Secretary Kempthorne presents the Department's Valor Award to Bureau of Land Management firefighters Scott W. Brandt,Michael D. Hendrickson, Lester M. McDonald, Michael Sperry, Michael C. McMaster, Scott Meneely, Andrew Rishavy, Andrea Robinson, Andrew Snyder, and Steven Spellberg (awardees listed in alphabetical order).

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today presented 92 awards at the 65th Honors Convocation of the Department of the Interior.

“Today we are recognizing those who show the Department of the Interior at its best,” Secretary Kempthorne said. “They represent diverse disciplines. They hail from different parts of the country. Some performed brave, timely acts in an emergency to save lives. Others worked for years and produced outstanding achievements for the Department.”

The awards honor employees of the Department and its agencies as well as private citizens who have performed acts of heroism in emergencies or demonstrated longstanding excellence in serving Interior’s mission. The 92 awards presented included the Distinguished Service Award, the Valor Award, the Citizens Award for Bravery and the Department Safety Awards. In addition, the ceremony acknowledged 73 employees receiving the Meritorious Service Award.

“The stories behind each of our award winners today are as incredible as they are marvelous,” Kempthorne added. “In real-life rescues more dramatic than anything on TV, courageous employees rappelled down cliff faces in snowstorms or jumped into burning cars and planes to save the lives of others.

“We are also honoring everyday heroes – dedicated employees who committed decades of their lives to tasks as diverse as recovering an endangered species, developing global remote-sensing programs, or maintaining accurate records.”

The following individuals were honored at today's convocation.

List of Award Winners

Distinguished Service Award (20)

U.S. Geological Survey Recipients

• Francis H. Chapelle
• Susan L. Collier
• Anne F. Frondorf
• Martin B. Goldhaber
• Paul A. Hsieh
• William G. Wilber

Bureau of Land Management

• Anna F. Steele

Bureau of Reclamation

• John W. McDonald
• Kirk C. Rodgers

Fish and Wildlife Service

• Ralph Costa

Minerals Management Service

• August J Kocher III
• Robert P. LaBelle

Office of Surface Mining

• William Bass
• Barbara Chadwick
• Dennis Rice

National Park Service

• David L. Barna
• Dale B. Engquist
• C. Bruce Sheaffer
• Michael A. Soukup

Office of the Solicitor

• Paul B. Smyth

Valor Award (28)

Bureau of Land Management

• Scott W. Brandt
• Michael D. Hendrickson
• Lester M. McDonald
• Michael Sperry
• Michael C. McMaster
• Scott Meneely
• Andrew Rishavy
• Andrea Robinson
• Andrew Snyder
• Steven Spellberg

National Park Service

• Mt. McKinley Rescue:
  David T. Bywater
  Christopher P. Harder
  Reynold G. Jackson
  Steven W. Rickert
  John F. McConnell
  Neil McNab (Citizens Award for Bravery)
  Andrew Perkins (Citizens Award for Bravery)
• Yosemite:
  John Dill
  Daniel Gleason
  David A. Horne
  Gregory R. Lawler
  Edward Visnovske
  Shawn Walters
  Blue Ridge Parkway
  David G. Bauer
  Eduardo L. Cartaya
• Yosemite - El Capitan Rescue:
  Jack J. Hoeflich
  Keith L. Lober
• Yosemite – El Capitan Rescue II:
  Eric J. Gabriel

Citizens Award for Bravery (4)

• Henry Phill Michael nominated by the National Park Service
• Danny Keith Stanley nominated by the National Park Service
• Neil McNab nominated by the National Park service
• Andrew Perkins nominated by the National Park service

DOI Safety Awards (40)

The Professional Service Award

• Bureau of Land Management
  Sandy Guches

The Award of Merit

• National Park Service
  Louis Rowe
• Bureau of Reclamation
  Richard Kristof
  Ken Lally
  Pacific Northwest Region Dive Team and the Lower Colorado Region Dive Team:
  Dennis Hawkins Greg Finnegan
  Mark Albl James Burke
  Jesse Chan Greg Clune
  Jeff Foot Tim Dewey
  Dave Godaire Phil Mann
  Brian Hamilton Seth Ostrowski
  Ryan Hedrick Rick Scott
  Walt Heyder Joel Strum
  Kevin Kelly Rodney Tang
  Rob McAffee Caireen Ulepic
  Ron Oaks
  Bill Parks
  Jeff Peterson
  Jerry Sharman
  Dana Wiegel
• Minerals Management Service
  Safety Policy Rewrite Team:
  Staci Atkins
  Marriane Boucher
  Rhonda Dillon
  Roey Holliday
  Tom Keller
• U.S. Geological Survey
  Large Vessel Safety Working Group:
  David Nichols
  Timothy Cherry
  Philip Bernard
  Gary Hill
  Ron Kuzniar
  Wayne E. Martin