VEMA Awards

Nominate a worthy Emergency Manager for a VEMA Award

VEMA will name award recipients in the below categories at the annual Symposium to be held March 18-21, 2024, at the Newport News Marriott at City Center in Newport News, VA. If you are aware of a worthy Emergency Manager please take the time to nominate them for a VEMA Award.

Nominations closed January 31, 2024.

E-mail the completed form to VEMA Awards at [email protected] or mail to P.O. Box 29069, Henrico, VA 23242. Please submit a new form for each award/person nominated.

2023 Award Recipients
2022 Award Recipients
2021 Award Recipients

Faces Behind the Awards


Categories and Descriptions

Stanley Everett Crigger Humanitarian Award - The Stanley Everett Crigger Humanitarian Award recognizes an emergency management professional who has served others with empathy, kindness and compassion through their work. This award is named in honor of the late Stan Crigger, who demonstrated these qualities to his colleagues and community relentlessly throughout his life and career. It acknowledges that emergency management is more than hours on the job, but a service to others.

Emergency Management Professional of the Year - The Emergency Management Professional of the Year award recognizes a seasoned emergency management professional who has demonstrated VEMA’s core values: respect, commitment, and professionalism. This award honors a professional who has served in emergency management for at least five years and upholds the core values as a sign of their dedication to improving preparedness and resilience across the Commonwealth. The recipient of this award exhibits exceptional leadership and professionalism in preparing for, responding to, or recovering from disaster situations. 

Outstanding New Emergency Management Professional Award - The Outstanding New Emergency Management Professional of the Year award recognizes a newcomer to the emergency management profession who has displayed enthusiasm, innovation, and commitment. The recipient of this award has made significant contributions to the field and has less than five years of service in emergency management.

Volunteer of the Year Award - The Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes an individual from the volunteer sector who has contributed greatly to the efforts of emergency management through their acts of service. The recipient of this award may have contributed their time to a program, organization, or response effort, and through their efforts have greatly increased the preparedness and protection of their community.

Adam Ward Public Information Excellence Award - The Adam Ward Public Information Excellence Award is presented to an individual or organization in recognition of their outstanding efforts to educate and inform the public about life-saving actions before, during, or after a disaster. This award recognizes the importance of creating clear and actionable information that helps the public make informed decisions and the importance of public information in emergency management.

Response Program of the Year -The Response Program of the Year award recognizes a program that has shown excellence in responding to an emergency or disaster situation. The recipient of this award has displayed outstanding, timely, effective response to an affected area and its citizens or victims.

Recovery Program of the Year - The Recovery Program of the Year award recognizes a program that has focused on restoring affected communities to their previous states. The recipient of this award has worked with stakeholders to develop or activate plans, secure funding, provide community assistance, or complete other activities which support recovery excellence in the private, public, or non-profit sectors.

Preparedness Program of the Year -The Preparedness Program of the Year award recognizes a program that has developed an innovative structure to prepare their community or organization for disasters. The recipient of this award has taken outstanding steps towards preparedness, which may include plan or legislative development, exercise execution, volunteer management, or a community project or training.

Mitigation Program of the Year - The Mitigation Program of the Year award recognizes a program that has focused on long-term strategies that protect lives and reduce the impact of disasters. The recipient of this award has taken an integrated approach to structural or non-structural mitigation techniques that increase the overall protection of their community.

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