The Partnership for Public Service honored the nine winners of this year’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals at a Washington, D.C. gala Thursday evening.

This video features James Cash of the National Transportation Safety Board, the government’s top expert on cockpit voice recorders who received the Career Achievement Medal for helping to determine the system failures and human errors that cause airplane crashes.

The medals, popularly known as “Sammies,” are awarded to public servants who are making high-impact contributions to the health, safety and well-being of Americans.

Read about and view videos of the other winners below: