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WASHINGTON, D.C., March 13, 1997 -- The Peace Corps was honored today with Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award for innovative government, the second consecutive year the agency has won the award.
Bob Stone, project director for Vice President Gore's National Performance Review, presented the award at a ceremony at Peace Corps headquarters this morning. Special guest speakers included Sargent Shriver, the first Peace Corps director, and Congressman Sam Farr of California, a former Peace Corps volunteer who served in Colombia from 1964-66.
The award recognized the use of new technology by the office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection to more efficiently recruit new volunteers. The office established an award-winning World Wide Web site (http://www.peacecorps.gov) in June 1995, which has grown into an extensive interactive network of Peace Corps information.
The award, which consists of a $6 hammer (symbolic of the infamous $600 Pentagon hammer), a red ribbon and a signed card from Vice President Gore, is given to teams of federal employees who find new and better ways to accomplish their responsibilities. Last year, the agency's Property and Supply Division received it for streamlining purchasing and shipment of supplies to overseas posts.
Last fall, a Peace Corps team that improved the agency's listings in the blue pages of the telephone book was also recognized by the National Performance Review.
About 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers serve in 90 countries around the world,
providing assistance in education, health and nutrition, agriculture, the environment and small business development.