Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns honored USDA employees from across the nation for exemplary service and achievements during the 59th annual USDA Honor Awards Ceremony held today.

“The Honor Awards recognize truly outstanding service by USDA employees who have achieved great things through their dedication, leadership and hard work,” said Johanns. “The men and women we are honoring today deserve our gratitude and I am proud to celebrate their contributions to the Department of Agriculture.”

The Honor Awards are the most prestigious awards presented by USDA. This year there are 34 individual and group award winners. In addition, USDA is recognizing employees who participated in rescue and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita for their many sacrifices.

You can see the program and full list of honorees here (pdf file).