Federal Executive Boards across the nation plan to honor employees during Public Service Recognition Week.

The boards, made up of senior federal career executives in cities that have a large federal presence, promote public service, engage in local civic activities, raise money for charity, and offer leadership and other training.

Following is a sampling of recent accomplishments reported by FEB directors.

Baltimore

The Baltimore FEB's 43rd Annual Excellence in Federal Career Awards Luncheon and Ceremony is May 7. This program recognizes federal agency employees working in Maryland for excellence in job performance during the previous year.

More than 1,150 federal officials, employees and military service members, family members and friends are expected to attend.

Gold, silver and bronze awards will be awarded to 298 employees and military members in 19 job excellence categories.

— Richard Howell

Boston

The Greater Boston FEB's Campaign to Promote Public Service is in its 11th year of educating our community about federal career opportunities. The program has grown to include visits to high schools, colleges, veterans and disability service organizations.

In August, the FEB facilitated the Partnership for Public Service's Federal Career Advisors Training. More than 100 educators, career counselors and staff representing approximately 40 colleges and universities participated to learn about and to obtain materials useful in promoting federal careers. The FEB found Boston-area federal agency leaders to serve as speakers and fostered networking. Following the training, the FEB has filled requests for additional forums across New England where we have helped guide hundreds of job seekers.

In March, the FEB sponsored a free "Connections Fair," primarily for service organizations that work with veterans and persons with disabilities. The event was not a job fair but a networking and educational opportunity to help job placement and employment specialists and vocational rehabilitation counselors from across New England connect with local federal human resources personnel and hiring managers. The goal was to promote federal jobs and facilitate Schedule A disability and veterans hiring.

While each presentation is customized, the FEB has created a presentation template for use by all area agencies. The presentation and supporting materials provide not only job search resources and strategies but also overall demographic data about the federal government as an employer, both locally and nationally.

— Kim Ainsworth

Detroit

In February, FEB executive directors met with military public information officers whose primary function is to be a liaison between the military and Hollywood's motion picture and television industry. These PIOs say their role is to "project and protect" the image of the military.

While life in Detroit is not as glamorous as in Hollywood, federal employees do great things here. We attend events at local colleges and universities to promote the variety of jobs available today in the federal government. We protect our borders and food supplies, test pharmaceuticals for the military, care for veterans, and deliver needed benefits. Many volunteer within the community via reading, mentoring or sports programs.

Federal agencies employ approximately 33,000 employees in Southeast Michigan, making them the third largest employer.

Some of Michigan's residents have not had the opportunity to interact with local federal agencies, so the media is a crucial part of making that connection. Our PIOs feel the same as the military PIOs about "projecting and protecting" the image of their agencies. The FEB brought together PIOs from member agencies to share resources and provide support to newer PIOs. We have since shared training opportunities and connected agencies with similar missions. At our most recent meeting, a panel of television, radio, print and blog professionals attended. They were interested in how to communicate with us and relay the stories of how we contribute to the safety and well-being of the community. Preferred methods of communication, protocol and federal regulations were all discussed.

The relationship we nurture with the media is essential. Not as exciting as the movie "Transformers," yet we work daily toward transforming relationships.

— Michelle Rhodes

Honolulu-Pacific

The Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board facilitated understanding of the Non-foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act, passed as a provision of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, to extend locality pay to federal employees in Hawaii, Alaska and U.S. territories and possessions.

We kept agencies and their employees informed via various communications including our website, e-mails, more than 40 agency site presentations, webcasts, Facebook, YouTube and public television. We even issued CDs of videotaped presentations from the Office of Personnel Management and from staff members of Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.

We continue to serve as the hub of information to the workforce. We recently facilitated a teleconference call with individuals representing their agencies as FEB members, human resources directors and specialists, and comptrollers. Unions and government associations participated as well. We have received kudos from the field for keeping employees updated on an important pay issue that affects current and future retirement annuities.

— Gloria Uyehara

Kansas City

The Greater Kansas City FEB works hard to improve the public's understanding of the federal government, the largest employer in the metropolitan area.

The March 17 FEB board meeting featured Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Mark Funkhouser, who expressed his interest in forming a strong partnership with the federal government.

The FEB is a member of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and several FEB members serve on various committees. The FEB sponsors a Federal Information Council comprised of agency public affairs specialists who meet monthly and have speakers from the local media to advise on how to better their interactions.

The 17th Annual Public Employees Recognition Day Awards Ceremony is May 5 to celebrate federal, Kansas City, Mo., and Jackson County, Mo., employees.

The federal sector for the first time surpassed $4 million in its 2009 Combined Federal Campaign. This is an 8 percent increase over last year.

The 15th Annual Day of Caring was June 6, when nearly 3,000 employees from federal agencies and community organizations volunteered to assist local nonprofit organizations with 183 projects. The value of the service provided on this day is estimated at over $232,551.

— Cindy Hillman

Los Angeles

The Greater Los Angeles FEB is in its 13th year of offering the FEB Leadership Associates Program. This developmental opportunity is designed to build a cadre of professionals with broad skills for future leadership positions and help agencies with their succession plans. Our Leadership Associates are GS-9 through -12 (or equivalent) employees from various agencies. This program is a valued retention tool and provides structured courses as well as experiential opportunities.

Agencies are limited in the number of employees they can send to ensure that the class maintains an intergovernmental approach to leadership development. Participants continue in their current positions and devote approximately 10 percent of their time to the one-year program. The only cost to agencies is local travel expenses.

The program now has 293 alumni. Many cite this program as contributing to their success in their federal careers, and most have stayed with the federal government.

As one recent Transportation Security Administration graduate summarized: "My experience with the FEB Leadership Program is so positive; I can't wait to share what I have learned with my supervisor. It is exciting to be able to be with other highly motivated individuals who share the same common goal ‘learning great leadership skills' and who desire to apply it to our current positions to move quickly up the management ladder. This program has brought a lot of knowledge and experienced teachers to me that reflect what type of leader I want to be and gives you the skills to use them in real life situations. The FEB is a fantastic organization that I will cherish through my entire career as a federal employee."

— Kathrene Hansen

Minnesota

The Government on Display Exposition at Mall of America, the nation's largest mall, is an annual January event in its 11th year. Representatives from several dozen federal agencies come face to face with more than 250,000 members of the public.

Our successful Small and Disadvantaged Business Opportunity Council enhances contracting opportunities for small businesses owned by women, minorities, Native Americans and veterans. The committee has for more than a decade hosted a governmentwide fair that features education seminars, a trade fair, and one-on-one matchmaking, linking contractors with buyers. The one-day event drew more than 1,000 businesses.

This year the Minnesota FEB is using social media including Facebook, Twitter and our interactive website to improve the public's understanding of the state's federal agencies and the FEB.

Our FEB councils and committees consistently shares best practices among all agencies. The most recent example was the FEB's response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic. We offered a tabletop exercise within five days of the virus' outbreak in Mexico to a packed auditorium. Our talented intern staff developed weekly informative newsletters sent to all agencies throughout the summer, fall, and early winter reporting on the latest trends on H1N1 and its impact on Minnesota's federal workforce.

The FEB provided reports from state and Federal Emergency Management Agency sources to all Minnesota and North Dakota agencies on the flooding of the Red River Basin area during the record floods of 2009 and 2010.

Our multifaceted intern program affords our FEB an additional 2.3 work years of capabilities and has seen many of these students become permanent federal workers.

— Ray Morris

New Mexico

The New Mexico FEB's annual Public Employees Recognition Day Awards Ceremony is May 12. This year's theme is "United We Serve."

At the 3nd annual Federal Career Expo, breakout sessions offered instruction on searching USAJobs.gov and how to write a federal resume. More than 20 federal agencies providing information on careers within their agencies. The FEB also sponsored a class at the University of New Mexico on federal career opportunities.

Other accomplishments :

• $1.7 million in contributions from federal employees to the Combined Federal Campaign.

• Shared Neutrals Program, a partnership of federal, state and local government that provides no cost mediation services. Seventy-one cases were mediated with an estimated $1.5 million in cost avoidance.

• Emergency Preparedness Committee, a partnership of federal, state, local and tribal government emergency management personnel that meets to discuss continuity-of-operations issues. Three training sessions and a tabletop exercise were offered.

• Human capital management. More than 1,200 employees attended training, with an estimated cost avoidance of $315,000.

— John Kwait

New York City

Our best practices to improve the working of the federal government:

• The FEB has established multiple committees that work with the local and federal community.

• The Metro New York Continuity of Operations (COOP) group brings together emergency planners and liaisons with the city, state and other municipalities.

• The Disability Awareness and Equal Employment Opportunity committees work to foster understanding and diversity in the federal workplace.

• The Shared Neutrals program conducts training and mediates more than 50 cases annually.

• Begun in the 1980s, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance program brings Holocaust survivors to speak of their experiences.

• In 2009, the FEB offered more than 38 free or low-cost training courses in subjects from leadership development to pre-retirement planning.

• To promote work-life balance issues, the FEB is active on the Board of the Child Care Center.

• During our 27-year partnership with the City College of New York Center for Worker Education, 379 federal employees have received bachelor's degrees in public administration.

— Cynthia Gable

Oklahoma

This year's best practice has been our partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Health to provide H1N1 vaccinations to all interested federal employees and contract employees and their family members. Through the Push Partner program, the state provided vaccinations, the FEB coordinated medical staff support, and federal agencies provided clinic locations.

The Oklahoma FEB coordinated projects and initiatives with an economic impact of $10.2 million and a cost avoidance of $1.8 million.

For an annual calendar, Agencies contributed photos that illustrate their missions and shows the diversity and impact of the federal community in Oklahoma.

— LeAnn Jenkins

San Francisco

The San Francisco Bay Area FEB was involved in job fairs at local universities and colleges. Our workshops "How to Apply for a Federal Job" were standing room only. For the thousands of students and prospective employees, these fairs were their first opportunity to interact with federal agencies.

Perhaps one of our best practices is the Shared Neutrals Mediation Program. Administered for the FEB by the Social Security Administration Region IX, we were able to save the government approximately $2.3 million in mediation fees in 2009. This no- or low-cost" service is growing is use by agencies, which reflects the need for neutral mediation.

In 2009, to facilitate the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we hosted a forum that included representatives of agencies and both California senators. Agencies addressed "shovel ready" goals and initiatives.

— Dianna Louie