Honoring Excellence: Nominations Now Open for TVPPA's 2025 Distinguished Service Award

It’s time again to recognize the best of TVPPA’s best. Nominations for TVPPA’s highest honor, the Richard C. Crawford Distinguished Service Award, are now open.

Named in honor of former TVPPA President and CEO Richard C. Crawford who retired in 2004, this award recognizes outstanding leadership and an extraordinary service commitment to TVPPA and its member systems by a general manager or CEO of a TVPPA member system. The award remains one of the most prestigious honors that the Tennessee Valley’s public power community can bestow upon one of their colleagues.

Recent honorees include Chattanooga EPB’s David Wade; Huntsville Utilities’ Wes Kelley; Rodney Boyd of McMinnville Electric System; and Larry Kernea of Murphy Power Board.

The 2025 award will be presented at the Annual Conference on May 20. We invite you to submit nominations through your district association using this form.

As you consider your nominations, please keep the following award criteria in mind:

• Exceptional leadership and service contributions to TVPPA and to consumer-owned power locally and in the Tennessee Valley region;
   
• Unusual devotion to duty;
   
• Recognition by the nominee’s peers;
   
• Contribution to the betterment of the community and the Tennessee Valley
   

Observing the following guidelines will help streamline the nomination process:
While any member system may submit a nomination, we encourage nominations to be coordinated through district associations. Districts may nominate candidates from outside their own district. Judging is based solely on the information provided in the nomination form, so please be as detailed and comprehensive as possible. Special emphasis should be placed on the nominee’s contributions to TVPPA.

If you have a nominee in mind, please contact your district chair with your recommendation and the details required on this nomination form. District chairs must submit final nominations to TVPPA EVP & Chief Strategy Officer Danette Scudder by March 28, 2025.