| WASHINGTON, June 25, 2004 —
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today recognized U.S. Department of
Agriculture employees for stellar achievements and contributions toward
fulfilling USDA’s mission. The awards were distributed at the 58th
annual USDA Honor Awards Ceremony.
“It is through the tireless commitment of USDA
employees that we make a difference in people’s lives on a daily
basis,” said Veneman. “The award winners honored today are
exemplary in their fields. We applaud their efforts and innovative work.”
The Honor Awards are the most prestigious awards given
by USDA. There are 102 award winners this year. The honorees represent
outstanding service in many fields, such as stewardship of natural resources,
rural economic development, scientific research, food safety, environmental
innovations, emergency response to disasters, farm and food program delivery,
educational outreach, trade and export development and disease control.
USDA also honored employees who had performed individual acts of heroism
and courage.
The highest USDA Honor Award is the Plow Award.
This award was presented to the following individuals:
- Larry G. Heatherly, Agricultural Research Service, Stoneville, Mississippi--
For leading research in soybean irrigation technology, the stale seedbed
planting system and the early soybean production system for the mid-southern
region of the United States that resulted in increased yields and profits.
- Pohnpei Field Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pohnpei,
Micronesia--For developing a program to convert seawater to fresh water
using solar distillation, which provided severe drought relief to
residents and agricultural operations on remote islands.
- Food Safety Incident Response Group, Food Safety and Inspection Service,
Washington, DC and Chicago, Illinois--For utilizing ground-breaking
scientific criteria, innovative enforcement strategies and interagency
cooperation to protect and secure the nation's food supply to prevent
the distribution of approximately 27 million pounds of potentially unsafe
food products.
- Eliot M. Herman, Agricultural Research Service, St. Louis, Missouri--For
developing a hypoallergenic soybean that yields a higher percentage
of soybeans versus other protein in animal rations and human foods
.
- Protozoan Parasite Epidemiology Team, Agricultural
Research Service, Beltsville, Maryland--For conducting intensive surveillance
research for protozoan parasites by incorporating novel molecular epidemiological
approaches that have greatly enhanced our understanding of risks to
the environment, food and water supply.
- John J. Cooper, Rural Development, Raleigh, North Carolina--For
improving the socioeconomic conditions in rural North Carolina by strengthening
the effective and efficient delivery of Rural Development programs,
which resulted in greater diversity in management, elimination of equal
employment opportunity complaints and improved employee morale.
- Space Shuttle – 107 Columbia Recovery Mission Group, Forest
Service, Zavalla, Texas--For exceptional public service and contributions
in support of the search and recovery efforts during the Space Shuttle
– 107 Columbia Recovery Mission.
USDA also recognized its Presidential Rank recipients,
USDA recipients of major awards sponsored by external organizations, one
employee with 68 years of service, 524 employees across the country each
of whom have 40 years of service and 18 employees with 50 years of service
each. All Honor Award and Presidential Rank Award recipients are listed
on the USDA website http://www.usda.gov/da/04HonorAwards58th.pdf. (PDF File)
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