Awards
Each year the Vermont Planners Association recognizes citizen planners, outstanding plans, and projects as well as professional planners.
Background:
For over 30 years, the Vermont Planners Association has recognized outstanding achievements in community planning in Vermont – the work that community volunteers, staff, and other leaders undertake to support the places we love and to help us all thrive, now and into the future. Nominees come from all corners of the state and represent the best in local, regional, and state planning by citizen and professional planners. VPA’s annual planning awards highlight the often-unseen work done by people and projects in Vermont that make our state a great place live. Awards not only honor the recipients, but also help to inspire fellow planners, spark community interest/participation, and help Vermonters see opportunities for growth and change at local, regional, and statewide levels.
Awards are not limited to VPA members; however, they are intended to recognize planning work done in Vermont. Any person, board, plan, or project may be nominated for an award. We do rely on planners and affiliated volunteers and professionals to make award nominations. Our Nominating Committee is here to help! We can help flesh out nominations and answer questions about the awards process.
Award Categories & Nomination Forms:
- Citizen Planner/Board – A citizen planner or volunteer board who demonstrates service, leadership, and effectiveness in furthering the cause of planning.
- Professional Planner – A professional planner who demonstrates service, leadership, and effectiveness in furthering the cause of planning.
- Plan – A plan that demonstrates originality, quality, and effective public participation/input. Just about any planning topic large or small – e.g., creative economy, open space, transportation, comprehensive municipal or regional plan, municipal forest plan, public engagement, etc.
- Project – A project that demonstrates originality, quality, public participation/input, and implementation results. Projects need not be fully implemented to be nominated – i.e., partial results with more expected are fine.
Please submit award nominations by April 28, 2025. Email nomination forms to Alex Weinhagen. We plan to announce award winners in June 2025.
VPA 2025 Awards Committee:
Alex Weinhagen, 802-777-3995
Jacob Hemmerick, 802-828-5249
Darren Schibler, 802-846-4490 (ext. 135)
Jean Eisberg, (415) 516-4479
** contact any of us with questions/suggestions **
Note: When there are multiple nominees for an award category, we forward nomination information to the New Hampshire Planners Association for an unbiased recommendation on which nominee to make the award to. All award recommendations are then reviewed by the VPA Executive Committee, which is responsible for making final award decisions.
About Our Awards
Our awards focus on the following categories:
Project of the Year, Plan of the Year, Citizen Planner of the Year, Citizen Planning Board, Commission or Committee of the Year and Professional Planner of the Year