VCU’s Wilder School Presents Excellence in Virginia Government Awards

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs honored 13 individuals who have made distinctive contributions to the practice of government and to the well-being of Virginia's communities.

The awards were presented during the Third Annual Excellence in Virginia Government Awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Robert D. Holsworth, Ph.D., dean of VCU's College of Humanities and Sciences, served as master of ceremonies. The following awards were presented for significant contributions to the commonwealth through public service:

• The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Robert G. Templin Jr., president of Northern Virginia Community College, for expanding education and economic opportunity for all Virginians. Templin has led a business-higher education coalition aimed at reducing Northern Virginia's nursing and health care work force shortage and served as president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, which is credited with helping to create or retain more than 12,000 high-tech jobs in the Commonwealth.

• The Hill-Robinson Expansion of Freedom Award was presented to Frank Batten Sr., chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications, now retired, who founded The Weather Channel and is a pioneer in the communications industry.  Batten championed social responsibility and inspired public changes during his tenure as publisher of The Virginian-Pilot during the era of massive resistance to racial integration of public schools. In 1960, the newspaper received the Pulitzer Prize for its articles on desegregation. Frank Batten Jr., received the award on his father's behalf.

• The Community Enhancement Award was presented to Edith R. Jones, president and CEO, Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project Inc. (The STOP Organization), for the nonprofit group's efforts in combating the root causes of poverty in the south and western Hampton Roads region. The STOP Organization is Virginia's largest Community Action Agency, offering more than 30 programs in child care, head start, homeless assistance, health care, housing support, youth and adult orientation, job training and ex-offender services. Under Jones's leadership, STOP's annual budget has more than tripled, reaching more than $21 million.

• The Public Private Partnership Award was presented to the Virginia Department of Transportation and Transurban LLC, in recognition of the successful Pocahontas Parkway (I-895) Project, south of Richmond. The 8.8-mile, toll highway is the first construction project implemented under Virginia's Public Private Transportation Act of 1995 and provides a much-needed alternate crossing of the James River and improved access to the Richmond International Airport. Honorees included Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer; Transportation Commissioner David S. Ekern; Deborah Brown, director, Innovative Finance and Revenue Operations, Virginia Department of Transportation; Michael Kulper, Senior Vice President, North America Transurban LLC; Ken Daley, Senior Vice President International Development, Transurban LLC; and Michael Whelan, Vice President Operations, Transurban LLC.

• The Unsung Heroes Award was presented to William Hart Gillette, agriculture business manager, Virginia Department of Corrections, for his work in the correctional agribusiness field.  Gillette's vision has resulted in the production and distribution statewide of 100 percent of the meat, milk products, juice and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables consumed by Virginia inmates, which has provided jobs and marketable skills to the inmates and saved taxpayers millions of dollars.  

• The Innovation in Government Award was presented to Secretary of Administration Viola O. Baskerville, former Secretary of Administration Sandra Bowen, former Secretary of Administration G. Bryan Slater, the Department of General Services and information technology services provider CGI, for the development of eVA, Virginia's electronic procurement solution project, which was launched in 2001. The commonwealth spends as much as $5 billion a year on goods and services and is using eVA to reduce costs by standardizing and coordinating procurement activities among state agencies.