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Lifetime Service Award

The Lifetime Service Award recognizes elected city officials, city managers, city clerks and city attorneys who, upon leaving office or retiring, had completed 35 or more years of service. Any individual meeting this criteria and being nominated by their city will receive the award.

Recipients of the Lifetime Service Award will be recognized at a GMA district meeting or at a city council meeting. In submitting the nomination form, cities are requested to indicate a preference of when they would like for the award to be presented. Every effort will be made to accommodate the city’s preference. The names of all recipients will be listed in the Annual Convention program and the Georgia Cities newspaper.

For additional information about the Lifetime Service Award, see the Q&As below or contact Pam Helton at phelton@gacities.com or (678) 686-6275.

Download the Nomination Form

Lifetime Service Award Q&A

Will an Awards Committee review the nominations and only select a limited number of individuals for the award each year?

No. Any individual nominated who left elective office or retired as a city manager, city clerk or city attorney with at least 35 years of service will be recognized.

To receive the award, must a city manager, city clerk or city attorney have worked for the same city his or her entire career?

No. As long as the individual worked in one or more Georgia cities in some capacity for 35 or more years and retired as a city manager, city clerk or city attorney, he or she is eligible for the award.

Are city administrators considered the same as a city manager for the purpose of this award?

Yes.

To be considered for the award, must a city attorney have been a full-time employee with one or more cities for at least 35 years?

No. Both staff attorneys and attorneys who work in private practice are eligible for the award.

Can a person who served both as an elected official and a city manager, city clerk or city attorney be nominated for the award?

Yes, provided the individual left office or retired with combined service of at least 35 years.

If an individual held one or more positions other than elected official, city manager, city clerk or city attorney during their tenure in city government, does this service count toward the 35 years and should it be noted on the nomination form?

Yes.

Can an individual who receives a Lifetime Service Award also be nominated for GMA’s Municipal Government Hall of Fame?

Yes.

Can a person who has previously been inducted into GMA’s Municipal Government Hall of Fame also be recognized with a Lifetime Service Award?

Yes. If the Hall of Fame inductee left elective office or retired as a city manager, city clerk or city attorney within the past ten years and served for a minimum of 35 years, he or she may receive the Lifetime Service Award, provided a nomination form is submitted by the city. Also, if a Hall of Fame inductee still holds elective office or serves as a city manager, city clerk or city attorney, such individual is eligible for a Lifetime Service Award upon his or her retirement provided the 35-year service requirement is met.

May a city submit a nomination for a person who is now deceased?

Yes, as with GMA’s Municipal Government Hall of Fame, individuals may be recognized posthumously.

What is the deadline for submitting a nomination?

Individuals must be nominated within 12 months of leaving office or retiring. Nominations may be submitted at any time during that 12-month period. For individuals who served within the past ten years and left office or retired more than one year ago, a city must nominate them by December 31, 2014.

Who determines when and where a Lifetime Service Award presentation will be made?

In submitting its nomination, the city is requested to indicate whether it prefers for an awards ceremony to be scheduled in conjunction with a GMA district meeting or city council meeting. Every effort will be made to accommodate the city’s preference.

Can the nomination form be submitted once an individual’s retirement is announced? If so, would it be possible for the award presentation to be scheduled in conjunction with the individual’s retirement ceremony?

Yes, if an elected official in your city announces he or she will not be seeking re-election or if a city manager, city clerk or city attorney announces he or she will be retiring on a certain date, a city may go ahead and submit the nomination form. If a retirement event is planned for the individual and the city would like for the Lifetime Service Award to be presented at the event, please make this request known to GMA. Every effort will be made to accommodate the request.