Blog Post
John W. McCormack Annual Award of Excellence to Congressional Employees
About this object Speaker John W. McCormack (left) and Sergeant at Arms Kenneth R. Harding (center) stand with awardee, Superintendent of the Radio-Television Gallery Robert M. Menaugh (right), during the McCormack award ceremony in 1972. Behind the group is a plaque displaying the names of previous recipients.
About this object (From left to right) Speaker Carl Albert, Jeannette Petinaud (Ernest Petinaud's wife), awardee and House Restaurant Head Waiter Ernest Petinaud, and Sergeant at Arms Kenneth R. Harding, pose during the 1973 McCormack award ceremony.
Early in its existence, a committee composed of House Officers and senior staff chose the honorees; in modern practice, House leaders select awardees. For the first decade of the award’s existence the House bestowed it annually. After the late 1980s, however, it was awarded more intermittently.
The first individual to be honored with the McCormack Award was Lew Deschler, the longtime House Parliamentarian who, over nearly half a century, served nine different Speakers from Nick Longworth to Carl Albert.
Names and position titles listed are as printed on the physical plaque.
| Name | Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Deschler | Parliamentarian | 1970 |
| Turner N. Robertson | Chief Page | 1971 |
| Robert M. Menaugh | Superintendent, Radio-TV Gallery | 1972 |
| Ernest Petinaud | Headwaiter, House Dining Room | 1973 |
| Charles A. Henlock | Administrative Officer, Architect of the Capitol’s Office | 1974 |
| D. Thomas Iorio | Deputy Sergeant at Arms | 1975 |
| Gilman G. Udell | Superintendent, House Document Room | 1976 |
| Francis P. Hoye | Journal Clerk | 1977 |
| Charles W. Hackney, Jr. | Reading Clerk | 1978 |
| John Marshall Martin, Jr. | Chief Counsel, Committee on Ways and Means | 1979 |
| Edward T. Kellaher | Chief, Property Supply Service, Office of the Clerk | 1980 |
| Wilbert McDonald | Inspector, U.S. Capitol Police | 1981 |
| Helen Winfield Sewell | Snack Bar Attendant, Cloakroom | 1982 |
| Herbert M. Botts | Director, Members’ Health Facility | 1983 |
| Tommy Lee Winebrenner | Minority Doorkeeper | 1985 |
| Keith F. Mainland | Staff Director, Committee on Appropriations | 100th Congress (1987–1989) |
| Ural Thomas Ward | Supervising Engineer, United States Capitol Building | 101st Congress (1989–1991) |
| John Corbin | Maître d’, Members’ Dining Room | 107th Congress (2001–2003) |
| Sarah Crowe | Hostess, Members’ Dining Room | 107th Congress (2001–2003) |
| Charles W. Johnson III | Parliamentarian | 108th Congress (2003–2005) |
| George Crawford | Chief of Staff, Democratic Leader Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means | 109th Congress (2005–2007) |
| Billy Pitts | Chief of Staff, Committee on Rules Chief of Staff, Republican Leader | 109th Congress (2005–2007) |
| M. Pope Barrow, Jr. | Legislative Counsel | 111th Congress (2009–2011) |
| Paula T. Nowakowski | Chief of Staff, Republican Leader | 111th Congress (2009–2011) |
| John V. Sullivan | Parliamentarian | 112th Congress (2011–2013) |
| John A. Lawrence | Chief of Staff, Office of the Speaker Chief of Staff, Democratic Leader | 113th Congress (2013–2015) |
| Janice Mays | Staff Director, Committee on Ways and Means | 114th Congress (2015–2017) |
| Hugh Halpern | Director of Floor Operations, Office of the Speaker | 115th Congress (2017–2019) |
| Bernard Raimo | Counsel to the Speaker, Office of the Speaker Counsel to the Democratic Leader | 115th Congress (2017–2019) |
| Augustine T. Smythe | Policy Director, Office of the Speaker | 115th Congress (2017–2019) |
Footnotes
1Rachelle Patterson, “McCormack Back in House—for a Day,” 12 May 1976, Boston Globe: 15.