Andrew J. Senti is a Realty Specialist in the Colorado State Office who has given a lifetime of service with integrity and honor.  He exemplifies the dedication of a civil servant who puts mission ahead of personal gain.   Andy has 60 years of federal service of which 57 years has been with BLM.  During his 57 years with BLM he has been an employee averaging over twelve hours a day, seven days a week.  Andy takes pride in his work and promotes the BLM mission.  He is an iconic figure who has touched the careers of many employees and has served the public tirelessly.

Andy was born in 1925 in Kline, Colorado and attended a nearby country school.  He started High School in Marvel, Colorado and finished in Durango. He attended Fort Lewis College and eventually graduated from Utah State University in Logan, Utah with a degree in Range Management.   He began his Federal career with the Forest Service at Muddy Creek Ranger Station on the Grand Mesa National Forest.  In 1951, Andy was hired as a Range Management Assistant in the BLM Regional Office for Utah and Colorado, located in Salt Lake City. He worked in this office until 1954 and worked on field examining individual tracts of land that were under homestead application.  In 1954 he joined a number of other BLM employees from various regions and formed the Colorado State Office. He worked in resource inventory in the Arkansas River Basin as a precursor to some of the BLM’s first real land use planning efforts.

Andy has served as a Land Law Examiner, Appraiser, Staff Supervisor, and as a Realty Specialist, all in the BLM Colorado State Office. His dedication, dependability, initiative, enthusiasm, integrity, and loyalty have been demonstrated time and again and he has touched the lives of countless BLM staff and managers.  He has provided exceptional customer service to the general public and to many interest groups and stakeholders doing business with the Bureau of Land Management. His breadth of knowledge in understanding the history of public land management is unsurpassed.  Many seasoned managers in the BLM can recall their first weeks on the job when they received orientation on public land management.  He possesses a commanding knowledge of public land history and parcels of land in Colorado.

While his reputation is known throughout BLM Colorado, he is also well known throughout the Bureau. Andy often is called upon by offices nationwide, including other federal and state agencies to provide historical insight into complicated issues.  He continues to demonstrate outstanding professional performance by sharing his vision, experiences, expertise, etc. to all interested in public land resource management.

In 1945, Andy received the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.  In 1978 he received the DOI Meritorious Service Award and in 1990 received the DOI Distinguished Service Award.  In August 2009 he was awarded the DOI Lifetime Achievement Award for his 60 years of service.

The award was presented in a special ceremony in the BLM Colorado State Office in Denver, Colorado on November 17, 2009.