Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) is celebrated annually during the first week of May. It was organized in 1985 by the Public Employees Roundtable (PER) and its member organizations to honor the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county and local government employees.

Please hold the evening of May 3, 2016 to attend our PSRW event and see Upcoming Events for more details.

The Public Service Stories Project highlights the nobility of public service through real-life stories captured on video. The project is the antithesis of the anti-government diatribe so prominently featured in the mass media. Twenty-three individual interviews are available to the public at www.youtube.com/user/publicservicestories.

2015 Award Winners Jim Flynn, Rita Landgraf, and Tim Danos, pose with Public Service Award Committee Chair Julia O'Hanlon (on left) and Outstanding Student Public Service Award Committee Chair Angie Kline (on right).

DAPA members, friends, and honorees gathered for the 2015 DAPA Annual Awards Dinner at the historic Buena Vista Conference Center in New Castle, Del., on December 17, 2015. The annual dinner is held to recognize individuals dedicated to public service and administration.   

The DAPA Public Service Award, which was developed almost 40 years ago, recognizes a public administrator who has made substantial contributions to professional public administration, management, and service in Delaware. 

This year’s award recipients were The Honorable Rita M. Landgraf, Secretary, Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and Dr. James P. Flynn, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, University of Delaware.

The DAPA Outstanding Student Public Service Award is presented each year to a graduate student who best exemplifies the caliber of achievement necessary for a successful public service career. Mr. Tim Danos, MPA candidate and Undergraduate Admissions Counselor at the University of Delaware, was the recipient of this year’s award.

Visit DAPA's Flickr page to view event photos at www.flickr.com/photos/97620512@N05/albums/with/72157660311015444.

View the press release from DHSS at www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/pressreleases/2015/landgrafhonored-122115.html.

Albert Shields (left) with Kathy Murphy, Martha Corrozi Narvaez, and Martin Wollaston at the 2014 DAPA Dinner.

Thanks to outgoing Council member Albert Shields for his years of service and dedication to DAPA. Professionally, Albert is the Delaware Press and Policy Advisor in the Office of Congressman John Carney. As a DAPA Council member, he made significant contributions to our public relations and social media operations. Albert initiated our social media accounts and contributed to our website, newsletter, educational programs, networking events, and annual awards dinner. He has been a vital member of our organization and we wish him continued success.

From right to left, Chris Kelly, Jonathan Kirch, and Tyler Berl at the August Third Thursday event.

We are pleased to welcome Chris Kelly to the Council. Chris is currently a staff member at the University of Delaware's Institute for Public Administration (IPA) where he works on multiple projects related to public education in the State of Delaware. Prior to returning to IPA, Chris served as the Field Director for a congressional campaign in Pennsylvania's third congressional district. He also served as a researcher for Governor Tom Wolf’s (PA) transition team, and assisted with conducting agency reviews on the Department of Labor and Industry and the state’s housing initiatives. As the Second Vice President, he looks forward to working on the newsletter, member recruitment, and programs.

Angie Kline (pictured), Ph.D. student in the Urban Affairs and Public Policy program at the University of Delaware, was recently elected as Student Representative to the ASPA Council.

Bryan Sullivan, Director of Management Efficiency for the State of Delaware, was elected to serve as Vice Chair of the Association for Budgeting & Financial Management.

If you recently received an award or promotion for which you would like to be recognized, please email Chris Kelly at cgkelly@udel.edu.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website!

Key features include:

• the online membership renewal form
• online event registration
• connections to DAPA's Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr accounts
• this new blog

Thanks to Sarah Pragg for leading this effort with the help of Frank Telleri and Jessica Stump.