Activities, ‘street fair,’ agency photos highlight PSRW ’19

posted by Brent Brown on May 10, 2019 AA P 2

State of Indiana employees celebrated Public Service Recognition Week by organizing agency photos, taste-testing taco toppings (and indulging in “walking taco” bars), visiting the Statehouse Market in downtown Indianapolis, and repping their favorite Hoosier institutions throughout a week packed with a slew of fun, great times, and memory-making moments.

PSRW 2019 got off to an early start May 3 when state employees joined fire professionals and legions of volunteers to be part of the American Red Cross’ Sound the Alarm campaign. The groups combed neighborhoods in order to bring awareness of fire safety measures intended to reduce the number of home fires. They also helped install new smoke detectors in homes in need of them.

With one great community service activity “in the books,” the week rolled on with a long list of activities meant to celebrate the women and men who continually work “behind the scenes” to help make the Hoosier State a truly wonderful place to live, work, and play.

From a successful blood drive held in the Indiana Government Center South building May 8 to a group photo featuring employees from numerous state agencies, there was no shortage of unique ways PSRW honored state workers.  For the latter event, state workers wore a spectrum of colors representing the number of years they’ve worked in state government. Those with at least 16 years of service donned pink, while some of the newest state of Indiana employees wore green. All ended up wearing smiles as a drone took flight on the Indiana Statehouse lawn to capture the special moment May 9.

Many employees in downtown Indianapolis spent their lunch hour at the Statehouse Market Street Fair prior to the photo, which brought a dozen of the area’s most popular food trucks to Robert D. Orr Plaza. The selection was chosen by state employees via an internal poll.

The market was also the place to learn about some very exciting continuing educational opportunities for state of Indiana employees. Representatives of WGU Indiana, Purdue University Global, and Indiana Tech visited the IGC campus. Information about educational programs at Southern New Hampshire University and Oakland City University was also available.

The fun didn’t stop as the week drew to a close, either, as Friday, May 10 allowed employees across the state to express themselves a bit, showing off something distinctly Hoosier from their wardrobe. The Pacers, Colts, Indiana colleges, and even employees’ high school alma maters were all popular choices.

With so many exciting activities happening around the state, it might have been easy to lose sight of the goal of PSRW: Recognizing the daily impact of public servants working in federal, state, county, and local government. How those employees shape their communities and make a difference in the lives of people in every corner of the country cannot be overstated.

Check out this gallery for a few photos from the week. And if you’d like to submit photos to the Indiana State Personnel Department, it’s not too late! Just email spdcommunications@spd.in.gov. We would love to feature those photos in this gallery as well as on our social media channels.

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