Three Recipients for the 2022 Larry Larson Meritorious Lifetime Achievement Award

Donna Creef, Ronald Flanagan, and Suzanne Jiwani recognized

One of the fun surprises of the awards luncheon was giving a new name to the Meritorious Lifetime Achievement Award in Floodplain Management. There truly is no one who better exemplifies a meritorious lifetime commitment to and achievement in floodplain management than Larry Larson. Not only is Larry one of the co-founders of the association, but he’s literally spent his entire career – close to 6 decades worth and counting –  advancing flood risk reduction.

And so, to honor ASFPM’s co-founder and director emeritus, this award now bares his name and be known as the Larry Larson Meritorious Lifetime Achievement Award. Its goal remains the same: to 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.

Here are the 2022 recipients:

Donna Creef, CFM

Donna Creef retired earlier this year after spending 33 years working for Dare County, North Carolina, including the last 11 years as the county’s Planning Director.

Creef and her team have a long and productive history of developing effective and progressive floodplain management policies and standards, enforcing those standards, implementing flood damage prevention education initiatives, and assisting property owners with solutions to minimize flood damage. Under her watch, nearly 100 homes in Dare County will have been elevated with the assistance of FEMA mitigation grant funds, with $6.6 million in grant funds received to date and another $4.5 million on the way.  

She also led the Outer Banks CRS Users Group, helped develop a comprehensive educational campaign centered around the “Low Risk is Not No Risk” messaging, and led an initiative to develop a regulatory framework to accompany new maps.

A Certified Floodplain Manager who is considered mentor by many local municipal planners and floodplain managers throughout the Outer Banks, the way her community feels about her dedication to flood risk management was apparent in the many letters of support which accompanied her nomination. Twelve letters in all – including the North Carolina Dept of Public Safety, multiple towns, surveying and engineering companies, and an insurance company.  

One of the stand-out letters was from a family hit by Hurricane Matthew who recalled “her calming presence” and called her “a local hero” who met with area families numerous times to talk about mitigation options and how to secure grant funding to elevate.

Ronald Flanagan, CFM

As a consultant for the City of Tulsa and most of the other progressive floodplain management communities within the State of Oklahoma, Flanagan committed his life’s work to promoting sound floodplain management activities, such as No Adverse Impact, and flood risk reduction through hazard mitigation planning.

His nomination spoke of his “unbridled passion, tenacity and guts” not only to speak out for flood risk reduction but also to tackle so many aspects of floodplain management – often in the face of adversity.

With the finesse of a southern preacher, he educates builders and realtor associations, speaks to government officials about how to improve stormwater drainage and reduce repetitive loss areas and is a popular instructor at Oklahoma Floodplain Managers Association (OFMA) Chapter Conferences and training workshops.

Flanagan is constantly sought out for his wealth of experience and frequently contributes his findings to researchers at local colleges as well as the Natural Hazards Center.

True to the name of a lifetime achievement award, the person we’re honoring today has well over 50 years of experience, has successfully authored some of the nation’s most thorough hazard mitigation plans, and has supported Tulsa’s recent ascent to a CRS Class 1. He also developed many local Master Drainage Plans that have resulted in reduced flood vulnerability for citizens and lessened the impacts to city infrastructure.

Suzanne Jiwani, CFM

Suzanne Jiwani spent her entire career dedicated to floodplain management in the state of Minnesota.

As a young engineer, she developed many of the original models that backed the first studies for Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) in the state. Jiwani shared her knowledge by mentoring dozens of young professionals throughout her career, both at an engineering firm and later as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR’s) lead coordinator with FEMA on floodplain mapping efforts for the state.

A trusted technical resource for communities throughout Minnesota, she has earned multiple prestigious awards, including the 2016 MnAFPM Floodplain Manager of the Year Award, and lent her expertise in leading numerous state and national committees over her career. Taken together, her continued efforts to develop and update floodplain mapping and advocate for “better data” has helped hundreds of communities within the state better understand their flood risk and be in a better position to reduce that risk.

While her specific job title changed over the years, functionally Jiwani has been the state floodplain engineer for Minnesota for more than 20 years and has led the state’s CTP program since its inception. The program she built at the MN DNR has helped update modeling and mapping for thousands of miles of stream and hundreds of lakes across Minnesota.

Outside of regular work responsibilities, she was a co-lead for the ASFPM Modeling and Mapping Committee, working to make recommendations to FEMA on how to accept and review 2D models for floodplain mapping projects. She is also wrapping up her service as a member of TMAC.