Celebrating the 2022 ASFPM Award Winners
Each year, the ASFPM community celebrates the outstanding contributions made by individuals, agencies, and organizations who are advancing the association’s mission to reduce the loss of human life and property damage due to flooding.
On May 19 at the 46th annual ASFPM Conference in Orlando, attendees came together to recognize the 2022 ASFPM Award winners. Here’s a quick snapshot of this year’s honorees. Click the hyperlinks of the winners for the individual write-ups and photos.
Goddard-White Award
The Goddard-White Award is named in honor of the contributions made to floodplain management by Gilbert White (1911- 2006) and Jim Goddard (1906-1994). This award is given by ASFPM to individuals who have had a national impact carrying forward the goals and objectives of floodplain management. It is an indication of the level of esteem the association holds for the two namesakes as well as the recipients, and is ASFPM’s highest award.
2022 Winner: Chad Berginnis, ASFPM Executive Director
James Lee Witt Local Award for Excellence in Floodplain Management
The James Lee Witt Local Award recognizes outstanding programs or activities at the front lines of floodplain management — local programs where “the rubber meets the road.”
2022 Winner: City of University City, Missouri
Tom Lee State Award for Excellence in Floodplain Management
The Tom Lee State Award for Excellence is given annually to recognize an outstanding floodplain management program or activity at the state level.
Larry R. Johnston Local Floodplain Manager of the Year
This award is designed to honor an individual responsible for the development of a distinguished local program or activity, or one who struggles to implement flood hazard reduction at the local level in the absence of sophisticated programs and support.
2022 Winner: Ingrys Farias, floodplain manager for the City of Doral, Florida
Outreach Award
This award acknowledges exemplary efforts by an individual, private organization or governmental unit or agency to increase information and/or awareness of flood issues with the general public.
2022 Winner: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Resources Division
Media Award
This award acknowledges exemplary efforts on the part of media to increase information and/or awareness of flood issues with the general public.
Outstanding Chapter Award
This award recognizes an ASFPM chapter and their exemplary practices and activities that deserve national recognition. It seeks to acknowledge distinguished works by a chapter in going above and beyond its mission in a way that can be shared and replicated by other ASFPM chapters.
2022 Winner: Maryland Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Managers
John Ivey Award for Superior Efforts In Certification
This award was established by the ASFPM Board of Directors in 2001 to recognize exceptional efforts to promote the professional certification of floodplain managers.
John R. Sheaffer Award for Excellence in Floodproofing
This award may be presented to an individual, private organization, governmental unit or agency that has completed work involving a particular project, work, research, design or publication that exhibits the incorporation of accepted procedures, practices and constraints of floodproofing, or promotes the field or knowledge of floodproofing by enhancing the awareness and use of new procedures, methods, designs and/or products.
Louthain Award for Distinguished Service to ASFPM
This award recognizes individuals who, through their long-term efforts, have clearly supported and advanced the work of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
2022 Winners: Dave Knipe and Bill Nechamen
Larry Larson Meritorious Lifetime Achievement Award
Renamed this year to honor ASFPM’s co-founder and director emeritus, this award recognizes individuals who, throughout their career, have achieved success in a significant aspect of floodplain management. These efforts shall include, but not be limited to, policy, outreach, implementation, education, government, research, litigation or other actions that demonstrate the advancement of flood loss and risk reduction within the nominee’s professional realm.
2022 Winners: Donna Creef, Ronald Flanagan, and Suzanne Jiwani
Honorary Members of ASFPM
An honorary member is granted lifetime rights and privileges of membership in the association. It shall be someone who has attained eminence in the field of flood hazard mitigation in government, research, education, law or any other facet of the field.
2022 Winners: Merrie Inderfurth, Rebecca Quinn and French Wetmore
A Final Note of Thanks
ASFPM extends its heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made this year’s return to an in-person awards luncheon such a huge success, starting with everyone who took the time to nominate a person, project or agency. If there’s one thing we learn in reviewing these nominations every year, it’s that there is a lot of truly great work being done in communities large and small throughout the country.
We also want to thank those tasked with the difficult assignment of selecting this year’s winners from an impressive slate of nominees.
Nominations for the Tom Lee State Award, Larry Johnston Local Floodplain Manager of the Year Award, Media & Outreach Awards, and the James Lee Witt Local Award are reviewed by the awards selection committee led by Jerry Robinson and including Tara Coggins, Joy Duperault, Jen Marcy, Lori Rafferty, Steve Samuelson, Del Schwalls, and Brooke Seymour.
The John Ivey Award is selected by CBOR, the John R. Sheaffer Award by the co-chairs of the Nonstructural Floodproofing Committee, and the Outstanding Chapter Award by a subcommittee of chapter directors. All of those recommendations are then reviewed by the ASFPM executive team and presented to the board of directors for approval
And last but not least, a big thank you to Bruce Bender, co-chair of the ASFPM Flood Insurance Committee, for serving as emcee extraordinaire and keeping everyone engaged and everything running on time despite an extremely packed schedule.
