PSHRA® Names 2024 Awards of Excellence Winners

ALEXANDRIA, VA, Aug. 13, 2024—The Public Sector HR Association (PSHRA^®) is proud to announce the winners of its 2024 Awards of Excellence.

PSHRA^® is the home of HR professionals who have given tirelessly to the advancement of the public sector HR profession, and the Association annually recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of its members and the work they do on behalf of their agencies at the local, state and federal government level.

The President’s Award recognizes the current PSHRA president for leadership of the association and in the field of public sector HR. Mark Van Bruggen, IPMA-SCP, 2024 PSHRA^® President, is the recipient of the 2024 President’s Award. Van Bruggen is the HR consultant to the chief of staff at the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (NJ SCS). Mark has spent his entire professional career of more than 35 years working for the NJ CSC.  In 1996, Mark became a member of PSHRA when he and several colleagues re-chartered the New Jersey chapter.  He has served the association in numerous leadership positions at the chapter, regional and national level.

The City of Kerrville, Texas received the 2024 Small Agency Award, presented annually to a PSHRA^® member agency of up to 1,999 employees. In 2024, the City of Kerrville implemented “Raising the Employee Engagement Stakes,” a very unique employee engagement initiative utilizing department-specific poker chips as rewards for the agency’s 339 full-time employees. Team members earn poker chips for outstanding performance, teamwork or achieving goals, and can redeem their chips for prizes of their choosing, ranging from tangible rewards like gift cards or gadgets to experiential incentives such as extra vacation days or team outings.

The Medium Agency Award is presented to a PSHRA^® member agency with 2,000 to 9,999 members. Johnson County Government in Olathe, Ks. received the 2024 Medium Agency Award. The cornerstone of Johnson County’s inclusion initiatives is the VIBE (Voices of Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity) program. VIBE represents a strategic effort to foster a workplace culture that embraces diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). All

Johnson County DEIB initiatives reside within the VIBE umbrella. Some of these include multi-modal DEIB training, an annual Juneteenth Community Celebration and the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coalition.

The PSHRA^® Large Agency Award may be presented to member agencies of 10,000 employees or more. The 2024 recipient of the Large Agency Award is the City of Houston, Texas. With more than 22,000 employees, the City of Houston has recently kicked off a number of transformational initiatives, such as its Prenatal, Parental and Infant Wellness Leave program, which offers eligible City employees a number of benefits such as paid prenatal leave for prenatal wellness healthcare appointments and other absences related to the pregnancy.

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 2024 recipient is PSHRA^® North Carolina, which includes 50 national PSHRA^® members. The chapter has created a number of mutually beneficial strategic partnerships across the state, such as the North Carolina for Military Employment (NC4ME) initiative, which offers free direct hire services to local government entities utilizing retiring veterans.

Jennifer Fairweather is the recipient of the 2024 Honorary Life Membership, given to recognize and honor persons who have rendered distinguished service in advancing or upholding the purposes of the Association. Jennifer has served at every level of PSHRA^®, from chapter president in Colorado, to the Western Region President and President of PSHRA International. Jennifer has also assisted with both the HR2020 report and the recent branding and strategic objectives of PSHRA.

“PSHRA^® strives to be the leading international community for public sector HR leaders,” said Cara Woodson Welch, PSHRA^® CEO. “These individuals and agencies are leaders of that community, and they exemplify our Association’s commitment to furthering the public sector HR profession. PSHRA^® is proud to bestow the 2024 Awards of Excellence upon these deserving Association members.”