organized labor) to improve public service and increase efficiency. Michael Lowry, governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997, charged the board with promoting and administering Public Service Recognition Week throughout the state. The result is a series of employee recognition and award programs and fun outdoor events coordinated to take place May 5-8 in cities such as Vancouver, Olympia, Spoken, Seattle, and the Tri Cities.
• The Federal Times reported that the more than 60,000 federal employees throughout New England were honored with ceremonies and other activities during PSRW that were coordinated by the Greater Boston Federal Executive Board (FEB). The board hosted “Good Morning and Thank You Federal Employee Days” across New England, and agency heads were on hand to greet employees at the start of their workday. The Boston FEB also used PSRW to announce the recipients of four $1,000 scholarships, conferred in memory of recently deceased employees. Similar celebrations took place in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts.

Don’t be left out of the 2010 celebration! Start thinking now about how your local government can celebrate PSRW and recognize the people who make a difference in your local government organization. Resources from the 2009 program are available at http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/psrw. Take a look and then mark your calendar to participate in Public Service Recognition Week, May 3-7, 2010.