Who will win? Meet the top 6 finalists for our 2024 People’s Choice Award
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Who will win? Meet the top 6 finalists for our 2024 People’s Choice Award

Date
June 25, 2024
Authors
Kaitlin Wheeler

We recently revealed the top six finalists still in the running for our 2024 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® People’s Choice Award, which gives special recognition to one of this year’s Sammies finalists based on public voting.  

Read about the top six finalists below and vote for your favorites to win this year’s award. You can cast your vote once every 24 hours until July 12 and vote for as many honorees as you like. 

Darnita S. Trower, Wanda J. Brown, Gerald D. Johnson and the Paperless Processing Initiative Team

Darnita S. Trower, Wanda J. Brown and Gerald D. Johnson spearheaded the Paperless Processing Initiative at the IRS to allow taxpayers to digitally submit all correspondence and non-tax forms for the 2024 filing season, laying the groundwork for future advancements in digital tax services.

Christopher Johnston, Rachel Han, Ryan Thurlwell and the VA Mobile App Team

Christopher Johnston, Rachel Han and Ryan Thurwell of the Department of Veterans Affairs created a new mobile app that is transforming how veterans access and manage doctor’s appointments, medical claims and records, and more.

Nancy Alcantara, Shannon Rebolledo, Justin Uphold and the Packers Sanitation Investigation Leads Team

At the Department of Labor, Nancy Alcantara, Shannon Rebolledo and Justin Uphold uncovered extensive child labor violations involving more than 100 minors at 13 meat slaughterhouses across eight states, leading to a landmark $1.5 million civil penalty against Packers Sanitation Services.

Yan Ping (Judy) Chen and Jay D. Evans

Yan Ping (Judy) Chen and Jay Evans from the Agricultural Research Service revolutionized bee disease diagnosis and treatment using advanced technologies, developing innovative medicines to combat pathogens, enhance bee health and prevent colony collapse. 

Neil Cheatwood and Stephen Hughes

At NASA, Neil Cheatwood and Stephen Hughes developed an inflatable heat shield for planetary entry, descent and landing that will enable spacecraft to deliver payloads to distant planets, including during a future human mission to Mars.

Trevor McAleenan and Michael Lane

At the IRS, Trevor McAleenan and Michael Lane led a groundbreaking investigation that resulted in the seizure of $3.3 billion worth of bitcoin, one of the largest financial seizures in the history of the U.S. government.

Let us know which finalist you think should receive the People’s Choice Award by voting here until July 12. You can help spread the word and encourage others to vote by using our #Sammies2024 hashtag.


This blog post was authored by Kaitlin Wheeler, a Communications intern at the Partnership for Public Service.

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