Home > Newsstand > Series Section > Sammies Tracker
SAMMIES Tracker

SAMMIES nomination deadline extended
This is nomination season for the SAMMIE awards, and good news!

The deadline has just been extended.

The Service to America Medals will be awarded this fall, but you only have a few weeks left to get your nomination in.

We learn how to nominate someone and get some insider tips from Tim McManus, Vice President of Education and Outreach at the Partnership for Public Service.

Check out Federal News Radio's SAMMIES Tracker!
 Download mp3
> Daily Debrief
New Year starts early for SAMMIES
The nomination process for Service to America Medals is now open! If you know a federal employee who deserves to be recognized for the extraordinary work he or she is doing to change the world, listen up. John Palguta is the Vice President for Policy at the Partnership for Public Service, which runs the awards. He tells us about the nomination process.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: winning hearts and minds in Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the most volatile countries in the world, full of extremist groups like the Taliban. But Amy Meyer is hoping to change that. Meyer leads the U.S. Agency for International Development Economic Growth Office in Pakistan. And she's a finalist for a Service to America Medal. She joins us to discuss her work as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: and the winners are...
It's time to get your evening gowns and tuxes ready. Tomorrow night is the Service to America Medal awards. FederalNewsRadio has been highlighting the nominees for the past four months. Here with a preview of that event is John Palugta. Palguata is the Vice President for Policy at the Partnership for Public Service.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
Naval research lab helps track terrorists
Terrorists can come from anywhere. New technology being developed at the Naval Research Laboratory will allow the U.S. to track people and cargo coming into the country by sea.

Chris Dwyer is the Superintendent for Space Systems Development at the Naval Research Lab. Mr. Dwyer's work has garnered him a nomination for a Service to America Medal.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: Benjamin Fisherow
His work as a litigator at the Department of Justice has helped slash air pollutants by two-million tons each year. Benjamin Fisherow is the Deputy Section Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section at the Department of Justice. He has been nominated as a Service to America Medal finalist and joins us to discuss his work as part of Federal News Radio's "Sammies Tracker" series.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: finalists announced
Thirty high-achieving federal workers made it onto the finalists list for this year's Service to America Medals. The awards honor outstanding federal workers who are making high-impact contributions across the world. John Palguta is the vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service which gives out the awards, and has this update as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series. (Also mentioned during the interview: govloop.com.)
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: finalist on making a difference
The Service to America medals are given out each year to federal employees whose work has made a difference across country. Each Wednesdsay leading up to the awards ceremony in September, the Federal Drive will interview one of the finalists as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series. Karen Turner is the director of the Office of Development Partners at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She and her team were nominated for leading USAID's first-ever "crowdsourcing" initiative to pool ideas from the public to develop solutions to international challenges like famine. They're finalists for the National Security and International Affairs Medal.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: HUD employee finalist for award
Homelessness affects is no easy effort. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking a new approach to the problem and they're following a 10 year plan to accomplish it.

Michael German is the national team leader for HUD's Interagency Council on Homelessness and says the remedy is long term housing rather than shelters.

German works with more than 850 state and local leaders, to achieve a 30 percent reduction rate.

No wonder he is one of the finalist for the Service to America Medals, or SAMMIES. We spoke with him earlier as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series to learn more about what he does.
 Download mp3
> Daily Debrief
SAMMIES Tracker: nominee working to end tax fraud
The IRS continues to work to stamp out the use of offshore accounts to commit tax fraud.

The problem has been around for years, but one man's efforts -- along with his team -- have helped get a better handle on where these accounts are, and how much money is out there.

John McDougal is a special trial attorney for the IRS, and is a SAMMIES finalist in the "Justice and Law Enforcement" category.

We spoke with him as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series.

(Hear our interview from last week.)
 Download mp3
> Daily Debrief
SAMMIES Tracker: Creators of Intellipedia are finalist for Sammies
Knowledge sharing across the intelligence community has been a work in progress.

But Don Burke and Sean Dennehy helped to move that along with their development of Intellipedia, a wikipedia-like tool for intelligence sharing.

Their work has now been nominated for a Service to America Medal by the Partnership for Public Service.

They joined us to discuss their work as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series.

 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: Environment
People know NASA for its space exploration and shuttles but did you know work being done at the agency is helping to prevent famine and predict climate change? Dr. Compton Tucker is a Senior Earth Scientist for the Earth Sciences Division of NASA. His work in these areas was nominated for a Service to America Medal in the Environment category. He joins us now as part of FederalNewsRadio's "Sammies Tracker" series.
 Download mp3
> Federal Drive
SAMMIES Tracker: preventing back pain in health care professionals
We continue our Sammies Tracker series this week, speaking with Dr. Audrey Nelson, Director of the Patient Safety Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.

Dr. Nelson tells us more about her work, which resulted in a $200 million program that uses mechanical lifts and other devices to protect nurses and doctors from back injuries.

(Learn more about other finalists on our SAMMIES Tracker page.)
 Download mp3
> Daily Debrief
SAMMIES Tracker: Dr. Leslie Holland-Bartels
Dr. Leslie Holland-Bartels is regional executive for the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska.

She and her team were challenged to lay out future scenarios for polar bears under changing climate conditions.

Dr. Holland-Bartels is a finalist for a Service to America Medal and talks more about her work.

(Learn more about other finalists on our SAMMIES Tracker page.)
 Download mp3
> Daily Debrief
SAMMIES Tracker: Dr. Regan Murray
Dr. Regan Murray is a mathematical statistician with the Environmental Protection Agency.

She and her team improved the safety of the nation's water supplies by designing a sophisticated software suite which identifies risks and solutions to possible terrorist attacks.

She is also a Sammies finalist.

We talked with Dr. Murray about her work and about how it feels to be a finalist.

(Learn more about other finalists on our SAMMIES Tracker page.)
 Download mp3
> Daily Debrief
1 2 next page >>

Home | About Us | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Copyright Infringement | EEO Public File Report | Bonneville International
AP material Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.