NWRA Wins Highest Honor Awarded to Associations for its COVID-19 Response

Arlington, VA – The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) honored the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) with its 2021 Summit Award, the highest honor that can be obtained by an association. NWRA was recognized as the nation’s top advocacy association for its tireless work to keep waste collection workers safe and on the job during the COVID-19 crisis.

The awards are part of the Power of A campaign, which brings attention to the association community’s valuable contributions to society at the local, national and global levels. Six Summit Awards are given out each year.

“We are an advocacy organization. The actions taken by NWRA during the COVID-19 crisis were bold, aggressive and intense. Knowing that the nation could be faced with a waste disposal calamity, NWRA staff remained at their post during the first few weeks of the crisis after most of Washington, D.C. had closed their doors,” said NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith. “We kicked off a months-long advocacy effort to support the industry using every tool and connection at our disposal. Our leadership, members, chapters, staff and contract lobbyists across the country all responded with a sense of urgency that was appropriate to the moment. The nation never witnessed a waste disaster, and the industry was thanked by Americans at curbsides and driveways all across the nation. NWRA is very proud to have won the highest national honor in all of association management for this all-hands effort.”

“Congratulations to this year’s Power of A Award winners, who continue to exemplify the indelible impact associations have on not just the industries and professions they represent, but on society at large,” said Barry Pilson, CAE, 2021 Chair of the Power of A Awards Judging Committee. “Given the pandemic-related challenges associations experienced over the past year, it’s incredible to see countless cases of associations going above and beyond their everyday mission to change the world. It’s a testament to our community and we’re very proud to highlight these award-winning initiatives this year.”

This year, ASAE also gave out 32 Silver and 25 Gold awards. NWRA won a Silver Award in 2019 for its Slow Down to Get Around safety initiative and a Gold Award in 2020 for its Hours-of-Service/Electronic Logging Device exemption.

Also in 2020, at the 100^th Anniversary of ASAE, NWRA was recognized as one of the 100 Associations That Will Save the World.

NWRA will be formally recognized during The Power of A – Summit Awards on September 30 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

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ABOUT NWRA
The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) represents the private sector waste and recycling services industry. Association members conduct business in all 50 states and include companies that manage waste, recycling and medical waste, equipment manufacturers and distributors, and a variety of other service providers. For more information about NWRA, please visit www.wasterecycling.org.