By Aniekpeno Mkpanan
George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States of America. ‘W’, as he was fondly called, served two terms from 2001 to 2009. Before becoming President, George W. Bush was the 46th Governor of Texas State, serving from 1995 to 2000.
The Bush family has a rich history in American politics and a long tradition of public service, with multiple generations involved in politics, diplomacy, military and volunteer services. W’s father, George H. W. Bush was the 41st President of the USA. Jeb Bush, son of George H.W. Bush, was Governor of Florida State and almost became President when in 2016, he ran as the Republican Presidential candidate.
In 2003, midway into his second term, President George W. Bush launched the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), better known as the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. This award aims to recognize U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and others who have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service and civic participation.
The PVSA programme offers various awards which are conferred based on the number of hours of volunteer service completed within a 12-month period. For instance, the Lifetime Achievement Award requires at least 4,000 hours of volunteer service. Nominations of deserving individuals for the award are done by Certifying Organizations, which are established bodies that support volunteer services and operate in the United States and its territories.
In nominating persons for the award, attention is paid to involvement in community services, outstanding Government and Public Service relevance, as well as promoting faith-based initiatives and general humanitarian and volunteer services. After logging close to 7,000 hours of global volunteer service, serving and retiring honorably with accolades from the State Civil Service, midwifing 15 years of the Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival, and facilitating a Guinness World Record in the process among other considerations, I was in 2024 nominated for the award during the tenure of Joe Biden, the 46th President of the USA.
A few months ago in Nashville, Tennesse, USA, I was one of the recipients of the AKISAN Award that recognised my years of voluntary service to the US-based, Akwa-Ibomites-in-Diaspora organization. In attendance was the afable Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Umo Bassey Eno. I recall with exceeding glee how excited the Governor was when I received my Award. The ‘Golden Boy’ flashed me his widest smile, enveloped me in a golden embrace, and was kind enough to strike a photo pose with me, award plaque in tow.
With humility and gratitude to God, I’m delighted to mention that I have received my memorabilia of the Lifetime Achievement Award consisting of a personalized Certificate, a medal of honour, a commemorative pin, and a congratulatory letter signed by the 46th US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. In eventually bringing home the Award, commonsense suggests that I should first, ‘go and show’ the memento to our State Governor, His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno. I can only imagìne his warm handshake and the golden words of commendation that will all add up as my formal announcement of the Award. That will be the day!
