Special Guests Acting Governor Richard J. Codey and Miss New Jersey participated in the annual New Jersey State Public Service Recognition Ceremony acknowledging the contributions of nearly 1,200 public employees

TRENTON, NJ—The Department of Personnel Commissioner Rolando Torres, Jr. hosted the State’s largest annual awards ceremony May 7, 2007, at the War Memorial in Trenton with more than 350 public servants honored for their outstanding work. Overall, more than 1,200 government employees were recognized by supervisors and co-workers for their respective work in State government.

With hundreds of government employees, visitors and public officials—including cabinet members and legislators—in attendance, this year’s ceremony was marked by the participation of special guests Acting Governor Richard J. Codey and Miss New Jersey America Georgine DiMaria. Governor Codey attended the ceremony on behalf of the Governor, and co-presented both the Office of the Governor award for Longevity, and the Heroism awards. Kent Manahan, the nightly news anchor for the New Jersey Network (NJN), was the Mistress of Ceremony.

“A strong public work force is essential to effectively serving New Jersey residents,” said Commissioner Rolando Torres. “Public service is not the most glamorous career, however, the work our public servants do on a daily basis has an indirect impact on the lives of all New Jerseyans, which in itself is important work.”

In its twelfth year, the annual ceremony was held in conjunction with National Public Service Recognition Week (May 7 to May 13). The ceremony honored public servants in the categories of Heroism; Community Service; Longevity; Exceptional Service; Professional Achievement; Teamwork/Partnership Achievement; Co-Worker Recognition and Customer Service Excellence

For further information about the Public Service Recognition Program, please visit the Department of Personnel’s website at www.state.nj.us/personnel/programs/recognition.htm.

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The mission of the New Jersey Department of Personnel is to attract, develop and retain a high quality workforce for State, county and municipal governments and to partner with management and labor to develop a fair, efficient human resource delivery system rewarding quality, merit, and productivity.