How is Your Chapter Celebrating National First Responders Day?
You can support public works visibility in your local community by celebrating October 28 as National First Responders Day. We’ve updated and added new elements to our NFRD toolkit to help you spread the word.
Find sample proclamation language, sample social media posts, new photo frame designs, a video message from APWA President Vic Bianes, audio files that you can send to your local radio stations, and much more.
Tell us about what you’ve got planned. And don’t forget to include #FirstResponders and #NFRD in your social posts!
APWA Awards Program
2026 Award Deadlines
Nominations Open: November 3, 2025
Award Nominations Deadline: March 2, 2026
The two exceptions are the Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award due December 1, 2025, and the Presidential Acknowledgment for Chapter Excellence (PACE) due June 1, 2026.
Pakpour Consulting Group Young Leader of the Year Award
The Myron Calkins Young Leader of the Year Award has been renamed to the Pakpour Consulting Group Young Leader of the Year Award.
APWA extends sincere gratitude to the Calkins family for their generous support over the years. Their commitment helped shape this award into one of APWA’s most meaningful recognitions of emerging leaders in public works.
While the award criteria will remain the same, additional funding is now available thanks to the generous donation from Pakpour Consulting Group.
Under the updated award, the financial incentive will transition from a $500 stipend to coverage of PWX travel expenses, including:
- Up to three nights of lodging
- The winner’s PWX registration fee.
Questions can be sent to Jill Wilbeck.
APWA Brand Video—Public Works: A Kid’s Perspective
We need your help to increase visibility of public works! Please share our new, fun, and engaging 2025 brand video on your chapter’s social channels or website. Public Works: A Kid’s Perspective shows how children see the everyday heroes who keep our cities safe, clean, and thriving. From building parks to repairing roads, hear their fun and heartfelt answers about what public works is and why it’s important. This video celebrates the people, purpose, and presence of public works in our communities.
Need some help posting the video on your chapter site? Reach out to chapterservices@apwa.org.
APWA Committees Have Released the Following Free New Materials to the APWA Resource Center
Share these resources with your chapter committees, work groups, and members.
Onboarding Toolbox: This resource is packed with templates, best practices, and helpful articles to make onboarding smoother, more consistent, and more engaging. (Workforce Development Committee Retention Knowledge Team)
Bridging the Gap: Connecting Communities with Public Works: This project includes strategies, tools, and resources that increase public awareness, foster engagement, and build long-term support for public works efforts. (2024–2025 ELA Class Project)
A Hands-On Guide to Emergency Management for Public Works Agencies: This is a step-by-step guide is for public works professionals navigating today’s complex emergency management landscape. (2024–2025 ELA Class Project)
2026 PWX Call for Presentations—Deadline to Submit October 30
Share your expertise with the public works community!
The American Public Works Association (APWA) invites you to submit a presentation proposal for the 2026 Public Works Expo (PWX) in Houston! Each year, more than 5,000 public works professionals from the public and private sectors gather to learn, network, and discover the latest innovations impacting public works today.
Our education program thrives on real-world expertise, forward-thinking strategies, and practical solutions. Whether you’re highlighting success stories, innovative technologies, or lessons learned, we want to hear your ideas!
Questions? Email pwxeducation@apwa.org.
Host a Certificate Program at Your Chapter
Discover the many benefits of hosting a certificate program at your chapter and get everything you need to put on a successful event.
Questions can be sent to education@apwa.org.
APWA Accreditation Announcements
Accreditation is the mark of professionalism, indicating a public works agency has made the commitment to continuous improvement in the delivery of public works operations and services in the community it serves. Accreditation recognizes an agency’s policies, procedures, and practices that have been evaluated against nationally recognized management practices determined to be appropriate for that specific agency.
The American Public Works Association is thrilled to announce the accreditation of the following public works agencies for September 2025:
Region 3
- Charleston County, South Carolina Facilities Management Department—4th accreditation
- Charleston County, South Carolina Fleet Department—4th accreditation
- Charleston County, South Carolina Public Works Department—4th accreditation
Region 6
- Raymore, Missouri Public Works Department—3rd accreditation
- Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KS Department of Public Works—1st accreditation
Please help us recognize their hard work and dedication to providing excellent public services. Potential ways to recognize them may be a mention in your newsletter or your website, asking them to present at your chapter conference, posting on social media, or other ideas specific to your chapter.
For further information on the APWA accreditation program, please feel free to contact Jeanette Klamm, Associate Director of Accreditation, at accreditation@apwa.org.
Save the date for 2026 NPWW reception
To once again coincide with National Public Works Week (NPWW) 2026 (May 17–23), the APWA Government Affairs Team will be hosting its second reception to honor 2025’s Top Ten Winners/Project of the Year Winners. We invite you to save the date for NPWW and hope you will consider joining us to celebrate your award. The reception is a prime opportunity to meet with your member of Congress, network with your APWA colleagues, and educate federal officials about the important contributions of public works to our country’s well-being and economic prosperity. This week will also include the opportunity to participate in all APWA-sponsored events and activities as well as to have a personal meeting with your member of Congress.
Questions can be sent to Jeff Finegan at jfinegan@apwa.org.
2026 Chapter Dues Review
Is your chapter planning to make any changes to its 2026-chapter dues amount? To ensure updates are processed in time for the 2026 membership renewal cycle, please reach out to Matt Harper by Friday, November 21.
Per the Rules Governing Chapters:
A chapter may establish chapter dues for its members, but these dues must be mandatory in order to maintain active membership in APWA. In addition, dues must be established for all chapter classes of members if they are established for one. Dues for each class must not exceed 25 percent of APWA dues and should be defensible in the context of benefits received.
Questions can be sent to Matt Harper.
Insurance 101
As you begin to plan for your 2026 events, please review the APWA insurance infographic located in Chapter Leader Resources – Finance.
There were several questions raised around insurance during the February Chapter Leader Training and Council of Chapters meeting. The feedback was shared with both APWA’s legal counsel and insurance company. Below should clarify all outstanding questions:
- Restaurants: For chapter monthly luncheons at restaurants, APWA does NOT need contracts. In fact, it is better if the chapters do not have contracts with a restaurant as it allows for more flexibility. The restaurant will have insurance if someone is injured at the restaurant. As for alcohol, the restaurant will already have a license to serve alcohol and should have insurance for this as well. We do not need to see a contract for meetings held at restaurants.
- Golf Outings and Alcohol: As long as the golf facility allows people to bring their own alcohol and give it out to others for free, that is permitted. So, for those chapters with sponsors who want to give out alcohol at the individual holes, that is permissible as long as the golf course allows it.
- If event space is being used (other than restaurants), chapters will need to send APWA a contract to ensure they will be insured.
- If a license is required to serve alcohol at an event, the chapter must have a contract in place for the event space (even a parking lot) to serve alcohol or hire a third party that is insured to serve the alcohol. Requirements vary by state, but typically a liquor license or permit is required to sell alcohol at private or public events. APWA’s insurance will not provide coverage if the chapter serves/sells alcohol to guests at such events regardless of whether or not the chapter actually obtains a liquor license or permit to do so.
- Alcohol can be given out in a hospitality suite assuming the hotel allows it.
If you have specific questions, please contact chapterservices@apwa.org.
APWA Monthly Chapter Leader Training
The next APWA Chapter Leader Training will be held on November 10, 2025 at noon CT. The topic will cover APWA Awards.
Past Chapter Leader Training calls can be viewed by clicking here.
Invitations are sent to all chapter leaders approximately two weeks prior to the call. Questions can be sent to Jill Wilbeck.
