[Archived] Alexandria City Manager Vola Lawson Named Winner of 2000 National Public Service Award

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria City Manager Vola Lawson has been named a winner of the 2000 National Public Service Award (NPSA), in recognition of her outstanding career in public service.

Sponsored jointly by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the National Academy of Public Administration, this prestigious national award honors exemplary public managers who have made a difference in public administration for a sustained period of time.

Fifty-nine individuals were nominated from across the country and five winners were chosen. This year’s honorees are Mrs. Lawson; the Dean of The American University’s School of Public Affairs; the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the County Manager of Wake County, North Carolina.

"It is truly an honor to receive such a prestigious award from one’s peers and I am deeply appreciative of this award. It has been my pleasure to serve the citizens of Alexandria for almost 30 years. These have been the best years of my life," Mrs. Lawson said.

Mrs. Lawson, who has served as Alexandria’s City Manager since 1985, has been a City employee for nearly 30 years. She started with the City in 1971, as the Assistant Director of the Economic Opportunities Commission and in 1975, she became the Assistant City Manager for Housing, overseeing programs that tripled the stock of affordable housing in Alexandria.

Mrs. Lawson was honored by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) with its 1997 National Award for Innovative Leadership and Accomplished Professionalism. The Virginia chapters of ASPA previously named Mrs. Lawson the Outstanding Public Administrator in Virginia. Mrs. Lawson also has been inducted into the Virginia Women’s Hall of Fame.

She currently serves as President of the Alexandria Transit Company, which operates the City’s DASH bus system, and she is a member of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Inc. Board of Directors. She also served on the Virginia General Assembly’s Commission on the Condition and Future of Virginia Cities.

The Northern Virginia Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) nominated Mrs. Lawson for the award this year.

"Ms. Lawson is highly regarded by our Chapter, as she was one of our Chapter’s founders, and served as President from 1992-1993," wrote Catherine Spage, President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of ASPA.

"Morever, we feel Ms. Lawson is especially deserving of this award given her long and successful career in public service," Spage said.

Letters of support also were written by Congressman Jim Moran, Congressman Tom Davis, and State Senator Patsy Ticer.

The award, a Steuben Crystal Eagle with an inscribed base, will be presented to Mrs. Lawson during the National Public Service Awards Luncheon on April 3 in San Diego, California.