VCU’s Wilder School to present Excellence in Virginia Government Awards

By Mike Porter

The Virginia Commonwealth University L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs will honor 10 Virginians who have made distinctive contributions to the practice of government and to the well being of Virginia’s communities.

The awards will be presented during the Wilder School’s second annual Excellence in Virginia Government Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

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

The Lifetime Public Achievement Award will be presented to Paul W. Timmreck. Timmreck is one of the most respected public servants in Virginia in the last three decades. He served as Secretary of Finance for both Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and Gov. George Allen. He served as VCU's senior vice president for Finance and Administration for President Eugene P. Trani. Timmreck’s service in these positions made a significant contribution toward Virginia twice being named the best managed state in the nation and to VCU's growth and development.

The Expansion of Freedom Award will be presented to the Hon. Oliver W. Hill and awarded posthumously to the Hon. Spottswood W. Robinson III, for their service as two of the nation’s most prominent and courageous civil rights attorneys. Hill and Robinson were key figures in every stage of the historic legal challenges to segregation, from planning the overall litigation strategy to the actual courtroom advocacy. The award is being renamed the Hill-Robinson Expansion of Freedom Award in their honor.

The Public Information Award will be presented to David M. Poole, executive director, the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group dedicated to improving the public’s understanding of the role of money in Virginia politics. VPAP created an online database that details the source of financial support for candidates and how the funds are spent.

The Community Enhancement Award will be presented to Nelda K. Pearson, Ph.D., executive director of Beans and Rice and professor in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at Radford University, for creating an after-school program for 15 at-risk students in a low-income housing community near the university. The program’s success led to the formation of Beans and Rice, a comprehensive economic development organization for underserved communities in central Appalachia.

The Public-Private Partnership Award will be presented in recognition of a successful project in Fredericksburg at Lafayette Upper Elementary and James Monroe High School. The city of Fredericksburg teamed up with the Fredericksburg City Public Schools and First Choice Public Private Partners on a project that guaranteed costs and offered quality construction for the schools.  Honorees include Fredericksburg Assistant City Manager Beverly Cameron, Fredericksburg City Schools Superintendent Dale Sander, English Construction Company President A. Douglas Dalton and Moseley Architects President Bob Mills.

The Innovation in Government Award will be presented to Deborah D. Oswalt, executive director of the Virginia Health Care Foundation, created in 1992 to improve health care for children, senior citizens, the chronically ill and underserved communities. The foundation is responsible for more than 235 projects that provide services to more than 400,000 medically underserved and uninsured Virginians.