MANHATTAN, KS – November 17, 2021 – Three remarkable public servants were named this week as the winners of the national 2021 Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award (STACVA), which honors 100 extraordinary civic volunteers each year in communities under 25,000 in population. This year’s program was extremely competitive, drawing nearly 700 nominations by local government leaders from 49 states—a 400 percent increase over 2020.
The national winner of the 2021 STACVA award is W. Paul Prince of Loris, South Carolina, who has served his town and county in various volunteer roles, including volunteer firefighter, for more than 56 years. The first runner-up is Boone Bowling of Middlesboro, Kentucky, the youngest council member ever elected in his town, who continues to compile an impressive volunteer record at 24. The second runner-up is Kimberly Loggins of Chickasha, Oklahoma. She has served in numerous leadership positions in the local government and community with a measurable impact on the town’s success.
“Kimberly is always putting the community ahead of herself,” said Chickasha Mayor Chris Mosley, who nominated Loggins for the award. “She is a trailblazer, willing to speak her mind and work hard for the benefit of our City. When needed, she will go against the crowd if it means doing what is best for Chickasha. Kimberly makes a difference and truly wants to see our City grow and get better.”
A graduate of both Leadership Chickasha and Leadership Oklahoma, Loggins now serves as a co-chair of Leadership Chickasha. In this role, she helps develop informed, effective leaders for our community. She also cultivates and motivates participants to assume leadership roles in our community, be it through volunteering with local nonprofits, getting involved in community events, or running for a public office. She also helps foster communication between present and future community leaders. Loggins knows that investing in tomorrow’s leaders is critical to the future of our City, and she passionate about being part of that process.
Loggins’ enthusiasm for Chickasha is visible as she volunteers during the many annual events our residents look forward to, including the Rock Island Ride, Open Streets, Salvation Army bell ringing, Wings & Wheels and the world renown Festival of Light. Her attitude makes others want to join in whatever activities she is involved in, and she actively recruits others to help.
During the 2018 Christmas season, Loggins spearheaded efforts to have Leadership Chickasha decorate windows of buildings yet to be occupied. Not only did she recruit volunteers, request permission from business owners and collect donations, Loggins spent countless hours setting up the carefully planned displays, which were selected with each shop’s historic use in mind – in the window of what was once the Williams Shoe store, the team built and painted a Christmas tree made entirely of recycled shoes! This show of Christmas spirit encouraged downtown business owners to decorate their storefronts, too. Today, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce, downtown businesses stay open later and host special events during the Christmas season. The excitement that started three years ago has only grown.
Loggins served as a Chickasha City Council Member for six years, concurrently serving as Vice Mayor for 4 years, before deciding not to seek reelection in 2021. During her time on the City Council, she was also appointed to the Chickasha Industrial Authority board. Although she is no longer directly involved in policymaking for the City, Loggins still attends many public meetings to stay informed and advocates for causes important to her.
“If cities across America each had their own Kimberly Loggins there would be no shortage of civic pride, engaged volunteers or emerging leaders,” Mosley said. “We are grateful that she chooses every day to invest in our community.”
The top three winners receive cash awards for their communities of $20,000, $10,000, and $5,000, respectively, provided by program sponsor CivicPlus. In addition, each of the local governments represented by the top 100 honorees also qualifies for a volunteer management module designed by CivicPlus, a leader in technology solutions designed for local governments.
In addition to honoring the nation’s true “hometown heroes,” STACVA was designed to spotlight the urgent need for citizens to fill critical civic volunteer roles, including local government boards and councils, volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and the many civic volunteer efforts that support local communities. The Barton Russell Group administers the program, which is co-sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Association of Towns and Townships (NATaT), Points of Light, and Main Street America.
“This year’s group of nominees are truly outstanding individuals,” said CivicPlus Chief Executive Officer Brian Rempe. “Reading the stories from our applicants that showcase the selflessness and spirit of innovation demonstrated by their volunteers reinforces to me why we created this award. We need more people like Paul, Boone, and Kimberly to keep pushing for progress, fostering the vision of their local leaders, and keep our communities thriving. It is an honor to recognize and celebrate this year’s 100 top winners.”
The three 2021 STACVA winners were honored in a virtual, national ceremony.
Said Bart Russell, founder of the Barton Russell Group, which led the judging of the contest: “This year’s STACVA program clearly demonstrates that just because you are a small or rural community doesn’t mean you can’t be exceptional. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
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About CivicPlus
CivicPlus delivers technology solutions that enable local governments to optimize the experience they deliver when interacting with citizens. Over 4,000 local governments use our solutions when serving their 250 million citizens. We deliver the industry’s first and only Civic Experience Platform. It enables local governments to drive more revenue, operate more efficiently, and generate positive recognition for the many services they provide every day. For more information, visit civicplus.com.
About the Barton Russell Group
The Barton Russell Group (BRG) is the ’nation’s leading small town and rural America consultancy. BRG has built, launched and managed major branding and community and government relations projects, programs and services for Fortune 500 companies and others seeking to do good, while doing well. Bart Russell is a nationally recognized expert on “everything small town” and the 32,000 communities and 120 million people that comprise small-town America.