Public Service Award honorees named for 2018

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JMU 2018 Public Service Week Awards

SUMMARY: Honorees have been selected for the Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) awards ceremony and reception to be held at 5pm on April 30, 2018 at JMU's Madison Union Ballroom.


The College of Arts and Letters, School of Public and International Affairs, and Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program of James Madison University are pleased to recognize three public servants in the Valley as outstanding public service professionals whose remarkable work is making life better for all Americans, in particular for improving the quality of life in the Shenandoah Valley – at a Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) awards ceremony and reception held in their honor, April 30, 2018 at 5 pm in the Madison Union Ballroom at James Madison University. 

Celebrated since 1985, PSRW is a nationwide public education campaign honoring the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county and local government employees. JMU chooses to also take this opportunity to recognize nonprofit employees and community volunteers as integral partners in engaged public service.  Each year the President and Congress designate the first full week of May (May 6-12, 2018) as PSRW and activities are held nationwide in celebration of public servants who put service above self.

Sue Totty, Former Executive Director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County is being recognized with the Lifelong Achievement in Public Service Excellence award for her devotion to making a positive impact in the lives of vulnerable children and families. In addition to her many years of public service, Sue has provided invaluable leadership on the design and implementation of two major federal research grants from the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which together total nearly $800,000. An investment of this size in our community has allowed BBSHR to serve more young people in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as well, as extend their impact beyond the Shenandoah Valley. It is clear that Sue’s commitment to research and evaluation is driven by a desire to advance knowledge about what works to improve the outcomes of at-risk children and youth, wherever they live.

Kurt Hodgen, Former City Manager of the City of Harrisonburg is being recognized with the John B. Noftsinger Alumni Award for Public Service Excellence, which recognizes a JMU alum in public service who shares the same ideals of public and community service as its namesake, most notably an entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for public service, and a commitment to academic excellence. Kurt has spent his entire career in positions of leadership in the public sector. A career marked by service to western Virginia and more than fifteen years in his adoptive home of Harrisonburg, where he first came to attend James Madison University (JMU). Kurt held leadership positions in Alleghany County, the Town of Narrows, Botetourt County, and finally in the City of Harrisonburg, where he first began his career as an intern in the Planning Department. Kurt has led communities through challenges and has done so while upholding the highest ethics and ideals of public service and a firm, dogged commitment to the principles of the council-manager form of government. Most notably his tenure spanned both a growing City and university population, but also, the Great Recession. It is Kurt’s commitment to service, equity, and engagement that provided a bedrock for the leadership necessary to guide and assist the City Council, City staff, and the residents through these challenges.

Alleyn Harned, MPA, the Executive Director of Virginia Clean Cities (VCC), is being recognized as this year's recipient of the Excellence in Public Service Award. Virginia Clean Cities is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy-affiliated Clean Cities Coalitions program. Alleyn joined Clean Cities in 2009, the same year Virginia Clean Cities, Inc., formed a partnership with James Madison University. That partnership allows Clean Cities and the university in Harrisonburg, Va., to work together to leverage resources, support alternative fuel initiatives and pursue opportunities to decrease pollution and reduce dependence on foreign oil.  Prior to be named Executive Director, Alleyn served as the VCC ‘s Business Development Director.  He serves as the Virginia representative to the nine-state Southeast Natural Gas Vehicle Corridor Committee, and was coordinator for Virginia’s initial 2010 electric vehicle readiness effort. Harned was appointed to the State Advisory Board on Air Pollution in 2013. Alleyn has worked on transportation and energy related issues in Virginia since 2006.  Before joining the VCC staff, Alleyn served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia where he assisted in drafting Virginia’s initial Energy Plan, and participated in the Virginia Commission on Climate Change and Governor’s Energy Policy Advisory Council.  With Virginia Clean Cities, Harned leads the Virginia Clean Cities coalition’s collaborative effort to assist stakeholders and the Commonwealth in programs to improve air quality, and increase American energy security and economic opportunity through the increased use of alternative fuels and vehicles.

“Alleyn’s patience, guidance, and vision are unmatched. Virginia is a better place to live, work, and raise a family because of his efforts. Alleyn’s results leading VCC for the past eight years are as impressive as they are difficult to fathom. Alleyn and his team are responsible for replacing hundreds of millions of gallons of petroleum with renewable alternatives in the transportation sector while preventing millions of tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere” (Nominator).

Awardees come from the nonprofit and local government sectors, all sharing a common focus on collaboration, innovation, and community organizing with significant contributions in Richmond and Washington D.C. on behalf of the Shenandoah Valley.

The Public Service Recognition Week awards ceremony is hosted by the College of Arts and Letters, School of Public and International Affairs, and the Master of Public Administration Program at James Madison University - a NASPAA accredited graduate program with concentrations in Public Management, Nonprofit Management, Management in International Nongovernmental Organizations, and International Stabilization and Recovery. Through engaged teaching, research, and service, the MPA program equips current and future public service professionals with the capacity to address complex local and global problems. 

The winners were nominated by colleagues familiar with their work and selected by a committee that includes former Public Service Award honorees. Many notable nominations were submitted for consideration this year and the process to select just one per category was arduous.

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For further information, contact:

Dr. Jennifer A. Taylor, Assistant Professor

taylo2ja@jmu.edu, 361-779-2392 (mobile)

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Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Last Updated: Saturday, January 25, 2020

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