The Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been recognized for the second consecutive year as the best place to work in the Corps, according the 2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.

The survey is used to measure employees’ perceptions whether the characteristics of successful organizations are present in their agencies.

The Vicksburg District is one of 41 Corps districts worldwide and one of six districts in the Corps’ Mississippi Valley Division. It has 1,000 employees.

Greg Raimondo, Vicksburg District director of public relations, said the survey is mailed randomly to federal employees. This year, according to the survey’s website, 485,000 federal employees participated in the survey.

“We don’t even know who gets it,” he said. “People take the survey and all the agencies are rated.”

Getting the award, he said, “Really talks about the climate of working here, and the people who work here really think this is a great place to work, the environment. This goes out the whole district; the Mississippi lakes, the Arkansas lakes, the guys who work on the river — just all over.”

A certificate of honor citing the designation was presented to Col. Michael C. Derosier, Vicksburg District commander, and Patricia Hemphill, chief of Programs and Project Management Division, at the First Quarter Executive Governance Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa.

“Not only was the district identified as a best place to work, we are the highest scoring district in the large district category,” Derosier said. “Pat Hemphill, the district’s chief of Programs and Project Management Division, and I had the honor of receiving the certificate for this from Lt. Gen. (Todd) Semonite and Command Sgt. Maj. Major Houston during (the meeting) in Pittsburgh.

“We were both very proud to represent each and every one of the district leadership in being recognized as the highest scoring Best Place to Work large district in USACE.”

He commended the district leadership and employees for making it “a flagship district within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”