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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kansas City, MO—Each year across North America, National Public Works Week (NPWW) is celebrated by the ������˾��’s (������˾��) 32,000 members in hundreds of towns and cities throughout the US and Canada. This year the NPWW celebration will be held the week of May 19–25, 2024, to honor the public works professionals who plan, design, build, manage, and operate the infrastructure that ensures a higher quality of life for our communities. Celebrated each year during the third week of May, NPWW was instituted as a public education campaign by ������˾�� in 1960 to call attention to the importance of public works in community life.

2024 Theme: “Advancing Quality of Life for All”

The 2024 theme of National Public Works Week, “Advancing Quality of Life for All,” shines a spotlight on the way public works professionals advance our quality of life, whether as first responders to an electricity outage, regular waste pickup, or the myriad other ways they silently serve their communities.

2024 National Public Works Week poster

Public works professionals advance the quality of life by providing an infrastructure of services in transportation, water, wastewater and stormwater treatment, public buildings and spaces, parks and grounds, emergency management and first response, solid waste, and right-of-way management. They are what make our communities dynamic places to live and work.

“It’s always inspiring to see how our public works agencies celebrate National Public Works Week,” said ������˾�� President Gary Losier, PEng. “Whether they open up their wastewater facility for a public tour or host a touch-a-truck event for children and their families, they do a fantastic job illuminating how public works makes our communities better, safer, and more enjoyable places to call home.”

������˾�� encourages municipalities with public works agencies and professionals to take the opportunity to make their stories known in their municipalities during the week. The National Public Works Week website features in-person, virtual, and social media how-to guides to help agencies develop and implement their own celebrations.

Recognizing Public Works Contributions

������˾�� CEO Scott Grayson, CAE, knows first-hand the value of public works to communities. “Our public works professionals dedicate every day to improving the quality of life for all who live in their communities. They are the ones making sure we have clean water to drink, plowed streets to travel, and functioning public sewers. Setting this time in May to honor all their amazing efforts is something we all look forward to doing every year.”

Resolutions and proclamations by governors, provincial premiers, mayors, and other city and county officials in the US and Canada mark NPWW celebrations, events, and activities. During this special week, celebrations recognize and honor public works professionals and include parades, open houses, displays of public works equipment, programs for civic organizations, and media events.

In addition, the Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year award, which recognizes exceptional public works professionals each year, has been a cornerstone of National Public Works Week since its beginning. The Top Ten Public Works Leaders award focuses on outstanding career service achievements of individual public works professionals and officials from both the public and private sectors in North America. Each of the Top Ten Leaders is recognized for their accomplishments in federal, state, provincial, county, or municipal engineering or administration, including career advancement, contribution to technology or job knowledge, and commitment to the profession as evidenced by education, training, certification, and continuing education, as well as professional excellence and service to the community in large and small municipalities. The program has identified hundreds of men and women who reflect the highest standards of professional conduct for public works officials.

For more information about ������˾��’s National Public Works Week, visit apwa.org/npww, or contact Jared Shilhanek, ������˾�� Chief Growth Officer at jshilhanek@apwa.org, or phone at (816) 595-5257.

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