Celebrating the Best of State and Local Government
Philadelphia's landmark historic City Hall Shutterstock.com
It’s time for our journalists to hear from you about the state and local leadership and programs with the biggest impact—nominate the cream of the crop for our fourth annual Navigator Awards.
We are excited to hear from our readers about the people and ideas that are transforming state, county and municipal governments across the United States during our fourth annual Route Fifty Navigator Awards.
The Route Fifty staff hope you will help us celebrate the best in state and local government by nominating individuals and teams that define public service—and take it to the next level.
Nominations are open through June 7.
The tagline for the Navigator Awards is, “It's one thing to dream up a great idea. It's another thing to figure out how to implement it successfully.” For the past three years, our readers have come through with well-fashioned and executed programs that make a difference in the states and communities our tribe of government leaders serve.
Combing through the hundreds of nominations we receive has become something of a staff ritual here. With far too many snacks, we share the nominations around the table. Some are brilliant, others are quirky—and some pull at our heartstrings a bit (it has been known to get a bit dusty in that room).
We hear from those in rural Wise County, Virginia who want to build the next national center of tech innovation, as well as those helping communities threatened by sea level rise in coastal Louisiana simply survive the next 50 years. We are given the privilege of highlighting leaders preparing an emergency response in California that is ready to support individuals with disabilities, as well as emergency paramedics in Texas building an initiative to boost health outcomes while reducing costs for patients and practitioners.
We hope you will help us in our efforts to identify fifty finalists across five categories: The Electeds, The Leaders, The Tech Innovators, The Next Generation and The Allies. As in past years, the winners of each category will be announced in a ceremony at the National League of Cities’ annual City Summit in San Antonio on November 20.
What this process has taught us is that there is no lack of innovation among our nation’s civic roots in state and local government. In a time when the payoff from the churning machinery of the federal action seems particularly distant and difficult to follow, it is great to be able to highlight how true civic solutions are crafted and adopted everyday by state and local public servants.
Please take some time to learn more about the awards and nominate a standout public official or team. You very well may help us spread their great ideas across the nation!
Mitch Herckis is the Senior Editor and Director of Strategic Initiatives for Route Fifty.
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