Corporation for National and Community Service

Feds@Work: Americorps Team Crucial To Joplin Tornado Recovery

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This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Homeland Security medal , director of Disaster Services for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and her AmeriCorps team.

Within hours after the nation’s deadliest tornado in nearly 60 years ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and destroying some 7,000 homes and businesses, the first team of AmeriCorps members arrived on the scene to lend a helping hand. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 28, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Why We Need A Different Response To Government Workforce

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There is no doubt that the lavish spending by General Services Administration‘s Las Vegas conference planners and the dishonorable behavior by Secret Service agents in Colombia have earned the public’s contempt, but the irresponsible actions of a few don’t define the many.

These incidents made headlines because they are the exception, not the rule. We would do well as a nation not to simply berate and punish the wrongdoers, but also to recognize that our government and the vast majority of its 2.1 million employees each day are honorably serving the nation, and in many cases, accomplishing amazing feats. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 1, 2012 at 10:38 AM