VCU news

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs will honor individuals and organizations in seven categories for distinctive contributions to the practice of government and dedication to the well-being of Virginia’s communities.

The awards will be presented during the 10th annual Excellence in Virginia Government Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23, from noon until 2 p.m. at the Richmond Marriott, 500 E. Broad St.

The following awards will be presented for significant contributions to Virginia through public service:

Lifetime Achievement Award: John P. Thomas, executive director of the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, will be recognized for his commitment to improving the strength and quality of government. Over the past 18 years, Virginia has relied extensively on the Weldon Cooper Center, which provides high-quality demographic and economic analysis. Graduates of the prestigious Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, a signature initiative of the Weldon Cooper Center, include several hundred local elected officials, 22 current members of the General Assembly and two members of the U.S. Congress.

Public Private Partnership Award: The Peninsula Council for Workforce Development, Del. Matthew James, who is president and CEO, and former council Vice President Shawn Avery will be honored for their work in helping more than 1.7 million Virginians enter, remain and advance in the workforce while strengthening the region’s economy. Established in 2005, the council is a nonprofit entity that works with a variety of partners — business and industry, local chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, colleges and universities, K-12 schools and other training providers — to develop talent as a driver of job creation and economic development in the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, James City and York.

Innovation in Government Award: The Virginia Department of Planning and Budget and Director Daniel Timberlake will be recognized for working with PPC, a Northern-Virginia based information and technology firm, to launch “Public Budgeting Version 2.0,” the nation’s first enterprisewide state performance budgeting system, in 2010. The system increases government accountability by combining budget, performance management and strategic planning measures into a single software solution that replaced a system that had not been altered in 25 years. The new system successfully consolidates previous data structures, offers practitioners new insights and a view of budget dimensions previously unavailable, and has increased budget transparency.

Community Enhancement Award: The Appalachian Prosperity Project and co-directors Skip Skinner, Pace Lochte and Marcia Quesenberry, as well as academic lead Suzanne Morse Moomaw, are being recognized for promoting an integrated approach to regional development focused in three priority areas: education, health and economic development. The Appalachian Prosperity Project is a collaborative partnership among the University of Virginia, the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, the Virginia Coalfield Coalition, the private sector and the Commonwealth of Virginia to advance the quality of life for citizens in Southwest Virginia.

Public Information Award: The Richmond Forum and Executive Director and Producer William H. Chapman are being honored for providing the popular speaker series.   Based on the belief that a community is strengthened when its citizens are well-informed, inspired and intellectually challenged, the series welcomes Nobel Prize winners, heads of state, distinguished journalists, artists, authors and iconic entertainers to the City of Richmond before an audience of some 4,200 subscribers each year. Through the shared experience of five intense evenings of civil discourse held seasonally, the Richmond Forum creates opportunities for Virginians to push beyond their mental boundaries while raising theirr collective understanding of the global challenges facing our communities.

Unsung Heroes Award: Martin “Tutti” Townes is being honored as an outstanding contributor to the commonwealth’s chief executives for more than 30 years. As the head butler of the Executive Mansion, Townes serves as the chief steward to the governor and his family with the utmost grace, discretion and composure. Since 1984, Townes, who started as the night butler and rose to become the head butler seven years ago, has served nine governors, from Governor Chuck Robb to current Governor Terry McAuliffe. He is the first person most visitors see when they enter the mansion and the last person they see upon leaving. He has greeted thousands of visitors, including Queen Elizabeth II and then-Senator Barack Obama.

Hill-Robinson Expansion of Freedom Award: Raymond H. Boone Sr., editor and publisher, Richmond Free Press, is being recognized posthumously for serving as the commonwealth’s foremost journalist advocate for racial justice and equality for nearly six decades. Boone was the editor of the Richmond Afro-American and Planet for 15 years and the owner, publisher and editor of the Richmond Free Press, which he founded in 1992.  He is perhaps best known for his editorials in the Richmond Free Press, an award-winning weekly giving voice to the Richmond black community. Boone was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in 2000 and Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, in 2013. Boone was twice selected as a Pulitzer Prize juror.