McHenry County Receives 3 National Achievement Awards

McHenry County was recently recognized by the National Association of Counties (NACo) for implementing innovative county government programs to better serve area residents. The 2011 NACo Achievement Awards winners were honored during the NACo’s 76th Annual Conference and Exposition in Portland, Oregon.  McHenry County received three NACo Achievement Awards for its Winter Snow & Ice Workshop, Community Partners – Mental Health Awareness for All, and MAPP Heart Age Assessment Tool.

Winter Snow & Ice Workshop

The Winter Snow & Ice Workshop teaches public and private snow plow operators and contractors how to safely and effectively manage winter snow and ice and how to safely handle road salt and de-icing chemicals in order to minimize the potential for water pollution.  The workshops are an important component of the County’s continued commitment to protecting its water quantity and quality.  For more information on this program, please contact Cassandra McKinney at 815-334-4213.

Community Partners – Mental Health Awareness for All

The purpose of Community Partners – Mental Awareness for All is to change perceptions of mental health through education by an initiating and nurturing community group.  It is a unique partnership working to reduce stigma and raise consciousness and understanding of mental illness in McHenry County.  For more information on this program, please contact Barb Iehl at 815-455-2828.

MAPP Heart Age Assessment Tool

Department of Health – MAPP Heart Age Assessment Tool, a community-based cardiovascular screening program designed to identify and educate adults 30-75+ years of age of the risks associated with heart disease; the tool measures body mass index and blood pressure against age, gender, height, weight, smoking and diabetic status and how it affects their heart’s “true age”.  For more information on this program, please contact Deb Quackenbush at 815-334-4456.

“It is an honor for McHenry County to be recognized through the NACo Achievement Awards for these top notch programs,” said County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, “McHenry County continues to find innovative ways to meet the needs of our residents during these difficult economic times.” 

The NACo Achievement Award program is a non-competitive program that recognizes counties for improving the management of and services provided by county government. Since the program’s inception in 1970, the NACo Achievement Award program has honored thousands of county government initiatives that have improved service delivery, achieved greater cost efficiency, provided finer customer service, and helped to develop a better-trained work force.  For more information on the NACo Achievement Awards, please visit www.naco.org.

This media release was provided by McHenry County.