The LGA Awards and Recognition Committee is now soliciting nominations for the following awards and recognitions to be presented at the LGA Fall 2021 Conference, which is scheduled to be held (in person!) from October 14-16, at the Omni Richmond Hotel. For each of the awards, please send your nomination(s) to LGA Awards and Recognition Chair Clarke Whitefield ([email protected]). Please state the reasons you believe the nominee should receive the award, along with any other pertinent information. All nominations must be received by Thursday, July 15, 2021. For specific information about the nomination criteria and process for these awards and recognitions, go to the LGA website (lgava.org) and click on the “Awards & Recognitions” button. 

Edward J. Finnegan Distinguished Service Award 

The Edward J. Finnegan Distinguished Service Award was created specifically to recognize the important contributions that staff attorneys make to the Commonwealth. The purpose of this award is to recognize a person within or without the LGA who has made significant contributions to local government law or to the LGA. All LGA members are encouraged to make nominations. Please note, however, that current LGA officers and board members are ineligible for the award. 

Past recipients of the award are David T. Stitt (1991), Edward J. Finnegan (1992), C. Flippo Hicks (1993), Roger C. Wiley (1994), Wilburn C. Dibling (1995), Joseph P. Rapisarda Jr. (1996), Harry Frazier III (1997), Philip R. Trapani (1998), William G. Broaddus (1999), Steven L. Micas (2000), Elizabeth D. Whiting (2002), Sharon E. Pandak (2003), C. Dean Foster Jr. (2004), William H. Hefty (2005), David P. Bobzien (2006), Walter C. Erwin III (2007), Sterling E. Rives III (2008), Ronald S. Hallman (2009), Joseph L. Howard Jr. (2010), William M. Hackworth (2011), Andrew R. McRoberts (2012), Mark K. Flynn (2013), Larry W. Davis (2014), Sandra H. Wiley (2015), Jeffrey L. Mincks (2016), Jan L. Proctor (2017), Paul M. Mahoney (2018), Kathleen A. Dooley (2019), and Tara A. McGee (2020). 

David P. Bobzien Pro Bono Award 

Established in 2010, and renamed in 2018, the LGA created this award to encourage and recognize the creative contribution by a member of the LGA to the provision of pro bono representational and nonrepresentational legal services. Attorneys employed by a current member of the LGA who have demonstrated one or more of the relevant criteria in a manner of particular relevance and application for the practice of local government law are encouraged to send their name(s), position(s), and dates of local government service to LGA Awards and Recognition Committee Chair. The LGA intends to rely solely on voluntarily submitted information for making these awards. 

Walter C. Erwin, III Special Project Award 

The LGA recognizes, as appropriate, at its Fall and Spring Banquets, its members who have performed work on an LGA project or any other project of significant importance to the LGA or to local government generally. The purpose of the award is to encourage greater service to the LGA and/or to local government. An eligible attorney or project will have made significant contributions based on the evidence of effectiveness and success of the project, including scope, importance, and duration of benefits derived by the LGA or local government, and membership involvement. The level of difficulty in implementing and/or sustaining the project will also be a consideration. Examples of past types of such work include the COVID-19 Ad Hoc Committee, the VACo Board of Supervisors Manual, the Committee on Public Demonstrations, the Report of the LGA on Local Government Structure, the LGA Economic Development Incentives Project, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Noise Ordinances.  

Local Government Service Recognition 

The LGA annually recognizes its members who have completed 15, 20, 25, and 30 or more years of local government service. Eligibility is limited to those members who have served these periods in full-time local government employment or, if part-time, have served as general counsel for a local government. Those who qualify for this recognition should send their name, position(s), and dates of local government service to LGA Awards and Recognition Committee Chair. The LGA intends to rely solely on voluntarily submitted information for making these recognitions. 

Retiree Recognition

Since 2005, the LGA has semiannually recognized its members who are retiring after 15 or more years of service to a county, city, or town. A retiree is eligible for this recognition if he or she either (1) has been employed full-time by a county, city, or town for at least 15 years, or (2) has served as chief legal counsel of a county, city, or town for at least 15 years. Those who qualify for this recognition should send their name, position(s), and dates of local government service to LGA Awards and Recognition Committee Chair. The LGA intends to rely solely on voluntarily submitted information for making these recognitions. 

In Memoriam Recognition 

When an LGA member passes, friends and colleagues of the deceased are invited to notify the chair of the Awards and Recognition Committee. At a minimum, such notification should state the decedent’s name, date of death, and the jurisdiction(s) he or she most recently served, along with any other pertinent information (including, but not limited to, a reference to an obituary). The past year’s deceased LGA members will be remembered at each Fall Conference as part of the banquet. The LGA intends to rely solely on voluntarily submitted information for making these recognitions.