SPEECH 06/08/1990
Suggested Talking Points James S. Benson FDA Honor Awards Ceremony Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Rockville, Maryland June 1, 1990 I. Opening Remarks Good afternoon and welcome. I am particularly pleased to be a part of today's Awards ceremony honoring all of the persons who help the Agency achieve our goals as guardians of the public health. First, I want to say, Congratulations to all of you receiving awards. I know that you've work hard and you deserve the accolades. For those of you receiving your first award, may this be the first of many. And for those who have been here before, keep up the good work. I have had many "firsts" during the past six months as interim Commissioner, and some of them haven't been much fun. This is my first Honors Award Ceremony as Acting Commissioner, but I can think of no other program that I have so much looked forward to as this one. II. FDA Today As we recognize the outstanding achievements of the past year, its important to remember that we are the preeminent consumer protection agency in the world. We have a highly respected reputation that came to us the "old fashioned" way -- we earned it. We earned it through the hard work, perseverance, and dedication of employees like you. And during these difficult and unusual times that is exactly how our reputation will be maintained and will grow -- through employee commitment. This awards ceremony is only one small way to publicly recognize and thank all of you for your fine work. III. FDA Employees: Our Most Important Resource We've always known that FDA's employees are its most important resource. And we are striving to do more to demonstrate your importance. Over the next several months, you will be hearing more about various new human resource activities that are being initiated. These include programs designed specifically for clerical and support personnel; an interpersonal skills series for supervisors and managers; and programs designed to enhance FDA's scientific capabilities. Let me briefly, tell you about the new interpersonal skills workshops. After many employee surveys and much research, the Office of Planning and Evaluation (OPE) has developed workshops on communications, leadership, motivation, and team building. We've done this because we've learned that executives, supervisors, and managers need to be more aware of -- and sensitive to -- the importance of interpersonal skills when directing employees in critical public health programs. They need to know how to lead, communicate, motivate, and build effective work teams, and how to let FDA employees know how valued they are. Many of you will be involved in these new ventures; they have a common goal, to make us more effective guardians of the public health. I also expect many of you who are receiving awards today to continue to be leaders in inspiring and motivating others to excellence. V. Closing: Tribute to Dr. Parkman and challenge to Honorees In conclusion, I want to share a few personal thoughts about a retiring FDA employee whose public service has made us all proud. And I want you challenge you to follow his example. Dr. Parkman As many of you know, Dr. Paul Parkman will be retiring on July 31, after 30 years in federal service. There are lots of impressive things I could say about Paul: He began his government career as a virologist in 1960, He joined FDA in 1972, Between 1972 and 1987, he held several leadership positions within the Bureau of Biology and the Center for Drugs and Biologics, and He has lead the Center for Biologics Evaluation since its creation in 1987. He's an international authority on biologics and childhood infectious diseases, He and his co-workers developed the firstsuccessful vaccine against rubella (German measles), He's been one of our principal liaisons with the scientific community and has provided significant personal leadership in the fight against AIDS, And, over the years, he has received numerous awards and citations. These are worthy accomplishments of which we are all proud. However, I believe the most important thing is that he served, and that service has made a difference. We are deeply appreciative of and indebted to him for that service. We shall miss him and we wish him and his family Godspeed. Challenge to Honorees With that role model before us, I ask you to also commit yourselves to a leadership role that will enable FDA to continue to maintain the public trust. I've spent a lot of time lately talking about expectations from FDA, and how the gap between what the public expects and what we can deliver affects our credibility. The best solution: continue to give our best every day. With people like Paul Parkman, and people like you we're honoring today, we will move ahead as a highly skilled and motivated group, united in a common purpose: to provide the best consumer protection in the world. Together, we can do it. Thank you, and again congratulations on receiving your awards. This program should conclude at approximately 3:00 P.M. and I hope all of you will stay with us until the end. Thank you.