Diversity & Inclusion Award
Diversity & Inclusion Award
Calvin Farr
The Prince William County Service Authority’s VIBE (diverse Voices, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity) program, spearheaded by PWCSA CEO/General Manager Mr. Calvin D. Farr Jr. demonstrates his personal commitment to fostering an inclusive work environment that embraces diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives while creating a sense of belonging.
Mr. Farr embedded VIBE principles into the organization’s vision statement and core values and sees the immense value of cultivating a diverse, inclusive work environment that promotes fair treatment of all employees regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, ability, sexual orientation, or religion. Mr. Farr drives PWCSA’s VIBE initiatives in numerous ways, including actively engaging the workforce in the organization’s journey and creates a culture that truly cares about its workforce.
Mr. Farr’s leadership has been instrumental in PWCSA’s journey, and he continues to implement organizational change that will strengthen the workforce for years to come.
Prince William County Service Authority (PWCSA)
The Prince William County Service Authority’s VIBE (diverse Voices, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity) program demonstrates PWCSAs commitment to fostering an inclusive work environment that embraces diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives while creating a sense of belonging. This is evident in their vision statement: “The Prince William County Service Authority is a trusted public steward and nationally recognized model for performance excellence. We reflect the diverse and vibrant community we serve and nurture diversity, equity, and inclusion in relationships with our community, customers, businesses, and industry colleagues. We create value for our community through our Areas of Excellence.”
Some key accomplishments demonstrate PWCSA is truly committed to living their vision. PWCSA established a partnership with local school divisions and non-profit agencies to build talent pipelines; Provided “VIBE Foundations,” and roundtable discussions to all employees to increase knowledge on VIBE topics and trained supervisors, managers, and leaders in Inclusive Leadership; Established a relationship with Handshake and Circa Jobs to expand recruitment efforts to diverse candidates and college students; and VIBE is even incorporated into the framework used to evaluate employee performance. PWCSA has also implemented a Supplier Diversity Program to promote diversity in procurement and contracts.
These efforts have positioned PWCSA to better reflect the demographics of the community they serve while attracting and retaining a talented inclusive and respectful workforce, making The Prince William County Service Authority very deserving of the 2024 AWWA Diversity and Inclusion Award.
Purpose of the Award:
Recognize an individual, group, or organization that has created, promoted, and maintained diversity and inclusion by establishing an environment that recognizes, encourages, and effectively utilizes each individual’s talents.
AWWA recognizes the role of diversity and inclusion as being essential to the growth, structure, and continued success of any organization. Diversity and inclusion should be an inherent trait of any organization and is manifest in the mosaic of people who bring a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to a group or organization in which they interact. The Diversity and Inclusion Award is not given to an individual, group, or organization on the basis of who they are, but because of their achievements and accomplishments.
The Award
An exquisite sculpture that embodies the essence of accomplishment and serve as a testament to the recipient’s dedication and contributions. Each Diversity and Inclusion award is accompanied by a personalized inscribed nameplate to honor and preserve the recipient’s name and accomplishment.
Frequency of the Award
One award annually or as deserved at the discretion of the AWWA Diversity and Inclusion Award Committee.
Eligibility for the Award
An AWWA individual, group, or organizational member who has promoted or demonstrated excellence and leadership in most or all of the following areas:
- Bringing a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, values and beliefs as assets to a group or organization with which they interact.
- Establishing an environment that recognizes and encourages the effective use of each individual’s talents and other contributions to the cause of diversity.
- Promotion and fostering of diversity programs such as mentoring, support networks, internship programs, co-op programs, work study, diversity training, or other opportunities.
- Development of management accountability/tracking methods as means of quantifying the impact of the efforts to increase and maintain diversity.
Entry Requirements
AWWA entry form along with full name, address, and biographical information (for individuals) of each nominee, and a detailed yet concise description of how the nominee meets the eligibility criteria. Self nominations are accepted.
Nomination Procedure
A nomination for the award may be submitted by any AWWA member (individual or organization) or Section to American Water Works Association, Attn: Executive Dept., 6666 W. Quincy Avenue, Denver, CO 80235 and will be transmitted to the Diversity Award Committee for consideration. Current nominees may be reconsidered for one year. Updates to the nomination for reconsideration may be requested by the committee.
Nomination Deadline
November 1
Award Committee Membership
The committee shall consist of the AWWA President, the Chair of the Diversity & Member Inclusion Committee, one Board member and two non-Board members of the Diversity & Member Inclusion Committee appointed by the Chair.
Method of Selecting Award Recipient
The Diversity and Inclusion Award Committee selects a candidate from the list of nominees for the award and submits the selected nominee to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for approval at its winter meeting.
Presentation of the Award
The award will be presented at the Opening General Session of the American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Exposition.
Award Submissions
Submission Deadline: November 1
For questions reach out to Nancy Sullivan at nsullivan@awwa.org.
Past Recipients
Congratulations to the past recipients of this prestigious award.
Individual Award Winner: Nicole Brown
Organizational Award Winner: Toho Water Authority
Individual Award Winner: Stephen J. Welch, Contra Costa Water District
Organizational Award Winner: Black & Veatch
Individual Award Winner: Cathy Bernardino Bailey, Executive Director, Greater Cincinnati Water Works
Organizational Award Winner: Xylem, Inc.
Individual Award Winner: L’Oreal Stepney, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Organizational Award Winner: AECOM Technical Services, Inc.
Individual Award Winner: Don Jones, Cuyamaca College
Organizational Award Winner: Stantec
Organizational Award Winner: California Water Service, California-Nevada Section
Organizational Award Winner: Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., Fort Worth, Texas
Organizational Award Winner: Minneapolis Water Treatment and Distribution Services Division, Minnesota Section
Organizational Award Winner: Dallas Water Utilities, Texas Section
Individual Award Winner: Ronald K. Tamada, Texas Section
Organizational Award Winner: Las Vegas Valley Water District, CA/NV Section
Organizational Award Winner: Central Arkansas Water, Southwest Section
Organizational Award Winner: The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati
Organizational Award Winner: City of Seattle, Pacific Northwest Section
Organizational Award Winner: City of Fort Worth Water Department, Texas Section
Organizational Award Winner: South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, Connecticut Section
Organizational Award Winner: City of San Diego Water Authority, California-Nevada Section
Individual Award Winner: Yasser M. AbouAish, Minnesota Section
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