Air Force bases honored at public service awards ceremony
Air Force employees were honored on Thursday for outstanding public service at the 19th annual "Breakfast of Champions" award ceremony held at Union Station in Washington.
A panel of 15 judges recognized the Davis-Monthan Air Force base in Tucson, Ariz., for community service, and the Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., for developing a satellite navigation system that is "an instrumental part of the average citizen's day-to-day life." Five state and local projects also received awards at the ceremony.
The Public Employees Roundtable, a nonprofit group committed to promoting public service, sponsored the awards, and the GEICO insurance company hosted the breakfast. Judges selected the seven winning projects from a pool of 130 nominations.
In a keynote address at the breakfast, Ruth Davis, director general and director of human resources at the State Department, praised the award recipients and other civil servants for completing much of their work "out of the limelight," often without much recognition.
"Public service is not just a slogan for me and my colleagues," Davis said. "It's a way of life."
Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who also spoke at the ceremony, noted that Americans tend to take public servants for granted and fail to appreciate the work necessary to run an efficient, noncorrupt government. He thanked the award recipients for developing programs that keep citizens safe and help them realize their full potential.
Active duty and civilian volunteers at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base won the community service award for setting up the "Airman's Attic," where low-income community and service members can find free clothing and household items. The Attic also donates clothing and other services to a local shelter for victims of domestic violence, and donates uniforms to elementary schools.
Members of the Second Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base received an award in the federal category, for creating the Global Positioning System, used by the U.S. military and civilians around the world. The positioning system has a range of uses, from guiding precision bombs to helping emergency response teams find and reach accident scenes quickly.
Other awards went to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Health, the Missouri Department of Social Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.
The breakfast was part of this year's Public Service Recognition Week, which runs from May 5 to 11 and features agency exhibits on the National Mall in Washington.