2025 Award Recipients

NADO is excited to announce the 2025 recipients of the Aliceann Wohlbruck NADO Impact Awards! This annual program highlights the outstanding work of NADO members in areas such as regional planning, economic development, infrastructure, workforce, community resilience, and more. The selected projects showcase the meaningful results regional development organizations are delivering in communities nationwide and reflect the broad range of services they provide. 

Named in honor of Aliceann Wohlbruck, NADO’s founding executive director, the awards pay tribute to her 24 years of steadfast advocacy for rural and small-town economic development through regional collaboration.

This year’s cohort includes 90 innovative projects led by 63 organizations across 26 states. Awardees will be recognized at NADO’s 2025 Annual Training Conference this October in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Contact Brett Schwartz at [email protected] with any questions or to learn more.

Alabama
  • Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission, Elmore County Placemaking Strategic Plan
  • Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments, Northeast Alabama Safe Streets
  • West Alabama Regional Commission, The Be Safe – West Alabama Storm Shelter Locator
Colorado
  • East Central Council of Governments, ECCOG Colorado’s Central Plains Regional Signage
  • Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado, Southwest Colorado’s Opioid Settlement Collaboration
  • San Luis Valley Development Resources Group & Council of Governments, San Luis Valley 1041 & IGA Project
Florida
  • Apalachee Regional Planning Council, Gadsden County Economic Development Plan
  • East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, East Central Florida Regional CRS Cohort
  • East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, The Palm Bay Compound Strategic Plan
  • Northeast Florida Regional Council, City of Palatka Vision Plan
Georgia
  • Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, Empowering Employers Through Apprenticeships: A Georgia Mountains Works Webinar Initiative
  • Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, Flowery Branch Bay Park Trail
  • Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, City of Young Harris Master Plan
  • Middle Georgia Regional Commission, Pleasant Hill Neighborhood Strategic Plan
  • Middle Georgia Regional Commission, Twiggs County Health Education Center and Clinic
  • Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, Battlefield Connector Multi-Use Trail
  • Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, Mobile Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner
  • Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, Cartersville Downtown Master Plan
  • River Valley Regional Commission, Harris County Data Hub
  • Southern Georgia Regional Commission, GIS Response and Assistance to Hurricane Helene
  • Southern Georgia Regional Commission, Active Transportation and Bike and Pedestrian Safety Trifolds
  • Southern Georgia Regional Commission, A New Headquarters for Second Harvest of South Georgia
  • Southwest Georgia Regional Commission, CTAE Workforce Development Equipment
Iowa
  • Region XII Council of Governments, Western Iowa Advantage Collaborative Marketing to Address a Housing Crisis
  • Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, 600 Block Downtown Upper Story Housing Conversion
  • Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission, Upper Explorerland’s Child Care Solutions
Idaho
  • Frontier Community Resources, Lincoln County Youth Center
  • Frontier Community Resources, South-Central Idaho Brownfield Revitalization
  • Frontier Community Resources, Collaborating for Affordable Housing Solutions
Illinois
  • Bi-State Regional Commission, Rock Island County Waste Management Organization Development
  • Blackhawk Hills Regional Council, 2024-2029 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for Northwest Illinois
Indiana
  • North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council, North Central Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative (READI)
Kansas
  • Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
  • Kansas Commerce, Inaugural Community Impact Tour
  • Kansas Commerce, Community Development to Quality Places: Evolution at the Kansas Department of Commerce
Kentucky
  • Lake Cumberland Area Development District, Lake Cumberland Area Development District Opioid Abatement Advisory Project (PROJECT WORK)
  • Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Home for All: Northern Kentucky Housing Strategies Report
  • Pennyrile Area Development District, Madisonville Regional Law Enforcement Training Center
  • Purchase Area Development District, Barkley Regional Airport Sewer Extension Project
Louisiana
  • South Central Planning & Development Commission, My Government Online (MGO): A Collaborative Digital Transformation Project for Community Resilience
Maine
  • Northern Maine Development Commission, Expanding the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Aroostook & Washington Counties
Minnesota
  • Region Nine Development Commission, Building a More Sustainable Model for Rural EMS in Region Nine
Mississippi
  • East Central Planning and Development District, Renovation of the Frank Cochran Conferencing Center
  • Northeast Mississippi Planning & Development District, Marshall County 12″ Waterline Extension
  • Northeast Mississippi Planning & Development District, Town of Walnut Frontage Road
Montana
  • Great Falls Development Alliance, Great Falls Housing Production
  • Great Falls Development Alliance, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Great Falls Development Alliance, GFDA State Small Business Credit Initiative 2.0 Partnership
North Carolina
  • Centralina Regional Council, CONNECT Centralina Regional Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan
  • Centralina Regional Council, City of Albemarle Staffing Study
  • Centralina Regional Council, Home Safety and Repair Program
  • Foothills Regional Commission, Ageless Innovation
  • Land of Sky Regional Council, The Remembrance Project
  • Land of Sky Regional Council, Energy and Communications After a Storm
  • Land of Sky Regional Council, Senior Companion Program Caregiver Project
  • Lumber River Council of Governments, ARPA – Chore and Chore-Enhanced Services
  • Lumber River Council of Governments, Lumber River Financial Administration Assistance
  • Lumber River Council of Governments, Lumber River Digital Champion
  • North Carolina Association of Regional Councils of Governments, Western North Carolina Five-COG Regional Disaster Recovery
  • Piedmont Triad Regional Council, Work Ready Reentry
  • Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Creative Catawba Cultural Plan LifeMode Tapestry Analysis
  • Western Piedmont Council of Governments, STEM-based Learning: Tree Canopy Analysis and Tree Planting Plan
  • Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Western Piedmont Regional Housing Initiative Roadmap
  • Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, AskAshleigh: Your Caregiver Companion
  • Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, Upper Coastal Plain Community Forestry Program
Nebraska
  • Southeast Nebraska Development District, Nebraska Broadband Ready Toolkit
New York
  • Southern Tier 8 Regional Board, So-Tier Regional Community Development Storyboard
Ohio
  • Buckeye Hills Regional Council, Monroe & Noble County Introduction to Tablets, Internet, and Email
  • Buckeye Hills Regional Council, Buckeye Hills Forward: A Regional Economic Plan
  • Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, Regional Resiliency Strategy
  • Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership & Public Service, Appalachia Ohio Regional GIS Collaborative
Pennsylvania
  • Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission, Northern Tier Business Education Partnership (NTBEP)
South Carolina
  • Appalachian Council of Governments, US 29 Corridor Study – Anderson County, SC
  • Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Town of Jonesville Streetscape Improvements
  • Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Chester County Emergency Response GIS Application
  • Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments, Coffee with the COG
Tennessee
  • Upper Cumberland Development District, Transitional Homes for Men and Women
Texas
  • Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Electrical Pre-Apprenticeship Program
  • Central Texas Council of Governments, Killeen Housing Authority Transition
  • Deep East Texas Council of Governments & Economic Development District, DETCOG Regional Broadband Project
  • Deep East Texas Council of Governments & Economic Development District, DETCOG Regional Interoperable Radio Project
  • East Texas Council of Governments, Building Veteran-Friendly Communities in East Texas
  • Heart of Texas Council of Governments, HOTCOG Solid Waste Events: Advancing Regional Cleanup through Collaborative Management
  • Houston-Galveston Area Council, Taking Services on the Road: The Roadshow Series
  • Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, Perryton, TX Tornado Recovery
  • South Plains Association of Governments, SPAG Regional 911 Storm Shelter Location Project
  • South Plains Association of Governments, Caregiver Essential Kit
Utah
  • Utah’s Seven Associations of Governments, Local Administrative Advisor Program
Virginia
  • PlanRVA, Near Miss Dashboard
Wisconsin
  • East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Strategic Planning and Action for Revitalizing Communities (SPARC)

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