Making a Nomination
The award recognizes the service of women whose contributions to clients, co-workers, or the public are substantial. The winner of this year’s award will receive a monetary stipend from the Virginia Hart Award Fund and will be honored in an awards presentation that will occur in October 2024.
The award was established for Virginia Hart, Wisconsin's first woman cabinet member, upon her retirement in 1983. Her friends and colleagues established a fund so that each year a woman in Wisconsin state service could be recognized for exemplary performance and contribution to the citizens of the state.
During her distinguished career with state government, Ms. Hart served as Secretary of the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Chairperson of the Commission for the Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations, and Chairperson of the Labor and Industry Review Commission.
The award's emphasis is on recognizing "unsung heroines" in state service, thus providing encouragement and recognition to all women in state government. Qualities might include:
- Held in high esteem from peers
- Acceptance of responsibility beyond the limits of nominee’s job description
- Sustained, extraordinary achievement of assigned tasks
- Performance recognition from clients
- Community service
- Overcoming handicaps to performance
- Self-improvement
This list of qualities is not exhaustive. It identifies, however, the qualities Ms. Hart exemplified when the Special Recognition Award was established.
Nominations can be made by anyone. Nominees can be in classified (represented or non-represented) or unclassified service and from any part of the state. However Limited Term Employees and employees of the University and Legislature are not eligible for consideration. A single recipient will be selected for recognition.
Please help make the recognition award a success by nominating a woman (or women) who makes a real difference in state service.
If you are interested in nominating someone for the award, please fill out the 
Virginia Hart Award 2024 fillable form.pdf. All nominations must be submitted by September 13th, 2024 to:
Laurice Lincoln
laurice.lincoln@wisconsin.gov
Department of Administration Division of Personnel Management Bureau of Equity and Inclusion