PSHRA Awards Program
PSHRA is home to HR professionals who have given tirelessly to the advancement of our profession. We recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our members and the work they do on behalf of their agencies.
Excellence in Public Sector HR
PSHRA recognizes the accomplishments of its individual and agency members, chapters, and volunteers with its annual Awards of Excellence.
Awards celebrate the achievements of exemplary leaders and advocates whose contributions have advanced public sector HR. Awardees have created better places to work for those who serve the public good.
2026 PSHRA Award Applications are closed.
The Rising Impact Award (New)
The Rising Impact Award will recognize a PSHRA member whose work has meaningfully advanced the practice of Public Sector HR through innovation, innovative thinking, and measurable impact.
It will honor professionals who are moving the field forward through ideas, actions, and results.
Award Eligibility
- The Award is open to PSHRA members with one year of full membership and who are in good standing.
- Applicants must be in HR less than 10 years and in Public Sector HR for five years or less, and any professional title is eligible to apply.
- The applicant must have completed the innovation within one year of applying for the award and have played a central role in it.
- Nomination or self-application permitted.
Application opens in Spring 2027
Agency Award of Excellence - recognizes the overall quality, accomplishments, and contributions of an agency human resource program that exceeds the normal operation of a “good government human resource program.” The awards are based on the lenses and focus areas contained in the HR 20/20 Report: The PSHRA Guide to Transformative HR released in 2020. Additional information on the report.
Awards may be given in each of the following categories, based on the number of employees covered by your human resource program:
1) Small Agency – Under 1,999, employees
2) Medium Agency – 2,000 to 9,999 employees
3) Large Agency – 10,000 and over
The Awards will be based on program initiatives, accomplishments, and contributions within the three-year time period immediately preceding the nomination. Agencies nominated must be and have been a PSHRA Agency member with a minimum of 3 years' consecutive membership.
All applications will be considered as final entries.
Applications will open in 2027.
Honorary Life Memberships - recognizes and honors persons who have rendered distinguished service in advancing or upholding the purposes of the Association. Honorary Life Members shall have at no fee (recipient will no longer be charged a fee for membership), all the rights and privileges of Individual members, including the right to hold Association office and to vote on all issues requiring a decision by the membership. According to the PSHRA bylaws, “Not more than two persons can be awarded Honorary Life Memberships in one year.”
All nominations will be considered as final entries.
Applications will open in 2027.
Chapter Award of Excellence - recognizes those chapters who significantly advance and enhance the human resource profession through innovative membership recruitment/retention strategies, excellent educational programs, and quality member communications.
Award Criteria: The Award will be based on membership recruitment/retention strategies, educational programs, and member communications.
Who is Eligible?: All PSHRA Chapters. Please note: Chapters nominated must have submitted their current and previous year’s chapter reporting form and be current in paying their united membership fee.
All applications will be considered as final entries.
Applications will open again in 2027.
If you have questions, please contact us at meetings@pshra.org.
2026 Award Winners:
President's Award
The President’s Award recognizes the current PSHRA president for leadership of the association and in the field of public sector HR. Amy Blake, PSHRA-SCP, 2026 PSHRA® President, is the recipient of the 2026 President’s Award.
Amy is the director of human resources and risk management for the City of Liberty, Mo. and has served her community in this role for 20 years.
Amy has been actively involved in PSHRA since 2003 at all levels, from chapter president to Central Region Board Member to Executive Council Member. She has received awards for her work and dedication in these roles, and Amy continues to share her passion about public sector human resources through her current board position.
PSHRA Honorary Life Membership
Honorary Life Memberships are to recognize and honor persons who have rendered distinguished service in advancing or upholding the purposes of the Association.
Tamara Dixon, PSHRA-SCP and Debra Bush, PSHRA-SCP are the recipients of the 2026 Honorary Life Membership.
Tamara is the human resources director with the City of Commerce City, Colo. She is also a founding partner of Dwennimmen Leadership Consulting. Tamara has been active at the local, regional and national levels of PSHRA since 2005. She has served PSHRA as Western Region president (2016-2017), conference programs and speaker’s chair in 2019, and West Executive Council Representative (2020-2025).
Debra is a senior human resources specialist with the City of Peoria, Ill. She is currently a member of PSHRA’s Greater Illinois Chapter, where she has served as the secretary, treasurer, president-elect and president. She has also held the position of treasurer with the PSHRA Central Region. Debra has served as moderator at various regional and chapter conferences since joining PSHRA as a member in 1992.
Agency of Excellence Award
The Agency Award of Excellence recognizes the quality, accomplishments, and contributions of an outstanding agency human resource program. Annual awards may be made in any of three categories based on agency workforce size.
Small Agency Award
The Small Agency Award is presented to an agency of up to 1,999 employees.
The 2026 Small Agency Award has been awarded to The Town of Parker, Colo.
In 2026, the Town of Parker rolled out its Culture Camp initiative, an innovative employee onboarding and acclimation program designed to connect new employees to the organization’s mission, culture, leadership and community-centered service philosophy.
Culture Camp helps employees gain a broader understanding of how departments collaborate to deliver services to the community while providing consistent onboarding information in an accessible format. The initiative also includes interactive learning activities such as a customized, Jeopardy-style game that reinforces organizational knowledge, Town of Parker values, customer service expectations and departmental functions in a collaborate and engaging environment. 
Medium Agency Award
The Medium Agency Award is presented to an agency of 2,000 to 9,999 employees.
The City of San Jose, Calif. is the recipient of this year’s Medium Agency Award.
Key initiatives the City of San Jose has recently introduced include its AI Working Group and the Workforce of the Future projects, which position human resources as a strategic leader in preparing the public sector workforce for artificial intelligence. Operating at the center of Silicon Valley, the city is proactively examining how AI may affect job duties, classifications, recruitment, training, performance expectations, labor relations and service delivery across a diverse workforce.
Large Agency Award
The Large Agency Award is presented to an agency of 10,000 employees or more.
No Large Agency Award was presented in 2026.
Chapter Award of Excellence
The Chapter Award of Excellence recognizes a chapter that has significantly advanced and enhanced the public sector HR profession through innovative membership recruitment/retention strategies, excellent educational programs, and quality member communication.
The Utah Chapter is the 2026 recipient.
Originally established in 1973, the Utah chapter has experienced significant membership growth since its reaction in 2017, growing from an initial base of 30 members to 156 today—a 500% increase over eight years. This upward trajectory remains robust, evidenced by an 11.5% year-over-year growth rate. In 2024, the chapter implemented agency memberships, designed to deepen engagement within larger public sector organizations. This initiative has already secured 11 multi-member agencies, including two new agencies this year, effectively stabilizing the chapter’s base while expanding its professional network.
Making public sector work better®.
Past Awards
Warner W. Stockberger Achievement Award
The Stockberger Achievement Award was established in 1948 to honor the memory of Dr. Warner W. Stockberger, the first director of personnel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who also served as the first president of the Society for Personnel Administration. The award recognized and honored a person in public or private life who has made an outstanding contribution toward the improvement of public personnel management at any level of government.