County wins achievement award for NKU program

By Community Member | August 23, 2008 12:51 pm

New Kent County is a recipient of a Virginia Association of Counties 2008 Achievement Award recognizing model local government programs.

New Kent received the accolade in the Communications category for the New Kent University (NKU) program, a citizen education program, designed to give participants a first-hand look and in-depth understanding of how county government functions in New Kent.

The free program explains services provided by New Kent, how its governing process works and how citizens can participate in that process.

Through hands-on activities and lectures, participants have learned how local government affects quality of life.

VACo received 34 entries for the statewide contest. Tedd Povar, associate director of the Virginia Institute of Government; Wendell Seldon, former Winchester city manager and former director of Virginia’s department of general services; and Brenda Garton, former Orange County and Prince George County administrator, served as judges for this year’s statewide awards program.

“This is more than just an awards program,” said James Campbell, VACo executive director. “These projects represent the very best in innovative ideas that have produced positive results. An added benefit is that the programs can be replicated throughout the state and the country.”

Povar, who has served as judge for several years, commended the quality of the entries.

“Since I’ve been a judge, this year was the best because almost every submission was worthy of winning,” Povar said.

“The quality of programs throughout the state tells me that we have many talented and skilled county employees in every region of the Commonwealth,” he added.

The VACo Achievement Awards is a competitive program open to local government members of the association. Held annually, it recognizes local government programs in awards criteria that include innovation, collaboration and model practices.

Several environmental-based projects were submitted in 2008, prompting the judges to create a new category.

Also, for the first time in recent memory, no county won more than one award.

Representatives from each of the award-winning counties will receive a certificate at an official ceremony during VACo’s 2008 Annual Conference in November.