Partnerships Earn Orange County a Pair of 2024 VACo Achievement Awards
By: Orange County Communications Department
At the close of last month, Orange County was pleased to learn that the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) had recognized two of our programs with 2024 Achievement Awards. These awards are part of a competitive program which recognizes local government initiatives in awards criteria that include innovation, cooperation and model practices. Thanks to our dedicated team, Orange County has enjoyed several wins over recent years, including: COFEMS ’ Whole Blood Project in 2022, as well as Economic Development & Tourism ’ s Edna Lewis Menu Trail and COFEMS ’ Firefighter/EMT Education & Workforce Partnership Initiative in 2023. This year built upon those successes and shed light on the great work of some of our less visible departments. The first recognized program was Public Works ’ Facility Maintenance Staff Education Partnership. Regular Insight readers may remember mention of this program earlier this year. The motivation for this partnership occurred when leadership recognized a disparity in training opportunities across the organization. Virtual and remote education is widely available for office staff seeking to expand their skillsets or develop professionally. It ’ s true that some similar options exist for trade - focused education, but practical skills assessment requirements (where students must physically demonstrate competency) are less easily adapted to virtual learning. For example, a student tasked with diagnosing faulty wiring cannot fully demonstrate that skill through written or online tests. To provide more practical and effective continuing education opportunities, Orange County Public Works partnered with Germanna Community College ’ s Center for Workforce Development. As the only program of its kind among local governments in Virginia, this partnership removed the location barrier by providing onsite weekly classes held after work hours. Classes were part of the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER) Facility Maintenance Apprenticeship curriculum, and focused on skills such as core craft skills, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. Even better, the everyday routine of addressing work order requests created opportunities for our staff to apply those experiences toward class completion requirements! Offered at no cost to the employee, this training has expanded the skillsets of our team and created a foundation for growth within the agency. Thanks to this, Orange County can be more selective about which jobs require an outside vendor, creating meaningful and long - term cost savings in facility maintenance budget lines. The result is a win - win situation which promotes positive professional development for our employees while maintaining responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds.
For example, we did not need to enlist the help of an electrician for tasks like appliance wiring in our administration building ’ s new kitchen. This job required running wire from multiple panel boxes, using the correct gauge of wire in the right locations, and installing the right outlets for all needed appliances, including a dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, and stove. A similar - scale electrical project recently completed at
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