Newly Renamed "Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Award" Honors Volcker's Public Service Legacy
“Government functions best when it is staffed by civil servants who represent our most thoughtful and accomplished citizens,” said Paul Volcker, the chairman and founder of the Volcker Alliance. “I am humbled to have this award dedicated in my name and thrilled to celebrate those who have devoted their careers to working for the public good.”
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service established the “Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Award” in honor of the chairman and founder of the Volcker Alliance, Paul Volcker. The award, supported by a generous gift from Ray and Barbara Dalio, will be presented to an honoree every fall as part of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (the “Sammies”). Finalists for this award will be ranked on demonstrated leadership, the significance and impact of their accomplishments, how well they foster innovation, and the extent to which they exemplify excellence in public service over a career of at least twenty years in the federal government.
Mr. Volcker worked for the federal government for almost thirty years as under secretary of the Treasury for monetary affairs, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, chairman of the Federal Reserve, and chairman of the Economic Recovery Board. Throughout his career, he worked alongside presidents Carter, Nixon, and Obama, and many of the world’s other leading politicians, bankers, and financiers. Inspired by his father, who was for many years the city manager of Teaneck, New Jersey, Mr. Volcker has always believed that public service is a high calling, and that it is critical to engage our most thoughtful and accomplished citizens in service to the public good. His life mission and his motivation for founding the Volcker Alliance in 2013 was to restore American trust in the full range of governmental processes.
The award will be presented in the fall of each year at the Sammies gala, also known as “the Oscars of government service,” which celebrates the important achievements of the nation’s federal workforce. The award will be presented to the first honoree on October 16, 2019. The endowment from Ray and Barbara Dalio will support the presentation of this award on an annual basis.
“Paul Volcker’s contributions to public service and our country have been extraordinary,” said Thomas W. Ross, president of the Volcker Alliance. “He is a remarkable man and we hope that this award will elevate and acknowledge the significant contributions of others like him—the dedicated citizens who pursue lives of public service.”
