G. Gregory Kamptner is honored with LGA's highest award, the Edward J. Finnegan - Elizabeth D. Whiting Award for Distinguished Service, at LGA's Fall Conference at Virginia Beach. 

2022
FINNEGAN WHITING AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

G. Gregory Kamptner

       THE LGA EDWARD J. FINNEGAN - ELIZABETH D. WHITING AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE recognizes an individual in the Commonwealth of Virginia who has made significant contributions to local government law or the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc.

       G. GREGORY (GREGKAMPTNER, our 2022 recipient, dedicated 27 years of his legal career to public service in the County Attorney’s Office of the County of Albemarle. He joined the office as an Assistant in 1995, was promoted to a Deputy in 2005, and was appointed the Albemarle County Attorney in 2016.

          OVER THAT TIME, GREG KAMPTNER BECAME A LEADING ATTORNEY in the highly specialized area of land use law, and was highly regarded by County staff and by the statewide legal community for his land use expertise and his willingness to share his knowledge with others. His Land Use Law Handbook continues to be an invaluable resource to land use attorneys, planners, and other professionals.

          BEFORE BECOMING COUNTY ATTORNEY, Greg Kamptner was the primary legal advisor to the County’s Department of Community Development, the Planning Commission, the Architectural Review Board, and numerous standing land use-related committees. He played a vital role in developing significant and complex land use ordinance amendments over the years in such specialized areas as wireless telecommunications, noise, ministerial and legislative processes, subdivision, inoperable vehicles, signs, and stormwater control, among others. These ordinances are widely recognized as being well-founded in the law, yet easily understood and implemented.

          AS COUNTY ATTORNEY, GREG KAMPTNER UNDERTOOK THE RECODIFICATION of the County Code to streamline and make it more accessible and understandable to the County’s staff and the public at large. Following the protests and turbulence that arose in Central Virginia in 2017, he guided the County through the orderly removal of the only County-owned Civil War statue. He also crafted the legal framework that allowed Albemarle County to operate without interruption through the COVID-19 pandemic, and freely shared that framework with the LGA’s COVID-19 Ad Hoc Committee as a model for statewide use.

          GREG KAMPTNER WAS AN ANNUAL PRESENTER to the Virginia Certified Boards of Zoning Appeals Program and the Zoning Officials Certification Test Preparation Program. Over the years, he was a speaker or lecturer at LGA conferences, meetings of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association, the Virginia Association of Zoning Officials, the American Planning Association, classes at the University of Virginia, the Certified Planning Commissioners Program, and various land use planning seminars.

          GREG KAMPTNER WAS ALSO A MENTOR AND AN INSPIRATION to law students interested in local government service, sharing his expertise with University of Virginia law school students whose internships he oversaw in the County Attorney’s Office for many years.

          THE LGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOGNIZES THAT GREG KAMPTNER has exemplified a personal commitment to the highest ethical standards and professional principles, and served the public in a way that enhances the image of all Virginia local government attorneys.

          THEREFORE, as a public commendation of his professional achievements in local government law, the legal profession, and his community, the members and board of directors of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc., on the 14th day of October, 2022, are pleased to honor and bestow the 2022 EDWARD J. FINNEGAN - ELIZABETH D. WHITNG AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE upon G. GREGORY KAMPTNER.