Nominate Your Favorite Fed

Know an outstanding federal employee who deserves to be recognized for his or her achievements? The Partnership for Public Service announced on Wednesday that nominations are now open for the 2012 Service to America Medals program.

Medal categories include homeland security; career achievement; call to service; citizen services; national security and international affairs; justice and law enforcement; and environment, science and technology. All career civilian federal employees are eligible, and anyone may submit a nomination.

"The men and women who do our nation's work are too often overlooked and underappreciated, that's why the Sammies are so important," said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. "By honoring these outstanding public servants, we give America's unsung heroes the long overdue thanks and recognition they deserve."

Last year's medal winners range from a Justice Department employee who created and launched an innovative missing-and-unidentified-persons database that allows law enforcement and others to share information, to a NASA medical officer who provided survival, psychological and engineering expertise to help 33 Chilean miners trapped 2,300 feet underground for 69 days.

Winners will be selected based on three main criteria: impact of their work on meeting the needs of the nation, on-the-job innovation, and commitment to public service. The awards are accompanied by cash prizes, from $3,000 to $10,000.

Thirty finalists will be honored in the spring during Public Service Recognition Week at a Capitol Hill awards ceremony, and the winners will be honored in the fall at a gala in Washington.

To learn more about the Sammies, or to nominate your favorite federal employee, click here.