The Southeastern Conference of Public Administration hereby announces and invites nominations for the Distinguished Public Service Practitioner Award.
This award recognizes sustained outstanding achievement in, and contributions to, public administration and public service through applied practice in the field.
Eligibility criteria
The recipient of this award:
Must have a minimum of five year’s service as a public service practitioner.
May have served in any type of public service environment — local, state, federal, or international, in either government or nonprofit environments;
Must have made the considered contributions while providing his/her public service within the SECoPA region.
Current elected officials are not eligible unless the career achievements for which they are nominated occurred during careers in non-elected public service.
Award criteria
Candidates will be assessed on the extent to which they have made a sustained contribution to innovative, effective, and/or inspirational practice. Candidates must have consistently demonstrated ethical behavior in public service. Specific standards should include one or more of the following:
Innovation/creativity – The development and implementation of innovative programs or processes that positively impacted an organization.
Leadership – Ability to inspire, problem-solve, and move an organization forward while working productively with colleagues; a personal commitment to and demonstration of standards of excellence including the highest ethical standards.
Impact – Demonstrated accomplishments that have positively impacted their organization and or community
Operational excellence – The implementation of significant changes or processes that enhanced work productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality
Procedures and documentation
To be considered for this award, a candidate must be nominated by a current member of SECoPA. The nominating individual must provide:
A nominating letter that includes: the nominee’s name, position, current employer, and a comprehensive summary of the nominee’s contributions to public service that warrant receiving the award, including specific examples of outstanding accomplishments within the areas listed in Section II Award Criteria.
A resume for the nominee that includes the nominee’s position, current employer, current contact address, phone number and email address, employment history, educational attainment, and civic and professional activity and service.
Nominations will be assessed on the extent to which the justification provides specific information and examples related to the criteria listed above.
Submission requirements:
The nominating letter and nominee’s resume may be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word attachment or in hard copy. Electronic submission of the packet is strongly preferred and recommended.
An address for the submission of materials is provided below, and all materials not submitted electronically should be submitted to this address.
The deadline for receipt of all materials will be ___. Only nomination packets received by this date will be considered.
The award: The committee will receive and assess nominations, and will present the award at a scheduled luncheon or banquet event as part of the general SECoPA Conference. The award may be deferred if the committee determines that none of the submitted nominations meet the criteria or merit presentation of the award.
(Approved March 25, 2010)
(Amended October 13, 2016)
Past Recipients
2022—Mark Birdwhistell
2021 – No award because the conference was virtual instead of in a host city
2020 – No conference due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019 – Genny May
2018 – Ana M. Garcia
2017 – Miriam Singer
2016 – Kathryn E. Hensley
2015 – Clementa Pinckney; Cynthia Hurd; DePayne Middleton-Doctor [public servant victims of the June 17, 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina]
2014 – Sterling Cheatham
2013 – No Award was Presented
2012 – D. Michele Tolbert
2011 – Frank Fusco
2010 – William E. Solomon, JD
2009 – No Award was Presented
2008 – No Award was Presented
2007 – George M. Burgess
2006 – Arthur F. Beeler
2005 – John G. Stewart
2004 – Douglas Owen Bean