NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – For the eighth consecutive year, New Hanover County has received recognition from the National Association of Counties (NACo) earning 11 Achievement Awards in 2023 for programs and initiatives that highlight the county’s service to the community. Over the last eight years, New Hanover County has received a total of 65 NACo Achievement Awards, including three straight years with 10 or more.
On Sunday, Commissioner Rob Zapple, County Manager Chris Coudriet and Intergovernmental Affairs Manager Tim Buckland received the awards as part of NACo’s annual conference in Austin, Texas.
“Each year, we ask county staff to provide the highest level of service possible to our community. This is a recognition of their hard work adapting processes for efficiency and adding new services to meet the needs of our growing community,” Zapple said. “Being recognized by NACo is a significant accomplishment as it shows a continued commitment to being the model of good governance without compromising service. I am grateful that our dedicated staff is being recognized for what they do.”
Each year, NACo’s Achievement Awards recognize county governments programs around the country that aim to build, sustain and enhance healthy, safe and vibrant communities. There are 18 categories in these national honors that cover the far-reaching services counties offer.
This year, New Hanover County’s 11 awards were spread out over nine different departments. Below is a list of the programs and services that received these distinctions and videos highlighting the awards can be viewed here:
- “Escape the Vape” in the category of Health
- “Youth Intensive Intervention Services Program” in the category of Criminal Justice and Public Safety
- “Older Adult Dental Program” in the category of Health
- “Older Adult Mental Health Program” in the category of Human Services
- “Building Safety Permitting Continuous Improvement Process” in the category of Community and Economic Development
- “Burnout Learning and Development” in the category of Personnel Management, Employment and Training
- “Su Condado – YouTube Show” in the category of Human Services
- “Nature at Home Volunteer Program” in the category of Volunteers
- “Water Quality Monitoring Program” in the category of County Resiliency
- “Wilmington Housing Authority Recovery” in the category of Financial Management
- “New Hanover County Connect” in the category of Human Services
NACo is a national organization that brings together county governments and administrators from more than 3,000 counties across the country twice a year to discuss the issues that are of importance to all local governments. The organization also sets the agenda for the NACo staff, as they advocate for counties in meetings and hearings with congressional representatives in Washington D.C. throughout the year. To learn more about NACo, click here.
Check out more info on the awards in the video playlist below.