A Tribute to Senior Executives

I once again had the honor of attending the Senior Executives Association Professional Development League Presidential Rank Awards banquet last night. The dinner, held at the State Department's Diplomatic Reception Rooms, always is an extraordinarily classy event that befits the distinguished federal executives it honors.

I got to sit at one of the NASA tables, and I can only say that being with a group of actual rocket scientists is a truly humbling experience. If you're not inspired by the work they and all the other executives who were honored do every day, then I really feel sorry for you.

Here's the full list of the 2009 distinguished executives who were honored, along with brief descriptions of their accomplishments.

Here's a really bad camera phone photo of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking to the assembled executives and guests, who included Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry:

The State Department has posted video of Clinton's speech.

And here's a photo from the terrace outside the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, showing a wonderful Washington evening: