Award winners at INAFSM's 2023 Annual Conference. Photo by Mike Weaver.

INAFSM Awards

We are now accepting award nominations. The nomination deadline is July 12 and awards will presented at the Annual Conference at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. 

 

Each year at the Annual Conference, INAFSM recognizes those individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to the fields of stormwater and/or floodplain management. Nominations for each award are offered in the summer before the Conference.  Details will be sent to members as the event nears. Below, you can find a description of each award, as well as a list of previous years winners.

 

Lifetime Membership Award

At the 2016 Conference, in celebration of INAFSM’s 20th anniversary, the INAFSM Board of Directors established an art glass rain drop award to be given to those members who have been chosen to receive INAFSM Lifetime Membership status.  Each piece of art glass is individually hand made by artisans; no two are alike and each is unique just like each unique and special INAFSM member that receives one.  INAFSM Lifetime Membership is bestowed by the Board in recognition of a member’s Longtime Contribution and Service to INAFSM and its efforts to promote floodplain and stormwater education throughout Indiana. Lifetime Membership benefits include the same benefits enjoyed by paid members, including membership discounts on event registrations, inclusion on the INAFSM mailing list, and more.

Pre-2016 Phillip Rader
Pre-2016 Jan Crider
Pre-2016 Greg Main
2016 Rodney Renkenberger
2016 Siavash Beik
2016 Donna Price
2016 Debbie Smith
2018 Richard DeWitt
2019 Jody Melton
2020 Toni Cecil
2022 Ken Hedge
2022 Susan Bodkin
2023 Robert Bullock
2023 Anita Nance

 

Excellence in Stormwater Management Award

Established in 1997, this award recognizes an outstanding stormwater management program or an outstanding stormwater manager. This award may be bestowed annually upon a local unit of government or an individual, affiliated with the state or a local government, who has consistently demonstrated leadership in the area of stormwater management and has instituted a pro-active approach consistent with the INAFSM vision of sound water resources management in the State of Indiana.

1997 Kent Ward (Hamilton Co.)
1998 Mike Spencer (Tippecanoe County)
1999 Town of Dyer
2000 George Van Til (Lake Co.)
2001 Kevin Kirk (City of Indianapolis)
2002 Steve Murray (Tippecanoe County)  
2003 David Gaston (Hendricks County)
2004 City of Valparaiso
2005 Indiana University - Office Of Environmental Health And Safety
2006 Shareen Wagley - City of Muncie Sanitary District
2007 Bill Hahn - Hendricks County MS4 Coordinator
2008 Tim Stottlemeyer - City of Noblesville MS4 Coordinator
2009 Bill Dials - Morgan County Surveyor's Office
2010 Jason Armour - Town of Fishers
2011 Greg Lake - Deputy Surveyor/MS4 Coordinator, Howard County Surveyor's Office
2012 Matt Lake - Merrillville Stormwater Utility
2013 (TIE) Randy Braun - Indiana Department of Environmental Management
(TIE) Oak Park Conservancy District
2014 Jeremy van Erman - Chairman, Madison County Stormwater Partnership
2015  Toni Cecil - Muncie Sanitary District
2016 John Thomas - City of Carmel 
2017 Gavin Merriman - Town of Zionsville
2018 Richard DeWitt - City of Franklin
2019

Adam Bowen - Michiana Stormwater Partnership

2020

Jim Knapp - Purdue University

2021

Chris Jones - City of Greenwood

2022

Alicia Barnard - City of Terre Haute

2023

Karan Barnhill - City of Evansville

 

Outstanding Stormwater Project Award

Established in 1998, this award recognizes an outstanding stormwater project studied, designed, or constructed by a firm for a local unit of government or a private entity. This award may be bestowed annually upon both the "representing firm" and the "project owner".

2001 Knox County Drainage Plan (Knox Co. Drainage Task Force)
2002 Streambank Stabilization at Memorial Drive Dump Site in Muncie  (EPA Region 5 and Earth tech)
2003 Turkey Creek/Gatlin Park Multi-purpose Facility (Lake Co. Surveyor Office and CBBEL)
2004 Cool Creek Watershed Master Plan (Hamilton County Surveyor Office and Clark Dietz, Inc.)
2005 Tippecanoe County Project Team Rule 13 Program Development (County Phase 2 project team and CBBEL)
2006 Pearson Ford Post-Construction Stormwater Management Plan, Zionsville, IN (Williams Creek Consulting)
2007 White Lick Creek Stream Enhancement - [Town of Plainfield (Project Owner) & Banning Engineering (Lead Consultant)]
2008 Berlowitz Drain Regional Detention Basins - [Tippecanoe County Drainage Board (Project Owner) & Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (Lead Consultant)]
2009 City of Indianapolis Green Supplemental Document - Owner: City of Indianapolis DPW, Lead Consultant: AMEC
2010 18th & Macedonia Neighborhood Stormwater Project - Owner:  Muncie Sanitary District; Lead Consultant:  GRW Engineers
2011 Nash Trucksess/Wilson Regulated Drains Stream Naturalization - Owner: Hendricks County Surveyor's Office; Lead Consultant: Williams Creek Consulting
2012 (TIE) Delaware County Plaza Green Infrastructure (Delaware County, IN); Lead Consultant: Randall Miller and Associates, Inc.
(TIE) Riverside Ditch Restoration in Jeffersonville, (Oak Park Conservancy District); Lead Consultant - Stantec
2013 City of Jeffersonville, IN - Stormwater Master Plan (Lead Consultant - Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC)
2014 Merrillville Stormwater Utility - Merrillville 54th Court Bioremediation and Roadway Runoff Control Project (Lead Consultant Robinson Engineering)
2015 City of Lafayette - Durkees Run Stormwater Park Project (Lead Consultant: Williams Creek Consulting)
2016 Butler University - Sunset Avenue Gateway Projects (Lead Consultant: Williams Creek Consulting)
2017 Symons-Krause Project (Project Owners: Hamilton County Surveyor’s Office & Town of Sheridan; Project Consultant: Banning Engineering)
2018 Brown Street Permeable Paver Project (Project Owners: City of Lafayette; Project Consultant: Greeley & Hanson
2019 Beyer Brady Trail Stormwater Quality Project (City of Warsaw Engineering Department; James Emans, PE; Ryan Workman, CPESC)
2020 Indiana Fluvial Erosion Hazard Mitigation Manual (Project Owner: OCRA; Project Consultants: Christopher B. Burke Engineering and IUPUI CEES)
2021 Norwaldo Neighborhood Stormwater Improvements (Project Owner: City of Indianapolis DPW/Engineering; Project Consultants: HNTB Corporation)
2022 Old City Park and Surina Way Improvements (Project Owner: City of Greenwood; Project Engineer: Rundell Ernstberger Associates)
2023 Hart Ditch Improvement (Project Owner: Town of Dyer; Project Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering)

 

Excellence in Floodplain Management Award

Established in 1997, this award recognizes an outstanding floodplain management program or an outstanding floodplain manager. This award may be bestowed annually upon a local unit of government or an individual, affiliated with the state or a local government, who has consistently demonstrated leadership in the area of floodplain management and has instituted a pro-active approach consistent with the INAFSM vision of sound water resources management in the State of Indiana.

1997 City of Fort Wayne
1998 Maumee River Basin Commission
1999 Jim Hawley (Tippecanoe Co. Area Plan Comm.)
2000 Scott Zeigler (Noble Co. Surveyor’s Office)
2001 DeKalb County & City of Auburn (jointly)
2002 Donna Price (City of Indianapolis) 
2003 City of Noblesville
2004 Rodney Renkenberger (MRBC)
2005 Jan Crider & Mary Moran (IDHS)
2006 Susan Bodkin, CFM (Hancock County Surveyor's Office)
2007 Scott Morlock, USGS
2008 Hamilton County Drainage Board
2009 Debbie Smith - IDNR Division of Water
2010 Kenny Hale - Morgan County
2011 City of Auburn
2012 Tonya Cottrell, Hendricks County Planning and Building Department
2013 (TIE) David Nance - Indiana Department of Natural Resources
(TIE) City of Columbus - Flood Risk Management Plan (Lead Consultant - Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC)
2014 Kathleen Weissenberger - Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA)
2015 Wells County CRS Program (Michael Lautzenheiser, Jarrod Hahn, Diana Collins)
2016 Robert C. Barr - IUPUI, Center for Earth and Environmental Science
2017 Roger Gage (recently retired City of Decatur)
2018 Flood Response Plan Project (Project Owners: Indiana Silver Jackets, IDNR, IDHS; Project Consultant: Christopher B Burke Engineering, LLC)
2019 Mick Newton, AEM, PEM, CHEP (Noble County Emergency Management Agency)
2020 Rodney Renkenberger, Maumee River Basin Commission
2021 Doug Wagner, Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Water
2022 Chelsea Cottingham, City of Columbus - Bartholomew County
2023 Darren Pearson, Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Water

 

Outstanding Floodplain Project Award

Established in 1998, this award recognizes an outstanding floodplain project studied, designed, or constructed by a firm for a local unit of government or a private entity. This award may be bestowed annually upon both the "representing firm" and the "project owner".

2001 Howard County and the City of Kokomo mitigation projects
2002 Greendale-Lawrenceburg Levee (City of Greendale and the American Consulting, Inc. team )
2003 Pogues Run Multi-purpose project (City of Indianapolis and CBBEL)
2004 Digital Conversion Of Flood Insurance Rate Maps Project (IDNR-Division of Water)
2005 No Award Given
2006 Earl Road Flood Control Facility, Michigan City, IN (Michigan City Sanitary District and CBBEL)
2007 No Award Given
2008 MRBC 2008 Flood Mitigation Master Plan - Maumee River Basin Commission (Project Owner) & Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (Lead Consultant)
2009 City of Indianapolis Flood Response Plan - Owner: City of Indianapolis DPW, Lead Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.
2010 Indiana Floodplain Information Portal Project - Owner:  IDNR Division of Water; Consultant: Stantec Consulting Services
2011 Division of Water State Fair Model - Owner: IDNR Division of Water
2012 Flow: Can you see the River - Owner: Indianapolis Museum of Art; Consultant/Artist: Mary Miss Studios
2013 City of Angola - John Leach Drain Wetland Restoration (Lead Consultant - Rowland Associated, Inc.)
2014 "When Every River Turned Against Us: Lessons from the Great 2013 Flood" - Indiana Department of Homeland Security (Lead Consultant - WFYI, Pubic Television, Indianapolis)
2015  Hamilton County Surveyor's Office - Sand Creek and Cumberland Road Flood Mitigation Project (Lead Consultant:  Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC)
2016 Tippecanoe County Surveyor's Office - John Saltzman Regulated Drain, 2-Stage Ditch Project
2017 Eagle Marsh Project (Project Owners: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS))
2018 The Zone A Floodplain Project (Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water)
2019 Whitewater River Flood Insurance Project Study (IDNR- Division of Water; Lead Consultant HNTB Corporation)
2020 Kankakee River Flood and Sediment Managment Work Plan (Project Owner: KRBYRBDC, Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering)
2021 Indiana Waterways Inquiry Request Tool (Project Owner: Indiana Department of Environmental Management)
2022 Tippecanoe County Flood Inundation Library (Project Owner: Tippecanoe County Emergency Management Agency & Tippecanoe County; Project Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering,)
2023 Flood Resilience Plan (Project Owner: City of Goshen; Project Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering)

 

Excellent Strides in Floodplain Management Program Award

Established in 1998, this award recognizes the most improved floodplain management program. This award may be bestowed annually upon a local unit of government that has succeeded in, or has made a noteworthy effort towards, significantly improving its floodplain management program.

1998 Town of Utica
1999 City of Fredericksburg
2000 City of Indianapolis
2001 Hancock County
2002 City of Shelbyville
2003 City of Decatur
2004 Evansville – Vanderburgh County Building Commission
2006 City of Alexandria - Madison County
2007 Morgan County Plan Commission
2008 City of Franklin & White County (tie)
2009 Pulaski County
2010 City of Anderson Emergency Management Agency
2011 Mindy Bourne, Exectuve Director of Posey County Area Plan Commission
2012 None awarded
2013 City of Lake Station
2014 No nominations received
2015 City of Jeffersonville - Floodplain Management Program
2016 City of Franklin Planning and Engineering Department 
2017 Scott County Area Plan Commission
2018 Doug Wagner (Carroll County)
2019 April Ramoni, CFM (City of Scottsburg)
2020 David Knipe (Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Water)
2021 Kim Hostetler, CBI, CFM (Huntington County)
2022 Tammy Behrman, AICP (Indiana Department of Natural Resources)
2023 Robbie Miller (LaGrange County Plan Commission)

 

Outreach - Education Award

Established in 2015, this award recognizes an Outstanding Education and Outreach program, project, or specialist promoting the advancement of education regarding floodplain and/or stormwater management. This award may be bestowed annually upon a local unit of government, an individual, or a "project owner" and "representing firm".

2015 4-H Soil and Water Science Curriculum Update Project - Purdue University/Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (Lead Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC)
2016 (tie) Jason Donati - Muncie Sanitary District
2016 OCRA Green Infrastructure and Rural Affairs (Lead Consultant: Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC)
2017 Hamilton County Partnership for Water Quality
2018 City of Greenwood Nature Center
2019 Tippecanoe County Partnership for Water Quality (TCPWQ) (Monica Christopher, Water Quality Educator; Zach Beasley, MS, PS, Tippecanoe County Surveyor) 
2020 LaPorte County Stormwater Program (Rick Brown, MS4 Coordinator)
2021 City of Bloomington Utilities
2021 Candi Donaldson - Hendricks County Partnership for Water Quality
2022 Stormwater Landscape Training Program (White River Alliance Regional Stormwater MS4 Program Education Team)
2023 Interactive Rain Barrel Roving Display (Elkhart County SWCD)

 

Chairman's Award for Outstanding Service in Support of INAFSM

Established in 1997, this award seeks to recognize an individual with outstanding service in support of INAFSM. This award may be bestowed annually upon an individual (member or non-member) that, in the opinion of the INAFSM Chair, has provided an outstanding service in support of the Association.

1997 Mary Davidson
1998 Greg Main
1999 Dave Knipe
2000 Sean Gorman
2001 Debra Smith
2002 Anita Nance
2003 Jon Stolz
2004 Rick Eberly
2005 Stephanie Million
2006 Lori Gates
2007 Steve Fuchs
2008 Matt Rummel
2009 Unique Dahl
2010 Siavash Beik
2011 Scott Morlock
2012 Marta Moody
2013 Unique Dahl and Matt Rummel
2014 Rodney Renkenberger
2015 Kenny Hale
2016 Tonya Cottrell
2017 Karen Avery
2018 Michael Sears
2019 Toni Cecil
2020 INAFSM Conference Planning Committee
2021 Greg Lake
2022 Amy Harvell
2022 Sheila McKinley
2023 INAFSM Conference Planning Committee

 

Special Recognition Awards

Sometimes, people in INAFSM go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that organizational operations run smoothly.  These people volunteer their own time and effort (often behind the scenes) and the Committee feels that these individuals should be recognized.

2011 Matt Rummel - Organization of the 2011 Flood Risk Symposium
2015 Greg Main - State NFIP Coordinator
2015 Zach Beasley - Tippecanoe County Surveyor
2016 Suzie Delay - Serving as AV Coordinator for numerous INAFSM Conferences
2016 Bob Bullock - Serving as photographer for numerous INAFSM Conferences
2018 Jim Blazek - Heart of the Association
2019 Matt Rummel (Christopher B. Burke Engineering)