Henrico County agencies earn 52 NACo awards

Henrico County has earned 52 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties for 2024, a total that is believed to be the most awards the county has ever received in the annual competition.

The awards are designed to recognize innovative programs and initiatives across 18 categories, including children and youth, financial management, county resiliency, libraries, parks and recreation, and human services. All but 10 of Henrico's 62 entries earned an award, and the county's overall total trailed only those of San Bernardino County, California; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Los Angeles County, California; Maricopa County, Arizona; Howard County, Maryland; and Cook County, Illinois. All are significantly larger than Henrico, except for Howard County, whose population of 336,000 is nearly identical to Henrico's.

Henrico has earned the most awards of any Virginia county in the contest for 19 consecutive years.

“Year after year, the outstanding and innovative work of employees of Henrico County and Henrico County Public Schools shines under the spotlight of the NACo Achievement Awards,” County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said. “Our 52 awards in 2024 are, quite possibly, our highest total ever. I applaud our employees for their energy, dedication and creativity and for putting their hearts into doing all they can to make Henrico the best place it can be to live, work, play and visit.”

Among the programs to earn an award was the Henrico Small Business Boost program, a partnership between the Henrico Economic Development Authority and the Henrico Citizen, through which 20 small businesses in the county received free advertising and marketing packages worth $4,000 apiece.

Other programs to earn awards were:

• Pop Up Mentoring Program (PUMP) for Small Business, EDA
• Live Your Best 2023 Campaign, EDA
• Enhanced Engagement Process for Remote Business Taxpayers, Finance
• Henrico County Virginia Transparency and Efficiency 21^st Century Contract Management, Finance
• DEC Internship Program, Emergency Communications
• 911 Wellness Initiative, Emergency Communications
• Tactical Dispatch Program, Emergency Communications
• Studio at the Springs, Recreation & Parks
• Canoeing with the Community, Recreation & Parks
• Henrico United, Recreation & Parks
• BH Equity Working with the LGBTQIA2S+ Community, Mental Health & Developmental Services (MHDS)
• Comfort Boxes, MHDS
• Substance Use Overdose Response Program, MHDS
• Strengthening Supervisory Intercultural Competence 2024, MHDS
• Forensic Discharge Program, MHDS
• Suicide Prevention Series, MHDS
• Conflict Resolution Groups for Youth in Juvenile Detention, MHDS
• CARE (Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement) Training, MHDS
• Mobile Response Team, MHDS
• Interview Preparation Program, Fire
• Regional Water Response, Fire
• Hazardous Incident Team Awareness Program, Fire
• Expansion of “Whole Health” to include Cancer and Cardiovascular Screenings, Fire
• Cook & Book, Henrico County Public Library (HCPL)
• Connecting Communities with Quilts, HCPL
• Hamilton Glass Mural Workshop, HCPL
• Teen Summit RVA, County Manager’s Office
• Taking it to H.E.A.R.T., County Manager’s Office
• Birds, Butterflies and Biodiversity, Public Utilities/Keep Henrico Beautiful
• Glen Lea Telehealth Clinic, Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS)
• Becoming Kings, HCPS
• Próximos Pasos (Next Steps), HCPS
• Black History Month Poetry Slam, HCPS
• Educational Excursion: Aviation Day, HCPS
• Building Tomorrow’s Teacher Pipeline, HCPS
• Generative AI Initiative: Preparing for a New Digital Age, HCPS
• Microcredential Program, HCPS
• Student Government Day Program, HCPS
• Teacher Licensure Cohort Program, HCPS
• Expanded ESL Summer Academy, HCPS
• Combating Absenteeism before It Starts: McKinney-Vento Team Summer Cookouts, HCPS
• Language Instruction Education Program Microcredential Courses, HCPS
• Teacher Fellow, HCPS
• Preparing Life-Ready Students in Elementary School, HCPS
• Students Build Race Car at Richmond Raceway, HCPS
• Winter Wonderland, HCPS
• Trade Skills Applied to Memorialize Veterans and First Responders, HCPS
• Re-envisioning Hallways, HCPS
• Behavioral Health Interpreter Training Program, HCPS
• Sparking Interest into Fire Prevention Careers, HCPS
• PreSchool Sign, HCPS