2023 ASFPM Award Winners Recognized
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.
Last month at the 47th Annual ASFPM Conference in Raleigh, NC, attendees came together to recognize the 2023 ASFPM Award winners. Here’s a quick snapshot of this year’s honorees. Congratulations to all!
Learn more about the award winners. Download profiles and photos here
Larry Larson Meritorious Lifetime Achievement Award
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. 2023 Winner: Dave Canaan, former director of Mecklenburg County, NC Storm Water Services.
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. 2023 Winner: Sean Roche, CFM, Michael Baker International
Margaret A. Davidson Award for Excellence in Climate Change Adaptation
This award was established in 2022 to honor Margaret A. Davidson, a visionary leader in coastal management issues. Recipients of this award should reflect Davidson’s commitment to address complex environmental challenges, engage diverse communities, increase resilience among overburdened and underserved populations, advance floodplain policy through broad partnerships, and advocate for more women and people of color in the floodplain management profession. 2023 Winner: Janelle Kellman, Mayor of Sausalito, California
John R. Sheaffer Award for Excellence in Floodproofing
This award is 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. 2023 Winner: Tom Little, CFM, president of Floodproofing.com
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. 2023 Winner: Missouri State Emergency Management Agency.
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.
2023 Winner: Patrick Varga, CFM of Carroll County, Maryland, Bureau of Resource Management
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. 2023 Winner: Amy J. Miller, CFM State NFIP Coordinator, State of Tennessee
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.”
2023 Winner: The City of Norfolk Virginia, Ohio Creek Watershed Project.
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. 2023 Winner: Virginia Floodplain Management Association
Outreach/Media 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.
2023 Winner: Charleston County Floodplain Management, a Division in the Building Inspection Services Department
2023 Winner: Floodproofing.com
CTP Recognition Program
In addition, during the awards luncheon, FEMA announced the recipient of its 7th Annual Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Recognition program.The program was created in 2016 as a way to promote high-achieving CTPs in the areas of project management, innovation, and other technological best practices. This year’s theme looked at those areas with a focus on Equity and Inclusion. 2023 Winner: National Wildlife Federation
A Final Note of Thanks
ASFPM extends its heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made the 2023 Awards Luncheon such a huge success, starting with everyone who took the time to nominate a person, project, or agency for recognition. 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. The awards selection committee, led by Jerry Robinson and including Jennifer Marcy, Claire Jubb, Del Schwalls, Celinda Adair and David Powers reviewed the nominations for the Tom Lee State Award, Margaret Davidson Award, Larry Johnston Local Floodplain Manager of the Year Award, Media/Outreach Award, and the James Lee Witt Local Award. The John Ivey Award is selected by CBOR; the John R. Sheaffer Awardby the co-chairs of theNonstructural Floodproofing Committee; and the Outstanding Chapter Award by a subcommittee of chapter district directors. The selections were then reviewed by the ASFPM executive team and presented to the Board for approval.
Finally, we extend a big thank you to Bruce Bender, co-chair of the ASFPM Flood Insurance Committee, for once again serving as emcee. We pack a lot into our awards program, but Bruce is a true master of ceremonies in keeping attendees engaged and everything running on time. We couldn’t do it without him.
The Call for Nominations for the 2024 Awards will open in December. It’s not too early to begin thinking about who you might want to nominate for an ASFPM Award. Learn more and past winners for all the awards.
Learn more about the 2023 award winners. Download profiles and photos here
