It's the bronze medal that just won't go away.

I naively thought back in November 2009 that perhaps I could nudge the SEC into removing the reference in its job ads that the agency was “RANKED THIRD BEST FEDERAL WORKPLACE FOR 2007!” (capital letters, bold face and exclamation point in original). I even followed up by threatening promising to create and distribute tee shirts "commemorating" this momentous, three-year-old honor.

Yet four months later, even in a new calendar year, this Bronze Medal Boast remains firmly planted in the SEC's most recent job postings. Why, SEC? Why?

I'm left to speculate. Here's my interview with a fictional SEC official that I will call "Some Executive at the Commission," or "SEC" for short:

Carton: I see you're still mentioning your third place finish in 2007 in your job ads. You all must be mighty proud of that to still be talking about it.

SEC: Well, yeah, we are. It's not every day you can come in third place in something that happened three years ago. We're stoked.

Carton: Did you all make tee shirts about it or anything? How did the SEC celebrate?

SEC: No tee shirts, but that's a good idea. We basically just sent out an email about it to our employees back in early 2008, and then, to our surprise, our employees just kind of carried on with their regular lives. We thought there would be more pomp and circumstance, but our folks didn't let it go to their heads.

Carton: Look, I'm not trying to downplay the enormity of what you accomplished, but 2007 was a long time ago. I've got pre-schoolers at home who weren't even alive then. When are you going to move on from this?

SEC: Ha! Why would we want to move on? I don't think you get this, Carton. This is like winning the NCAA basketball championship. You wear that ring for the rest of your life!

Carton: Isn't it more like losing in the Final Four round? You came in third.

SEC: Whatever.

Carton: I keep reading about how the SEC is now completely revamped from top to bottom. How is what happened in 2007 still relevant to today's job hunter?

SEC: Gotta run--see ya!!

Carton: Okay, thanks! And, if you want to use my tee shirt design, it's all yours.