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Citizen of the Year

The Citizen of the Year Award and Citations of Merit are sponsored by the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations. These awards recognize and honor Fairfax residents whose voluntary contributions of time and talent resulted in major accomplishments that enhance the quality of life in our County. Annual nominations from residents like you are reviewed and honorees are selected by a team of community leaders.  These honorees are recognized at the annual festive COY banquet:

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Citizen of the Year Awards Banquet is moved to its traditional date in May 2023

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It will be held at the Springfield Golf & Country Club. 

* * Stay tuned for updates * *

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Sponsoring a portion of the Citizen of the Year Banquet is always welcome. 

Please see the Sponsorship Form listed Here.

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Meet last year's honorees:

Click on each picture to read the awardee's nomination bio.

2019 Citation of Merit

Dorothy Keenan - CM

Dorothy Keenan

2020 Citation of Merit

Lance Beets

2019 Citation of Merit

Holly Seibold - CM

Holly Seibold

2020 Citation of Merit

JoEllan Frasch

2019 Citizen of the Year

Lisa Sales - COY

Lisa sales

2020 Citation of Merit

Jeff Parnes

2020 Citation of Merit

James Migliaccio

2020 Citizen of the Year

Paul W. Hammack, Jr.

Special Gratitude Award

John Cook - SG

John Cook

Special Gratitude Award

Cathy Hudgins - SG

Cathy Hudgins

Special Gratitude Award

Linda Smyth - SG

Linda Smyth

Special Gratitude Award & Lifetime Achievement Award

Sharon Bulove2 - SG & Lifetime.jpg

Sharon Bulova

We thank the folks who honored fellow residents by nominating them for the 2019 and 2020 awards.
2021 nominations will be open later this year.
To submit a nomination, please
fill out this form (pending).

To sponsor various functions of the COY, click Here. 

Special Gratitude

Eligibility for COY Awards Nominees

  • Nominee must be a current resident of Fairfax County.

  • The Citizen of the Year is recognized for voluntary acts that are not related to employment

  • Contributions and accomplishments must have countywide rather than local significance.

  • The nominee's achievements can be either:

    • ​General, such as multi-year community service with one or more organizations or activities with cumulative impact over the years of current importance or with positive implications for the future, or

    • Specific, including intense efforts as the major promoter of a single program or project completed in a finite period of time.

  • Elected officials and full-time County or Commonwealth employees are ineligible for consideration if their contributions are related to their full-time positions.  However, they may be considered for a Special Gratitude Award or a Lifetime Achievement Award.

  • The Special Gratitude Awards honor persons who do not meet the published eligibility standards for Citizen of the Year consideration, but whose contributions of time and talent resulted in major accomplishments that have enhanced the quality of life for residents of Fairfax County.  Elected officials, full-time County or Commonwealth employees, non-residents, and deceased residents who would have otherwise qualified for a Citizen of the Year nomination may all be considered for Special Gratitude Awards.

Click below to view all past awardees.

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