It goes without saying that these are challenging times for public servants at all levels of government. They are addressing America's most pressing challenges and are increasingly being asked to do so with less. And, like the rest of the Nation, many of them are making personal sacrifices in terms of pay and resources.

We hope you’ll use the occasion of Public Service Recognition Week (May 1-7) to acknowledge the value of our Federal workers and the services they provide the American people, but also to communicate that value to the broader public.

Since 1985, the President and Congress  have designated the first week of May to honor the men and women who serve our country as Federal, state, county and local government employees and who ensure that our Government is the best in the world.

There are many things you can do to participate, many of them requiring very little of your time.  Some suggestions include:

• Encourage your employees to talk about their work with local schools or civic groups throughout the week;
• Consider convening your SES or other executive leadership, if you haven’t done so in a while;
• Use video to get the message out . OPM is launching “Federal Workers Unscripted” www.youtube.com/fedsunscripted;
• Consider an all agency event to share information about different work units of your organization;
• Open your agency for job shadowing or career fair events;
• Hold your agency award ceremonies during the week;
• Greet your employees at the door and thank them for their service;
• Send all-staff messages of appreciation.

We encourage you to designate a point of contact within your agency to organize celebrations during PSRW. If you would like additional information about PSRW and how your agency can get involved, please contact Maggie Starr, Partnership for Public Service at (202) 775-9111 or psrw@ourpublicservice.org.

Very best wishes.