LGA honors ad hoc committee on Leadership Training Program
The Walter C. Erwin, III Special Projects Award recognizes the LGA’s members who have performed work on an LGA project or other project of significant importance to the LGA or local government generally. The purpose of this award is to encourage greater service to the LGA and/or local government and to honor members whose projects have been especially effective and successful.
Walter C. Erwin, III served as the City Attorney for Lynchburg for 41 years, from 1980 until he retired in 2021. He served on the board of directors of LGA from 1998 until 2003, during which time he held the office of treasurer, vice-president, and president. He received LGA’s highest honor, the Finnegan Whiting Award, in 2007. Walter freely shared his encyclopedic knowledge of local government law on LGA’s forums, where his humor was also in evidence. A frequent presenter at LGA conferences, his sessions were always one of the highest rated at those conferences. In July of 2020, the board of directors renamed the Special Projects Award in honor of Walter C. Erwin, III for his embodiment of the principles of this award that recognizes recipients whose work impacts our association and local government.
At the At the Spring Conference Awards Banquet, the LGA bestowed the Walter C. Erwin, III Special Project Award on the LGA’s Ad Hoc Committee on for Leadership Training for the creation and implementation of a Leadership Training Program tailored to local government attorneys.
From its genesis in Fall 2022, the effort to create and implement a Leadership Training Program tailored to local government attorneys was an ambitious endeavor. However, it was not long after the LGA Ad Hoc Committee was appointed that the program began to shape up and communication and coordination with the Virginia State Bar Local Government Law Section was initiated. Both groups, consisting entirely of LGA members, brought substantial capabilities and commitment to this project. The resulting Leadership Training Program that rolled out earlier this year is nothing short of amazing.
The Leadership Training Program is an exciting first-time collaboration between the Virginia State Bar Local Government Law Section, Local Government Attorneys of Virginia (LGA), and the Virginia Institute of Government. The program is geared toward new and aspiring local government chief counsel. The Program represents an innovative recognition of the legal, management, and leadership skill sets needed for the attorney’s success in an important and demanding role in public service. Specifically, the two-year course of study will include (1) a core curriculum on substantive areas of local government law, (2) training in management skills (e.g., budgeting and personnel management), and (3) intangible or leadership training. Course requirements will be met with a combination of webinars, LGA conference programming, and a two-day in-person seminar led by the Virginia Institute of Government adapted from their highly regarded SEI and LEAD program, for the role of chief legal counsel.
LGA thanks the following ad hoc committee members:
- Co-chairs Kathleen Dooley and Brandi Law
- Cynthia Bailey
- Walter Erwin
- Mike Lockaby
- Brian Lubkeman
- Rysheda McClendon
- Sharon Pandak
- Mark Popovich