City Administrator Receives National Public Works Honor
Thursday, September 1st, 2022
These days, Andrew Parker wears the city administrator's hat for the City of Dalton, but his public works hard hat is never far from his reach. The former director of Dalton's Public Works Department was honored last week with the American Public Works Association's (APWA) 2022 Presidential Leadership Award. Parker was surprised with the honor at the APWA's Public Works Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Caption: Dalton city administrator Andrew Parker (right) receives the APWA's 2022 Presidential Leadership Award
The outgoing APWA president gives the award each year to honor an APWA member and public works professional who exemplifies the best in public works and has contributed significantly to the association’s mission. The outgoing president is free to choose to give the award to anyone they feel deserving.
Outgoing APWA president Stan Brown strongly felt that Parker was deserving of the honor. When introducing the award, Brown said, “This individual was the APWA National Young Leader of the Year in 2016 and served as chapter president in 2018.” During his tenure as chapter president, Brown continued, Parker helped establish an awards program and worked to align the chapter’s goals, activities and structure more closely with the APWA national Strategic Plan.
“As a champion of public works, he has promoted the public works profession and enhanced APWA’s advocacy efforts. His recognized leadership qualities resulted in his promotion from public works director to city administrator,” Brown said. “Following a similar career path to mine, I’m excited to see how he will use this new role to further the APWA vision of ‘advancing the quality of life for all.’”
Upon receiving the award, Parker got a chuckle from the audience when he said, “I’m not surprised often, but this surprised me.”
About APWA
The American Public Works Association (www.apwa.net) is a not-for-profit, international organization of more than 30,000 members involved in the field of public works. APWA serves its members by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy, and the exchange of knowledge. APWA is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., has an office in Washington, DC, and 62 chapters and 97 branches throughout North America.
