National Archives Presents Awards to Federal Agencies
Press Release · Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Washington, DC

Archivist Achievement Awards announced at RACO Conference

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Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero presents an Archivist Achievement Award to Erin Tecce, Agency Records Officer, Risk Management Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Archivist Achievement Award Winners (l-r) Daniel Rainey, Chief of Staff, National Mediation Board; Ken Megill, President of Knowledge Application Systems; Deb Marshall, Director of RIM for Knowledge Application Systems; Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero.

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero has recognized two Federal agencies for outstanding achievements in records management. The Archivist's Achievement Awards were presented to the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Mediation Board at the National Archives 23rd Annual Records Administration Conference (RACO) in Washington, DC, on May 25, 2011.

The conference theme was "Forging Ahead: Meeting the Challenges of Electronic Records in an Open Government." Presentations focused on records management of social media, balancing open access to information with security requirements, and quick wins that Federal agencies can do to improve their programs.

"Both of the agencies being recognized this year have implemented innovative technological solutions to manage the electronic records they create. I’m pleased to see their success and hope that it encourages all Federal agencies to continue their work to improve records management through the use of technology" said Archivist Ferriero.

The first Archivist Achievement Award was presented to the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. They deployed an electronic recordkeeping solution to more than 500 users in 27 locations around the country. This system manages the capture, maintenance, categorization, and disposition of electronic records. To implement their system, the agency completed more than 30 media-neutral records schedules and introduced a strong training program with mandatory re-training requirements. Staff in the agency can file various types of electronic records, including e-mail and instant messages, directly from their desktop.

The second Archivist Achievement Award was presented to the National Mediation Board.  The National Mediation Board has a mature electronic recordkeeping solution designed for a paperless office called the Corporate Memory System (CMS). For the past six years, all records have been created and maintained in the CMS, no new paper records have been created. Before the end of this year, they will have no more paper records stored at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland. Filing into CMS is mandatory and they are pushing toward 100 percent compliance. To help accomplish this, a performance evaluation element for managers included successful enforcement of staff using the CMS.

More information about the 2011 RACO Conference and key presentations is available online. [http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/training/raco/2011/].

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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