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Gears of Government President’s Award Ceremony


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On May 22, 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) hosted the Gears of Government President’s Award Ceremony to honor the inaugural class of presidential-level award winners. Recipients of the President’s Award are comprised of both individuals and teams across the Federal workforce who have made a profound difference for Americans through public service.

The NOAA Team receiving their medallions.

As Deputy Director of Management at OMB and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, I had the pleasure of kicking off the ceremony with a reminder of the importance of federal public service. The work these public servants do celebrates the best in what we as Americans can and should be doing every day. From improving access to generic drugs to furthering space exploration, each winner’s job is challenging in hundreds of ways, yet they are making outstanding strides in the way they provide service to citizens across the country. As Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky of the United States Department of Agriculture said in his opening remarks, these President’s Award Winners went above and beyond to make government work.

What you all do celebrates the best in what we as Americans can and should be doing every day."

I was continually motivated as each winner gave inspiring summaries of their efforts and the impact their work has made for American citizens. Dr. Kathleen Uhl shared that “the importance of generic drugs to the American public cannot be… overstated,” and attributed the award to everyone in Food and Drug Administration who supports the generic drug program. The Takata Recall Team spoke about the millions of replaced airbag inflators that were recalled, despite the cumbersome nature of recalling an item that impacts millions of vehicles and people. The accomplishments of these individuals and teams are truly motivating and embody the spirit of public service.

Dr. Kathleen Uhl giving her acceptance speech.

Lastly, I was honored to have Mick Mulvaney, Acting Chief of Staff to the President of the United States, give remarks to close our first-ever Gears of Government ceremony. He told us about the role passion plays in accomplishing great things, and thanked each winner for their passionate work in creating a better government for Americans.

President’s Award winners included:

Read more about each winner on Performance.gov and catch up on #GearsofGovAwards on Twitter for more coverage of the ceremony, President’s Winners, and Agency and Council awardees.