Public Service Award of Excellence recipients announced

Premier Danny Williams and the Clerk of the Executive Council, Robert Thompson, today announced recipients of the 2004 Public Service Award of Excellence. Seven individuals and two groups of public service employees will be presented with the award at a formal ceremony to be held at the Fairmont Hotel in St. John's on September 20.

�Every day, thousands of public sector employees deliver services and programs to the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador, and work diligently to ensure these services are delivered in an effective manner,� said Premier Williams. �This excellence in service delivery is too often taken for granted and deserves to be showcased. The Public Service Award of Excellence recognizes and honours these women and men who have made outstanding contributions to the public service in our province. I wish to congratulate individual and team recipients of this year�s awards, and also to the many thousands of women and men who serve the people of this province everyday.�

The award recognizes individuals and teams in the public service of Newfoundland and Labrador who have demonstrated exceptional performance in tasks associated with a position or project, and have positively impacted the quality of the work environment or the quality of service delivery to clients in the areas of leadership, valuing people, and innovation.

The individual award recipients are Keith Brown of the Department of Environment and Conservation; Reg Hancock of the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development; Colleen Janes of the Department of Health and Community Services; Peter Lester of the Department of Transportation and Works; Shane Mahoney of the Department of Environment and Conservation; Marie Sharpe of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation; and Nolan Young of the Department of Transportation and Works.

The teams recognized are the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI), Department of Education, and the Inland Fisheries Enforcement Program Team, Department of Natural Resources.

�The public service comprises highly-skilled, professional, dedicated people from every region of the province and we see the positive outcomes and results of their work,� said Mr. Thompson. �We have a strong and committed workforce that is innovative, demonstrates exceptional leadership qualities, values people and delivers excellent service to people, wherever they may live. This award is our way of showing our pride in these employees.�

The premier congratulated the recipients, as well as all those nominated for this award, and encouraged employees to recognize the contribution of their colleagues by nominating them for the 2005 Public Service Award of Excellence.

Media contact:
Elizabeth Matthews, Office of the Premier, (709) 729-3960, 690-5500
Melony O�Neill, Communications, (709) 729-0557

2005 09 09                                    3:40 p.m.