Saluting the 2021 ASFPM Award Winners
The ASFPM annual awards serve to recognize the outstanding contributions made by individuals, agencies, and organizations to keep communities safe from flood loss, promote resiliency, and advance the association’s mission. After reviewing an impressive slate of nominations, we are pleased to announce our 2021 winners.
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 is ASFPM’s highest award and is given to those individuals who made a national impact carrying forward the goals and objectives of floodplain management.
2021 Winner: Dale Lehman, vice president at AECOM
For the past 40 years, Dale Lehman has dedicated himself to floodplain management and flood risk reduction— providing support on more than 400 major disasters and thousands of mitigation and recovery projects throughout the nation. Using his extensive experience in flood hazard analysis, flood risk assessment, mitigation, and flood policy risk management, Dale has provided guidance and support to state and local governments, federal agencies, and international flood resilience initiatives.
Some of his key accomplishments include: helping to revise FEMA’s wave height and storm surge analysis methodology, developing guidelines for density floodways, and policy and program support for FEMA’s expansion of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) following the 1993 Midwest floods and for the implementation of the pre-disaster mitigation grant and pre-disaster mitigation planning programs from the DMA 2000. In addition, Lehman gave policy advice to USAID on restructuring its worldwide disaster services framework; delivered Congressional testimony on multiple occasions; and advised congressional committees on flood insurance reauthorization, resilience, and hazard mitigation, and gave input into the Federal Flood Risk Management Executive Order. His commitment to ASFPM includes serving as a board member, POD facilitator, and ASFPM Foundation trustee and executive committee member.
Meritorious Lifetime Achievement in Floodplain Management 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.
2021 Winner: Sally Ann McConkey, P.E., CFM, Illinois State Water Survey
Throughout her 30+ years of leadership at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), Sally McConkey has worked tirelessly to advance FEMA’s mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters. In 2004, Sally initiated the Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program (CHAMP) group at ISWS, where she now serves as section head. The ambitious mapping project initially involved working under IDNR/OWR to update FEMA community-based paper format Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) into countywide Digital-FIRMs with an associated geodatabase for all counties in Illinois. In 2008 the ISWS signed a Cooperating Technical Partnership (CTP) Agreement directly with FEMA. As a CTP, the ISWS collaborates on a variety of projects with IDNR/OWR and FEMA related to flood hazard identification and communication of flood risk.
Sally’s long-time involvement, support, and leadership in ASFPM and the Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management (IAFSM) have facilitated opportunities and successes in the realm of floodplain management across the country. Sally’s work has undoubtedly altered and improved the course of many lives, most of which will never know the direct positive influence she has had on their safety and prosperity.
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.
2021 winner: Colorado Water Conservation Board
In September 2013 Colorado experienced a flood disaster that forever changed the state. The Colorado Water Conservation Board went to work and invested heavily to not only map and promote flood risk awareness, but to also fund significant Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) projects in flood-affected areas to restore and stabilize streams, thus promoting healthier floodplains.
Through innovative collaborative partnerships between federal, state, and local governments along with private companies, non-profit organizations, and committed citizens the EWP program implemented 67 flood recovery projects from 2015-2018. These projects sought to address hazards to life and property and restore the health and function of stream corridors impaired by the 2013 flood disaster. A compilation of the many resources developed during this time are available on the EWP website to help others to plan, react, adapt, evolve, and achieve in the wake of the flood.
In addition, the Colorado Fluvial Hazard Zone Program provides an innovative application of science, technology, and planning tools to further the understanding and communication of flood hazards and flood risk in communities. The program provides a technical framework for delineating lands along stream corridors that are susceptible to fluvial-induced erosion, deposition, and channel change processes. It also supports this work by developing and sharing resources for communities to use as they incorporate Fluvial Hazard Zone maps into their development, emergency preparedness and response, and conservation planning. The program is useful not only to the communities within Colorado but can also serve as a model for other states or counties that wish to further develop their understanding and management of flood hazards. Numerous resources are available for download on the Colorado Fluvial Hazard Zone website.
Louthain Award for Distinguished Service to ASFPM
In 1995, the board established the Jerry Louthain Award for Distinguished Service to ASFPM, the highest award ASFPM gives to recognize individuals who, through their long-term efforts, have clearly supported and advanced the work of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
2021 winner: Joy Duperault, CFM, State NFIP Coordinator & Deputy Hazard Mitigation Officer in Massachusetts
Joy Duperault is director of the Flood Hazard Management Program within the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation where she oversees the implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program in coordination with the Commonwealth’s more than 340 NFIP communities. Her responsibilities include NFIP technical assistance, review of state floodplain projects, outreach and training for local officials, and general coordination with other state agencies and organizations on floodplain management issues.
Joy was formerly the state NFIP coordinator and deputy mitigation officer for the state of Florida, where she resided for 40 years. In that position, she also served as secretary for the ASFPM Executive Board from 2012 until 2014. Joy has in-depth experience working on administrative and organizational tasks including policymaking, development of by-laws and strategic planning, program development and delivery, grant writing and management, and budget preparation and reports.
She has been a Certified Floodplain Manager since 2009 and currently serves as co-chair for the ASFPM Flood Mitigation Committee where she is always willing to lend her time and expertise in providing comments on proposed mitigation legislation and grants. She also is a working member of the newly formed ASFPM Social Justice Taskforce. As a volunteer, she has been an active ASFPM board member, committee co-chair, and member who shares her knowledge widely and freely with other states, communities, and professionals. In short, she personifies what the Louthain Award for Distinguished Service to ASFPM stands for.
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.
2021 Winner: French Wetmore, CFM, French & Associates, Ltd
French Wetmore has been a steadfast and highly visible advocate for nonstructural flood mitigation for years. Some of his written contributions to the field include a 2004 report titled Local Flood Proofing Programs, which documented how a community can develop and administer its own flood proofing program, and a 2020 report flood risk reduction options for buildings with crawlspaces. Prior to consulting, French was chief of local floodplain programs for the Illinois Division of Water Resources and the state NFIP coordinator, 1976 – 1988.
An active member of ASFPM Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee, French rarely misses a committee call, provides notable insights, expertise, and anecdotes on nonstructural implementations, frequently volunteers on committee work plan activities, and is an important ambassador of the Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee and ASFPM as a whole. Committee co-chair Randy Behm noted in the nomination that French was one of three people who influenced his interest in nonstructural floodproofing.
Outreach/Media Award
This award was established to acknowledge exemplary efforts to increase information and/or awareness of flood issues with the general public.
2021 Winner: City of Roanoke, Stormwater Division
The City of Roanoke didn’t let COVID-19 slow down its efforts to educate residents on flood risk, insurance, and mitigation. When it was clear the city’s second annual Prepareathon wasn’t going to happen, they had two choices: cancel it or pivot to something different. Led by Danielle DeHart, CFM, environmental specialist with the City of Roanoke’s Stormwater Division, the city rethought what was possible – scrapping plans for the one-day, in-person event to a month-long outreach initiative that leaned heavy on social media, videos, and other digital content and resources.
A 30-day social media plan featured live Tuesday Talks and What’s Up Wednesdays on the Stormwater Division’s Facebook page, Turn Around Don’t Drown PSAs, videos of historical area floods, and daily posts to educate the public on flood preparedness, the importance of flood insurance, and what to put in disaster kits. DeHart coordinated with neighboring localities, not only to improve regional flood awareness but to also provide those neighboring communities the opportunity to receive CRS credit for the outreach events. They also partnered with other organizations, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to share information, as well as focused on local resources available to citizens, such as the city’s GIS tools and hazard mitigation plan. Lastly, forging a partnership with the local television station helped amplify the message with multiple news stories throughout the month on Roanoke’s Prepareathon and National Preparedness Month.
You can find some of the materials created for last year’s Prepareathon here.
Larry R. Johnston Local Floodplain Manager of the Year (individuals only)
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.
2021 winner: Tonya Vig, CFM. City of Spearfish, Engineering Dept.
Tonya Vig works tirelessly, and often thanklessly, to keep the City of Spearfish safe from flooding. A substantial portion of the city is in a mapped floodplain, so she works with a large percentage of the population on a day-to-day basis. Tonya’s job is not well understood by the general public, so she is often vilified by homeowners, developers, contractors, engineers, and surveyors for enforcing both the federal and local regulations, but she does so without complaint and not a small amount of grace.
She also upholds the highest level of ethical and technical standards. Tonya not only works hard to keep up with the flood of single-homeowner questions and requests that she gets daily (she is the only one in the floodplain department) but also manages to maintain the city’s standing in the Community Rating System, actively works to keep the various floodmaps up to date, and organizes and coordinates education events with FEMA for the local engineers and surveyors as well as other floodplain administrators in the area. She is considered the “local expert” that area floodplain administrators in the surrounding municipalities and counties reach out to for questions. Tonya’s ability to accomplish all of these tasks with relatively limited resources was something that really resonated with many of the judges reviewing award nominations.
James Lee Witt Local Award for Excellence in Floodplain Management
The James Lee Witt Local Award seeks to recognize outstanding programs or activities at the front lines of floodplain management – local programs where “the rubber meets the road.” Eligible entries include local units of government such as cities, towns and counties.
This year we have two winners:
- Town of Drakes Branch, Virginia
- Imagine Water Works
Town of Drakes Branch, Virginia – Like a lot of rural communities, the Town of Drakes Branch has limited resources but an abundance of flooding issues. Buildings along Main Street were constructed on top of what looks like a small ditch. However, this small ditch is actually a Zone A floodplain that floods with each big rain event. After years of flooding on Main Street, the buildings have literally begun to fall apart, many have been condemned, and the town has lost businesses. The flood damage also caused several safety hazards, including a crack in the floor of the town’s municipal building and standing water in the fire station.
What makes this story unique, are not the problems, but the solution. This small town was able to form unique partnerships, leverage different funding sources, and rally community support to address their flooding issues.
The Town of Drakes Branch received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to address blight and improve their economic development, which brought the flooding concerns to the forefront. Mitigation options were the first idea presented to the town, but because the Zone A floodplain didn’t actually align with the ditch and building locations, and the buildings didn’t have NFIP flood insurance, the options were limited. Instead of giving up, the town coordinated with the regional planning district commission, and were able to pull together several different partners to leverage a variety of state and federal funds to address this issue.
First, the town was able to modify their CDBG project to help meet the match requirements for a state grant to conduct a flood study. This flood study would not only provide them with a better understanding of their flood risk, but it would also help make the buildings eligible for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Funds. They hired a consultant, conducted the flood study, and did lot of public outreach. The town was able to share the work with their residents and get support for the project. Others recognized the need so much that someone gifted them a parcel of land across the street and outside of the floodplain so the town could build a new municipal building and fire station if they could find the money.
After completing the flood study, the town got a LOMR approved through FEMA and amended their floodplain ordinance to ensure compliance with the NFIP. They then used that information to apply for a FEMA grant to acquire and demolish the existing municipal building and fire station. They are still waiting to find out if this award will be granted, but in the meantime, they were able to acquire local funds to start construction of a new town building and fire station across the street, as well as worked with the state to address some of the road flooding issues that were identified in the initial flood study report.
Imagine Water Works
Imagine Water Works is a New Orleans-based, mostly volunteer-led grassroots organization working at the front lines of hurricanes, floods, and compounding crises like COVID-19 to provide outreach, relief, and support to communities and individuals.
Although not a typical floodplain management organization, judges were impressed by this non-profit’s knowledge of disaster relief and their efforts to successfully support those who are most vulnerable and often forgotten in times of global disasters, including Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, and trans residents of New Orleans.
Led by Miriam Belblidia, CFM, and Klie Kliebert, the core focus areas of Imagine Water Works are climate justice, water management, and disaster readiness and response. The organization supports these efforts by providing resources that keep people more safe before, during, and after both natural and manmade disasters.
Some of the group’s activities in 2020 include:
- Released a “COVID-19 Guide to Hurricane Season” with special considerations for LGBTQ individuals and anyone especially vulnerable to COVID-19
- Launched the Imagine Mutual Aid Network, which grew to 4,800 members in just nine months. The network fulfilled thousands of individual requests for food, clothing, mobility devices, childcare supplies, pet supplies, transportation, and more
- Set up more than 60 free Community Power Stations across the city where residents could charge electronics and access Wi-Fi while the power was out due to hurricanes and other storms
- Supported the 12,000+ individuals who evacuated to New Orleans during Hurricane Laura, responding to over 5,000 interactions in the mutual aid group within the first week of landfall
- Distributed 3,284 cleanup items, including hammers, chainsaws, box fans, extension cords, buckets, tarps, gloves, and more to rural Southwest Louisiana
The 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. Any individual, agency or organization is eligible. The award was named after John Ivey because he was serving as our Professional Development Committee chair in the mid-1990s and was instrumental in the CFM exam development and roll out.
2021 winner: Ingrid Danler Wadsworth, former deputy director of operations at ASFPM (retired March 2021).
Ingrid worked tirelessly with the Certification Board of Regents (CBOR) for the last seven years. As part of her role within ASFPM, Ingrid was initially brought on to help guide board modernization and steer through the myriad of issues that come with the growth and development of a nationwide program. She remained to help CBOR with strategic planning, transitioning new board presidents and exam chairs, and helping to find new and well-qualified CBOR members.
Ingrid was active in creating the infrastructure for the program to grow by representing the executive office on CBOR. Ingrid contributed to rewriting the CFM Program Charter, creating the policy manual, developing the new strategic plan, and creating defined roles for the regents, along with Appendix A to the Charter defining the roles and responsibilities of the exam workgroup. She assisted the exam workgroup in a major update of the exam to include the use of actual DFIRMs.
Ingrid’s enthusiasm and contributions as a CBOR Regent and a member of the executive office staff have been instrumental on the journey for growth and consistency. Ingrid is most proud of her participation in the paper-to-digital effort; being able to negotiate and sign a good contract, direct staff on the internal processes, and get the digital exam so close to the finish line. Ingrid’s contributions have been appreciated, not only by CFM’s, but in her interactions and relationships with accredited chapters.
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.
2021 Winner: New York State Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Managers (NYSFSMA)
NYSFSMA is being recognized for a comprehensive training initiative that began in 2018 when the New York chapter put together a group that was interested in flood-related training for the floodplain managers in their state.
This group then went to work identifying training needs; collecting information on best practices; and creating lists of available training modules, trainers, and topics, as well as information on CECs, and training venues, including online.
They revamped the NYwww.staging.floods.org website to not only give it a whole new look and feel but created a rich repository of resources and training content on the key topics members need. Since the site was pushed live in spring 2020, there’s been significant increase in traffic to the site, which has led to growth in not only training participation, but revenue and memberships as well.
Judges were impressed by how well the project was planned and executed. The documentation provided with the nomination shows a clear path from start to finish, making it helpful for other chapters who might want to replicate the project in their state. Documentation and adaptability are two of the main requirements for the award.
NYSFSMA is chaired by Ricardo Lopez-Torrijos. Pictured (l-r) are Jennifer Marcy and Stevie Adams, co-chairs of the Outreach & Training Committee’s web re-design project.
Thank you, judges!
A special thank you to our awards selection committee, which was led by Jerry Robinson and included Bill Brown, Dave Carlton, Jennifer Marcy, Rebecca Pfeiffer, Jeanne Ruefer, Steve Samuelson, and Jeff Sparrow as well as Chad Berginnis, Larry Larson, and Ingrid Wadsworth. Chapter nominations are reviewed by a subcommittee of chapter, John R. Sheaffer Award is selected by co-chairs of the Nonstructional Floodproofing Committee, John Ivey Award is selected by CBOR. All selections are affirmed by the ASFPM Board of Directors.
The call for nominations for the 2022 ASFPM awards will go out later this year. We look forward to hearing about the many worthwhile individuals, organizations, and agencies who are making a difference in the floodplain management community and those we serve. You can learn more about the awards here.
