Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year

Alice Chancellor and Pat Nixon, at the 1971 presentation of the Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year award

Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year was an annual award given by the United States Civil Service Commission beginning in 1969, to recognize exceptional job performance "in spite of severely limiting physical factors."[1] For the first few years, ten finalists were selected by a committee, from among the nominations from federal agencies, and one winner was named. Beginning in 1973, the ten finalists were honored without a single winner chosen.[2]

Prominent finalists for this award included chemist Odette L. Shotwell, Army engineer Alice Chancellor, and John Fales, founder and president of the Blinded American Veterans Foundation.[3] A 1986 recipient, LeRoy MItchell, explained to a reporter that "If there's any benefit to these awards after all, besides an ego trip for me, it would be that potential employers would realize that most office-type work is the kind of vocation anyone can handle with severe handicaps."[4] Others expressed concern that "the use of an individual's physical condition as a basis for reward fosters separateness and inequality."[5]

Award nominees, winners, and presenters, 1968 to 1973

This chart is complete, based on program from the 1973 awards presentation in 1974.[2]

Award year	Ceremony date	Presenter(s)	Finalists	Winner
1968	March 25, 1969	Spiro Agnew Robert E. Hampton	Katherine A. Niemeyer Thomas J. Garrick William S. Grayson James A. Krueger Lawrence P. Kuykendall Neal V. Loving Odette L. Shotwell Paul F. Spence Aubrey T. Tapley Elwood Williams III	Katherine A. Niemeyer[6]
1969	March 19, 1970	James E. Johnson Harold Russell	Robert L. Smith Jimmy D. Adams Thomas S. Austin Sr. Jay Justin Basch[7] Mrs. Francis B. Garcia Ralph Harwood Dorothy Hickey Earl A. Miller Philip P. Pepper Magdalene Phillips	Robert L. Smith
1970	March 25, 1971	Pat Nixon J. Philip Bohart	Alice Chancellor William J. Gobert Susan Gonzales Pruett B. Helm Kent H. McKnight[8] Eugene F. Murphy Richard S. Sharp Timothy A. Votaw Leon G. Wichmann Robert E. Wilkerson[9]	Alice Chancellor
1971	April 6, 1972	Tricia Nixon Cox Jayne Baker Spain	Shirley K. Price Wallace E. Brooks Donald F. Cudahy Martha F. Elam Thomas F. Linde Edward A. Lusk John B. McGinley Bernard A. Perella Patricia Porembski Jack G. Lorts	Shirley K. Price[10]
1972	April 5, 1973	Julie Nixon Eisenhower	Irvin Hershowitz Arthur R. Bietry Lillian F. Freston James J. Hazuga Sr.[11] Edmund H. Inselmann[12] Paul L. Kyle Assunta Lilley Jack O. McSpadden Arthur H. Neill Jr. Gwenyth R. Vaughn	Irvin Hershowitz
1973[2][13]	April 4, 1974	Bob Dole Jayne Baker Spain	Robert L. Bates Edwin C. Boyles William L. Brewster Frank G. Chituras Icy D. Deans Howard J. Garling Cheryl Lee Maloney Oral O. Miller John R. Stodgell Russell C. Williams	(no individual winners after 1972)

Award finalists and presenters after 1973

This chart is currently incomplete, based mostly on announcements about individual finalists.

Award year	Ceremony date	Presenter(s)	Finalists
1974	March 1975		Howard Davis[14] Billy West[15]
1975			Edward V. Pope[16]
1977[17]	October 6, 1977	Rosalynn Carter	Sharon Hovey Wilkin Robert Adams Dennis Meyers Christopher Branigan Donna Pastore
1978			Earl Brawner[18]
1979[19]	October 4, 1979	Eleanor Holmes Norton Alan K. "Scotty" Campbell	G. Robert Hill Donald R. Ames Paul E. Bricker Jr.[20] Hilliard A. Carter Carol A. Edwards John J. Lacombe II Theodore A. Nichols Emily S. Ortt A. Leigh Phillips James R. Slagle
1980		Jimmy Carter	John L. Moser[21] Douglas Gower[22] Edward Sanders[23]
1981			William Gilliland Jr.[24] Robert A. Bottenberg[25]
1982	October 1982	Caspar Weinberger	Humberto R. Yglesias[26] Eva Ball[27]
1983			Theodore Bridis
1986	October 9, 1986		LeRoy Mitchell[4] Martha Wells Usry[28]
1988			Sandra Drake[29]

References

1. "Handicapped Employee Example for Others". The Lompoc Record. 1979-03-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
2. The Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employees Award Program. U.S. Civil Service Commission. April 4, 1974.
3. Dalecki, Ken. "John Fales, 78, known as "Sgt. Shaft"". National Press Club. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
4. Adams, Elaine (1986-10-16). "Wheelchair No Handicap to Doing the Job". The Kansas City Star. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Barad, Cary B.; Gold, Irene (January 1978). "Honor or Stigma?". Civil Service Journal. 18: 30–31 – via Internet Archive.
6. "VA Handicapped Employes Being Honored This Week". The Raleigh Register. 1969-10-10. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "A Natural in the World of Science". USDA. 41. May 19, 1982 – via Internet Archive.
8. "Former Prof Wins Citation". Daily Universe. April 9, 1971. p. 8. Retrieved October 7, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
9. "Wilkerson, ITS Physicist, in Finals for 1971 Handicapped Employee Award". NOAA Week. 2: 5. March 19, 1971.
10. "Black Woman Honored as Top Handicapped Employe in Federal Government". Jet. 42–43: 14. May 11, 1972.
11. "ESO Handicapped Employee Named for Outstanding Top Federal Award". Great Lakes Bulletin. 1973-03-23. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Edmund Inselmann: Overcame handicaps, 81". Philadelphia Inquirer. December 4, 2007. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
13. Staples, Edward (April–June 1974). "Disabled, but Able". Civil Service Journal. 14: 5–8.
14. "Blind Alameda Mechanic is Top Federal Worker". Oakland Tribune. 1975-03-29. p. 11. Retrieved 2021-10-08 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "West Wins Award". Braille Book Review. 48: 6. July 1979 – via Internet Archive.
16. "Extension Employee Honored by Civil Service Commission (CSC)". Extension Service Review. 46: 23. May 1975 – via Internet Archive.
17. Whitaker, Joseph D. (October 20, 1977). "Handicapped Workers Cited for Achievements". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
18. "A Man with Something to Say". Closer Look: 1. Spring 1982 – via Internet Archive.
19. "1979 Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employees". Spotlight. 11: 1, 4. September 1979 – via Internet Archive.
20. Hazlett, Kirk (December 1979). "Bricker Wins DA Awards, Devens' Esteem". Journal of the U.S. Army Intelligence & Security Command. 2: 25 – via Internet Archive.
21. "Handicapped Army Employee Receives Civilian Service Award". Asbury Park Press. 1980-10-09. p. 90. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Douglas Gower". Hannibal Courier Post. October 7, 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
23. "Handicapped Federal Employee of the Year". The Deaf American. 33: 13–14. January 1981 – via Internet Archive.
24. Campbell, Sharon (1981-12-10). "Honoree Not Defeated by Physical Handicap". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "Outstanding Federal Handicapped Employee Named". The Hill Top Times. 1981-10-02. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
26. Ibanez, Armando P. (1982-11-11). "NAS Worker Gets National Honor". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 76. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
27. "Philadelphia Staffer Wins 1982 Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee Award". The GAO Review. 17: 10. Fall 1982 – via Internet Archive.
28. Skelton, Billy (1986-09-07). "Determination leads to success, national recognition for Jacksonian". Clarion-Ledger. p. 87. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "Logan Woman Gains National Honor As Handicapped Employee of Year". Deseret News. 1988-10-17. Retrieved 2021-10-07.