At the 55th annual meeting of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) on Friday, June 4, NCTCOG President Ray Smith presented three important regional leadership and cooperation awards.
The Linda Keithley Award for Women in Public Management went to Gina Nash, city manager for the City of Sashe. The award, established in 1986, is presented each year to an outstanding woman in public management who exemplifies the high standards represented by Linda Keithley during her 17 years with the Council of Governments.
Nash was described as a true public servant, ready and willing to do what is needed to serve the public with integrity, dignity, poise, and authenticity and was nominated by Lauren Rose, Director of Strategic Services with the City of Sachse.
The William J. Pitstick Award went to outgoing Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. The award was established in 1993 to recognize an individual for his or her strong commitment to the concept and promotion of regionalism. It’s named in honor of the late Bill Pitstick, former executive director of NCTCOG for 26 years.
Price was nominated by Chris Wallace, president and CEO, North Texas Commission. Her nomination was endorsed by 39 mayors from throughout the region. She was described as someone who promotes cooperation among different communities and interest groups to look for solutions with regional benefits.
The Regional Cooperation Award went to the Denton County Vaccination Clinic Cooperation. The award was created in 1996 and jointly recognizes two or more local governments for outstanding acts of cooperation.
Denton County, in cooperation with the Texas Motor Speedway and 42 other regional partners, including local jurisdictions, state and federal agencies, private-sector organizations and thousands of volunteers represented the concept of reaching across jurisdictional boundaries as they responded to COVID-19 with a massive vaccination site at the Texas Motor Speedway.
The site was able to accommodate 1,250 residents an hour and was recognized nationally and internationally. The White House requested footage of the process and a detailed operation plan to review before setting up federal drive-through clinics across the country.
The Denton County Mass Vaccination Cooperation was nominated by Andy Eads, county judge of Denton County.