Each year's selection of the Federal 100 is different from that of previous years because the process reflects the concerns and the personalities of the particular panel of judges as well as the environment in which the selections are made. For example, five years ago there was little, if any, mention of the Year 2000, and online did not mean the World Wide Web. The winners reflect the times.
This year the judges met in FCW's offices on Saturday, Jan. 10. The judges followed the precedent set by previous panels and removed themselves from consideration. Also taken off the table were all past Eagle Award winners. The judges believe that Eagle Awards grant an individual a sort of emeritus status. Once you are selected as an Eagle winner, you do not go back into the pool of potential Federal 100 winners.
Another guideline was that awards would not be given to individuals who were selected last year for essentially the same activity; continuing good work is admirable, but the judges believed the achievement had already been recognized.
Some guidelines have remained constant over the years, endorsed by succeeding panels of judges:
* The award is for work done in 1997.
* This is an all-star team, not a hall-of-fame award.
* It is what the person did that counts, not the position occupied.
* Awards go to individuals, not to departments or teams.
* Some selections may be controversial. This is not a popularity contest. Individuals who had a major effect on the community may not be uniformly liked. Effects can be negative and still be significant.
* Some of the awards may be symbolic, representing other deserving people who may have done similar, but unrecognized, work.
Each year, themes emerge from the work of the winners. Major themes this year included the Year 2000, electronic commerce, encryption and security issues, information sharing and innovative techniques for thriving in the new procurement environment. Certainly one of the changes was the emphasis on partnerships between government and industry; a number of industry executives were recognized for developing new ways of working with the government as a customer.
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