February 25, 2003

MEMORANDUM FOR BUREAU PERSONNEL OFFICERS
                   EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE
                   OFFICES, BOARDS, AND DIVISIONS

FROM:        Debra M. Tomchek
                     Director, Human Resources
                     Justice Management Division

SUBJECT:   Coordination of 51^st Annual Attorney General's Awards Ceremony

The Attorney General’s 51^st Annual Awards Ceremony is being planned for summer of this year. We anticipate that the call for nominations will be extended in early March. As in past years, the Justice Management Division’s Personnel Staff will be responsible for staging the ceremony. However, to accomplish the many tasks associated with this event, we need your involvement, cooperation, and assistance in the following areas.

Designation of Awards Point of Contact

Please appoint a contact person who will be responsible for coordinating your component’s participation in the ceremony. Your point of contact should be someone at the organizational leadership level capable of accomplishing the tasks outlined below with minimal delay. (A Deputy Bureau Personnel Officer or a component Deputy Executive Officer would be an appropriate point of contact.) Please provide the name, title, office address, e-mail address, and telephone and facsimile machine numbers of your designated coordinator to Vince Micone; Chief of Events Management and Community Service; National Place Building, Suite 1110; no later than March 7, 2003. If you have questions, Mr. Micone may be reached on (202) 305-1756, via facsimile on (202) 514-6669, or by e-mail at vince.n.micone@usdoj.gov.

Notification of Award Winners

Upon the Attorney General’s approval of this year’s award recipients, we will request that your point of contact notify your award winners immediately, and secure a recent photograph of the individual award winner to be included in the awards ceremony program. My staff will provide special instructions and specifications concerning the photographs.

Distribution of Invitations

Your point of contact will also handle the distribution of invitations to the ceremony and reception, not only for award recipients and their guests, but also for top management officials and other employees. We will have reserved seating only for the award recipients. For others in attendance, there will be seating within reserved sections. These categories are: guests of recipients, top management officials, and general employee seating.

As with previous Attorney General’s Awards Ceremonies, component level awards will not be presented during the ceremony. However, we encourage you to invite these honorees and other highly regarded employees so that they may fully appreciate the Attorney General’s acknowledgment of their support for the Department of Justice.

Distribution of Ceremony Photographs and Videotapes

Photographs of all award recipients receiving their award from the Attorney General will be taken at the ceremony, and the ceremony will be recorded on videotape. As soon as possible after the awards ceremony, my staff will forward copies of the videotape and photographs your point of contact for distribution to award recipients. Additional copies of the videotape and photographs are the sole responsibility of the award recipients; we are unable to provide additional copies or access to the negatives.

Invitation for Heads of Components

Prior to the ceremony, the Assistant Attorney General for Administration will notify the head of your component and request, on behalf of the Attorney General, that she or he and other top aides of your organization attend this important event. Your component head may also be invited to participate in the presentation of awards or announcement of award recipients at the ceremony and will, of course, be informed of this role in advance. Should your component head not be able to attend, a designee would need to be selected to attend on his or her behalf. In preparation for this event, I request that you contact your component head’s scheduling assistant and have the ceremony’s date, time, and location placed in the official’s calendar as soon as that information is confirmed and provided.

Meeting for Points of Contact

Vince Micone and members of the Events Management and Community Service Group will meet with all designated points of contact on Thursday, March 13, 2003, at 2 pm, in the Personnel Staff Conference Room, Suite 1110, National Place Building, to review responsibilities and answer any questions. Please share the date, time, and location of this meeting with your coordinator.

We look forward to this annual ceremony designed to honor the superior performance of Department employees. Questions concerning your component’s participation in the awards ceremony should be referred to Mr. Micone. For additional information, you may also consult the Department’s awards at website.

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