For Immediate Release
April 27, 2017
Contact:
Karen Garrett
Chief of Communications & Marketing
(202) 585-4313

ASPA Celebrates Public Service Recognition Week

Washington, D.C. - Nationally, Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) touches millions of people and this year the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and its members are playing a significant role.

For more than 30 years, PSRW has served as a dedicated opportunity to celebrate public servants across the country and throughout the public sector. Federal, state and local employees, city managers, fire/EMS professionals, nonprofit experts and more are all honored during this time for the ways in which they support and care for members of the public.

"PSRW is more than just a PR tactic to praise public servants," observes ASPA communications chief Karen Garrett. "This is a concentrated effort for all of us across the country to demonstrably appreciate the public servants in our lives. It is our annual opportunity to remind citizens in our towns, villages and small cities—those who interact with public servants the most—that these individuals perform ‘bold and noble service’ and should be celebrated for it."

This year, more than 15 ASPA Chapters will host events that will celebrate PSRW through awards events, lectures and conferences, touching more than 1,000 people. In conjunction, more than 50 public servants from across the country will receive awards and recognition for their service, further showcasing the impact PSRW has for public servants.

ASPA is also encouraging its members to get involved, including issuing proclamations from town officials, writing op-eds and organizing letter-writing campaigns for local public servants. Public Employees Roundtable, the group that organizes PSRW, has an online toolkit to assist in these efforts.

“We know only a handful of our members will engage in these extra activities, but for any that are interested in doing so, we want to provide as much support as we can,” observed Garrett. “ASPA is about advancing excellence in public service and I cannot think of a better way for us to do so than through PSRW.”

Look for more information about this year’s celebration on ASPA’s website and look to the summer edition of ASPA’s PA TIMES magazine for a complete summary of this year’s events.

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ASPA is the leading interdisciplinary public service organization that advances the art, science, teaching and practice of public and nonprofit administration. Learn more at www.aspanet.org