If There Ever Was a Time We Needed a Government Hall of Fame …
Dr. Anthony Fauci accepts his induction into the Government Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside NIH director Francis Collins. Kristoffer Tripplaar
By
Tom Shoop
It’s now. Luckily, we have one. And nominations are open for this year’s class of inductees, along with the annual Teddy Awards for leadership achievement.
In 2019, when Government Executive created the Government Hall of Fame, we inducted an inaugural class of 20 members. Many of them were famous names from the distant and not-so-distant past, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Colin Powell and the Apollo 11 astronauts.
But one of the Hall of Famers was—and is—still working in a government position, at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Anthony Fauci was then a fairly well-known infectious disease specialist, but no one at the gala dinner honoring him and the other Hall of Fame inductees was aware of just how much of a household name he would become.
Likewise, last year, in the second year of our annual Leadership Awards program (known as the Teddies, in Roosevelt’s honor), among the honorees we selected was Kizzmekia Corbett, an NIH researcher who had spent seven years focused on an obscure area of study: coronaviruses. Now she found herself working closely with a biomedical firm called Moderna on a long-shot program to quickly develop a coronavirus vaccine.
That’s what the Hall of Fame and the Teddies are all about: bringing well-deserved attention to the best of the best in government. This year, we’ll add a new group of similarly accomplished federal employees to these prestigious ranks. And that’s where we need your help. We’re seeking nominations for both the Hall of Fame, which honors history-making officials, and the Teddies, which are awarded in the following categories:
- Visionaries: For those with a proven ability to generate new ideas and new approaches to addressing critical issues.
- Directors: For those who have earned the support and enthusiasm of their teams and leveraged it to achieve demonstrable results.
- Pathfinders: For those who have brought the best information technology solutions available into the federal sphere.
- Defenders: For those who have demonstrated sustained achievement in advancing the country’s security interests.
- Partners: For significant, lasting achievements by government’s cross-sector partners.
If you know of someone who fits the bill, now is the time to help them get the recognition they deserve. Nominations are open through May 28.
More information about the Government Hall of Fame and Teddy Awards
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