Arizona’s Gregory D. Hyland, CPM,
Selected as 2010 Henning Award Recipient

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – An Arizona public sector manager has been recognized by the American Academy of Certified Public Managers® (AACPM) for his career accomplishments, community service, and contributions to state and national public manager organizations and the public manager profession as a whole.  Greg Hyland, Director of Community Relations for the City of Yuma, AZ, was presented the Henning Award at the AACPM’s 22nd Annual Professional Development Conference on October 19.

The first public manager from Arizona to be recognized with the Henning Award, Hyland receiving his Certified Public Manager® credential in 1992 after completing all CPM training offered through the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University.  Hyland has served as President of both the Arizona Society of Certified Public Managers® (ASCPM) and the American Academy.  Prior to serving as AACPM President, he had served as the AACPM Member at Large for Conferences & Communications, in addition to serving as an Arizona delegate to the AACPM’s governing body, the House of Delegates, from 1996 through 2005.  

Hyland served as AACPM President-elect in 2007, President in 2008 and Immediate Past President in 2009.  He remains a member of the House of Delegates as a Past President through 2013. 

"Greg was the unanimous choice of the selection committee," said Julie Rupp Felice, CPM of Utah, 2009 AACPM Henning Award recipient and Chairman of the Henning Award Committee. "His career accomplishments, community activities, and efforts for both the Arizona CPM Society and the American Academy, set a standard that his peers should strive to achieve.  He truly represents the very best in Certified Public Managers®." 

Hyland leads and manages the City of Yuma's award-winning Community Relations Team, providing information to a bilingual community of approximately 200,000 full-time and 100,000 part time residents. He was a finalist for the City of Yuma's Employee of the Year in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2000, before being recognized as the City's Manager of the Year in 2002. Beyond his professional activities, Hyland served as a Kiwanis Club Board of Directors member from 1989 through 1994. From 1990-1993, he served as Club Vice President, President-Elect, President and Past President. He was been recognized as Kiwanis International's "Distinguished President" for all terms as President (1992, and 1994 through 1996.). Greg  served as a Girl Scout volunteer for 10-plus years and has also been a school volunteer and mentor.

"Greg brings an extensive knowledge of the community to his day-to-day duties, knows the people, has an ability to create friends easily, and uses that to get information out there in a way that actually connects with our residents," said Yuma City Administrator Greg Wilkinson.  

"He's put in place a number of unique programs than enable City residents to stay in touch with the City of Yuma organization," Wilkinson added. "Having built a high-quality production facility used to televise our Council meetings and other important City meetings, he's added a number of programs on that channel. He helped start a weekly radio program, where the City gets information out to our residents and also gets direct feedback from them. On top of that, he's also very active in the community." 

In Yuma, Greg is known for leading by example.  He manages 12 employees and oversees a total annual operating budget of more than $1 million.  Several of Hyland’s employees have been recognized by the City for their performance efforts. 

Hyland is noted for continuously attempting to find new and innovative methods to communicate with a diverse population in their region.  These efforts include:

• producing three weekly television programs in both English and Spanish

• providing cable castings of all City Council Meeting/Work (study sessions), Planning and Zoning Commission Meetings, and Press Conferences and Briefings by city officials

• providing Video on Demand on the internet and cable television and on the internet of all programs developed by the City’s Community Relations Team for community members to view on their own time schedule

• hosting two weekly live three-hour call-in programs on a local AM Radio station

• assisting in moving the City to the next generation of communication media

• serving as a Project Co-Coordinator for a community sponsored and constructed Stewart Vincent Wolfe Playground (the largest playground built by a community over an 18-month period from design to construction, involving more than 5,000 local school children and 8,000 volunteers).  The playground project helped the City of Yuma receive the national Playful City Award in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

In 1995 and 2009, he trained as a Public Information Officer and City Administrator at FEMA’s Emer­gency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for presenting disaster (natural or manmade) related information.  He had opportunities to utilize this training during the recent crash of a jet in a city neighborhood with live, unexploded ordinance, in addition to two hurricanes, and several medium scale earthquakes. 

Joining in Hyland's recognition, AACPM President-elect Jeffrey A. Kramer, a fellow Arizonian, emphasized Hyland's willingness to "go the extra mile to help his peers, his professional organization, his state society and the American Academy.  Greg's efforts have been a tremendous contribution to the Arizona Society and the American Academy, and have helped to strengthen the prestige of the CPM public image."  

"This prestigious award is awarded by the AACPM to an outstanding member who has made the greatest contribution to the certified public management program at the state and/or national level,"  AACPM President, Joyce Doakes Smith, said.  "The vision and leadership displayed by Mr. Henning, remain to this day embodied in the Certified Public Manager® programs in the 33 states and jurisdictions and in the American Academy of Certified Public Managers® and its 19 chartered local societies."  

Felice reports that the judging of the Henning nominees “was very difficult due to the high caliber of all nominations.  Greg’s record speaks for itself.  He is clearly a most deserving nominee. “ 

Hyland was one of five AACPM fellows who were nominated for the 2010 AACPM Henning Award.  Other nominees included Doris S. Anderson of Arkansas, Carmen Bishop of Kentucky, Stephen J. Mastro of North Carolina, and Jeffrey R. Roemer of Wisconsin.  

The Henning Award was first awarded by the AACPM in 1990.  Hyland is the 21st recipient of the annual recognition, and will serve as Chair of the Henning Selection Committee in 2011, when the 22nd annual award will be presented in Salt Lake City, Utah.  In addition to being the first recipient of the Henning Award from Arizona, Hyland is also the first municipal government manager to be so recognized by the Academy. 

The Henning Award is named after Kenneth K. Henning of Athens, Ga., whose vision of a quality management development program tailored to the needs of state and local government, resulted in the design and implementation of the Certified Public Manager® concept. His hard work and dedication in the mid-1970s in Georgia was responsible for the establishment of the Georgia Certified Public Manager® Program, the American Academy of Certified Public Managers®, and the movement of the Certified Public Manager® concept to other states.

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