History
A Nation in
Mourning: Three AGA Members Among the Dead on Sept. 11, 2001
Click here to read about how members
of AGA's New York City Chapter were affected by the terrorist
attacks.
We regret to report that three AGA members were on the list of
casualties in the September 11 attack on the Pentagon. The three
were members of the Northern Virginia Chapter.
Killed were U.S.
Department of Defense employee Patricia E. (Patty) Mickley, CGFM,
41, of Springfield, VA; U.S. Department of the Army employees Diana
B. Padro, 55, of Woodbridge, VA; and Janice M. Scott, 46, of
Springfield, VA.
Mickley, leaves
her husband Joe, a DFAS employee, and a daughter, Marie, 5. She was
a senior financial resources manager in the Office of the
Comptroller, Deputy Comptroller for Program and Budget, Defense
Intelligence Agency. Only five of the 12 people in her office
survived. Padro, a staff accountant with the Army, leaves her
husband Jose and her sons Jose, 23, and Juan, 19. She was an Army
veteran originally from Puerto Rico. Scott, an Army budget analyst,
lived with her husband and two children and had spent a week this
summer traveling in the South, tracing her ancestry.
“The entire AGA
community grieves the loss of these three members of our AGA family
and our profession,” said AGA National President Richard Norment.
“These people were consummate public servants who died serving their
country. I ask all of you to remember these members and their
families in your thoughts and prayers.”
Northern
Virginia Chapter President John Laney, CGFM, said, “The Northern
Virginia Chapter has lost three of our own. They were wives and
mothers who showed up for work, did their duty with honor, and made
the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. We must honor
their memory by rededicating ourselves to the noble cause of public
service, whether in the public or private sector. They did not die
in vain—they will not be forgotten—their memory will live in our
hearts forever.”
The attack on
the Pentagon also took the lives of 13 members of our partner
organization, the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC).
AGA has
established a relief fund to allow our members to contribute as an
organization. President Norment has determined that our fund-raising
efforts shall span the length of our program year, with donations
accepted at all three national conferences. Upon the close of the
2002 PDC in Atlanta next July, the proceeds shall be split evenly
among the AGA families who lost loved ones. Send your donation to
the AGA Relief Effort, AGA National Office, 2208 Mount Vernon
Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301-1314. Checks should be made payable to
the AGA Relief Effort. We thank you for your support.
In the meantime,
we wish to illustrate the many ways public servants across the
country are working to address this national crisis:
• President Bush
has established a cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security with
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge tapped as director. The office will
coordinate the efforts of numerous federal agencies working in this
area.
• The Federal
Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA) announced the
formation of a fund to assist federal families affected by terrorist
attacks in New York and Washington. Federal families affected may
contact FEEA at 800.323.4140 or 303.933.7580.
• Survivors of
federal civilian employees killed in the attacks are probably
eligible for annuities under the Civil Service Retirement System or
Federal Employees Retirement System. To certify their eligibility
and apply for those benefits, survivors can call 724.794.2005, where
the Office of Personnel Management has staffers from its Retirement
and Benefits Group standing by to handle calls related to the
attacks. Information about the Federal Employees Group Life
Insurance (FEGLI) program is available at www.opm.gov/insure/life/.
• Government
Executive reported that in the wake of the worst terrorist
attacks in the nation’s history, federal employees returned to work
the next day with what one said is a new resolve and dedication to
the job. “I’m hearing a sense of determination,” said David Schlein,
national vice president of the American Federation of Government
Employees. Schlein heads the local union in the Washington
metropolitan area. “We have important work to do and will do our
part. There is, of course, a concern about safety and security, but
there is a sense that we will carry out our important work.”
• State and
local governments, which were already grappling with budget woes
before the attacks, have been working to minimize the effects on
their local economies. In Missouri, for instance, the Associated
Press reported that the state was preparing for a “worst case
scenario” of 37,000 new requests for unemployment benefits brought
about by the possibility of 20,000 layoffs announced by American
Airlines, which includes TWA Airlines and Amercian Eagle, both
headquartered in St. Louis.
AGA and
its generous members raised $33,000 over the next year, with each
family receiving $11,000.