(Provided by Pat Kuehn)
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is honoring three Volusia
County programs - the Citizens Academy, Trails Program and Liberty Web
Assistant - with 2009 Achievement Awards. The awards, which recognize
unique and innovative county programs, will be presented at NACo's
annual conference in Nashville July 24 - 28.
The Citizens Academy is a hands-on awareness program designed to show
citizens how county government operates. Participants spend more than
100 hours learning about the internal operations of county government
through presentations, workshops, tours and job-shadowing. Topics
include elections, growth management, public protection, property
assessments and budgets.
Volusia County's Trails Program offers residents and visitors
opportunities for outdoor recreation, transportation alternatives, and
the enjoyment of nature. The county maintains four major trail systems:
the Spring-to-Spring Trail, a paved trail that one day will traverse 26
miles from Gemini Springs Park to DeLeon Springs State Park with a
connection to Putnam County; the 47-mile World's Most Famous Beach
Trail; the North Peninsula Trail, a six-mile paved trail from Spanish
Waters Boulevard to the Flagler County line; and the Ponce Inlet Trail,
a paved trail that stretches three-and-a-half miles from Major Street to
Lighthouse Point Park. Design has begun on the East Central Regional
Rail Trail, which will allow users to travel from Enterprise to
Edgewater and Titusville.
The Liberty Web Assistant is an intranet web portal containing a search
interface to Liberty, the county's electronic document management
system. With the exception of confidential information, the portal
offers employees easy access to more than 3 million documents.
To be eligible for the NACo award program, an organization must offer a
new service to county residents or fill in the gaps of existing service
and have produced measurable results.
Founded in 1935, NACo represents the nation's 3,066 counties,
advancing issues before the federal government, educating the public
about county government, assisting counties in finding and sharing
innovative solutions through education and research, and providing
services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information
about NACo, visit www.naco.org.
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Pat Kuehn, APR
Community Information Specialist
Volusia County Government
123 W. Indiana Ave., Room 301
DeLand, FL 32720-4612
e-mail: pkuehn@co.volusia.fl.us
From DeLand, call (386) 822-5062, ext. 2934
From Daytona Beach, call (386) 239-7756, ext. 2934
From New Smyrna Beach, call (386) 423-3868, ext. 2934
Cell: (386) 748-3989
Fax: (386) 822-5072