Henrico County’s general government departments and Henrico County Public Schools earned a combined 38 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovative programs and initiatives in 2021.
Henrico’s total is the most of any county in Virginia for the 16th consecutive year and is the highest number earned by Henrico in a single year since at least 1999.
With 38 awards from 50 entries, Henrico ties Montgomery County, Md. for the sixth highest number of awards nationally, following Los Angeles County, Calif.; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; San Bernardino County, Calif.; Maricopa County, Ariz.; and San Diego County, Calif. Those counties have between approximately 1 million and 10 million residents; Henrico has about 331,000 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
NACo’s Achievement Awards program recognizes groundbreaking programs and initiatives in 18 service categories, including children and youth, county administration and management, libraries, risk and emergency management, and human services.
“The NACo Achievement Awards reflect the commitment to excellence and outstanding customer service that employees of Henrico County and Henrico County Public Schools demonstrate to our community every day,” County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said. “But the sheer number of awards this year is particularly gratifying, because it highlights many of the innovative and creative programs and services that were developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the needs of our community were greatest, our employees took on every challenge.”
Henrico has earned 718 NACo awards since 1985. The 2021 awards recognize the work of seven general government departments and Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS). HCPS collected 23 awards; Division of Fire, five; Henrico County Public Library, four; Division of Recreation and Parks, two; and Henrico County Economic Development Authority, Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services, Human Resources and Police Division, one apiece.
Henrico’s award-winning programs and their submitting agencies are listed below.
- Critical Incident Response/Peer Support Team, Police
- REVIVE: Sustaining a Life Saving Program during the Pandemic, Mental Health & Developmental Services
- EDA Webinar Series, Henrico County Economic Development Authority
- Supporting Employees’ Development Remotely during Challenging Times, Human Resources
- Alternative Response Units, Division of Fire
- Communications Fire Officer Program, Fire
- Communications RN Model, Fire
- Long Term Care Facilities, Fire
- Survive your 25!, Fire
- Title Talk, Henrico County Public Library (HCPL)
- Tween Services at Fairfield Library, HCPL
- Outreach Call Center, HCPL
- Journaling Workshop Partnership, HCPL
- Soulful Sunday: Celebrating African American Heritage, Division of Recreation and Parks
- Aquatic Center Partnership, Recreation and Parks
- Bank Partnership Leads Charge in Student Career Prep, Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS)
- CTE Career Rodeo, HCPS
- CTE Helps Solve the PPE Shortage, HCPS
- Graphics Program Leads Effort to Reopen Government and Schools, HCPS
- Live on Location: Exploring Careers During a Pandemic, HCPS
- Nursing Students Act Locally to Combat Global Pandemic, HCPS
- Racing to Graduate: Graduation Victory Lap, HCPS
- Student-Built Classroom: If You Build it, They Will Come, HCPS
- Students Help Preserve 125-Year-Old County Artifact, HCPS
- Symposium Puts Students at Heart of Fashion Industry, HCPS
- Watershed Challenge, HCPS
- Culture of Dignity and Responsive Action Plan, HCPS
- Equity Ambassadors, HCPS
- Language Navigators, HCPS
- Progress Through Community Conversations, HCPS
- Modified Circulation System Gets Books into Students’ Hands, HCPS
- HCPS University, HCPS
- Parallel Hybrid Instruction, HCPS
- Edflix Virtual Learning Experience, HCPS
- Help Chats for Virtual Learning, HCPS
- Creating Courses to Support Online Learning, HCPS
- Virtual Classroom, HCPS
- Creating a School Online Enrollment System, HCPS
