Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Atlantic County Recognized with Three National Achievement Awards

The National Association of Counties (NaCo) has selected Atlantic County government to receive three achievement awards for effective and creative programs, announced County Executive Dennis Levinson. They include:

* implementing an interoperable radio communications system
* creating a middle management training initiative
* producing the military service publication, "Called to Duty: Recollections of Atlantic County Veterans."

"The NaCo awards recognize the best county government initiatives in the country. Selection is through a very competitive process. Atlantic County is proud to be counted among this elite group," stated Levinson. "I am very grateful and appreciative of our dedicated staff who continue to improve our services with innovative programming."

The NaCo achievement awards are presented in more than 20 categories, ranging from arts and historic preservation to volunteerism. All counties and state associations of counties are eligible to apply. This year's winners represent 24 states and 107 counties.

In the category of emergency management and response, Atlantic County's Department of Public Safety was recognized for implementing a countywide 800 MHz radio communications system that is used by county departments as well as the county's 23 municipalities to effectively communicate during emergencies.

Atlantic County's Best Practices for Management Initiative was recognized in the employee training category. In a cooperative effort by county administration and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County, a course was developed to address the challenges faced by middle management staff.

The Department of Administrative Services was recognized for producing a military service publication in the category of civic education and public information. The idea for the book, Called to Duty: Recollections of Atlantic County Veterans, came from Levinson who, as a former history teacher, was dismayed to learn how few students had knowledge of local history or the contributions of local veterans.

For more information, please contact Howard J. Kyle at (609) 343-2223.

County News