National Organization Awards Joe Neguse “Spirit of Service” for First-of-Its-Kind Service Town Hall Initiative
Washington, D.C.— Congressman Joe Neguse has been awarded the “Spirit of Service” award from the Town Hall Project— a national organization that tracks congressional town halls and encourages a stronger, fairer better democracy. The Town Hall Project recognized Neguse for demonstrating outstanding commitment to serving his district by facilitating a first-of-its-kind service town hall initiative and holding consistent town halls across the 2nd District throughout his first year in office. In 2019, Congressman Neguse held five service town halls across the district, partnering with local organizations such as the Larimer Humane Society, Rocky Mountain National Park, Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, Bridge House Boulder, and Broomfield FISH to engage constituents in community service projects.
“I’ve been tremendously inspired by the engagement and excitement for our service town hall initiative this past year,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “We were able to partner with five local community organizations across Colorado, including in Loveland, Estes Park, Boulder, and elsewhere, and we welcomed a large number of volunteers at each event. I truly believe we need to work to turn down the temperature in our politics. Service town halls allow us to engage on a community level, across party lines, with the focus of a common goal—serving our community. We look forward to continuing the initiative in 2020 and partnering with additional organizations to spread the spirit of service and neighborly love.”
“In 2019 Congressman Neguse was a leader in Congress in accessibility—holding frequent town halls with his constituents,” said Nathan Williams, Executive Director of the Town Hall Project. “But we were even more impressed with his innovative Service Town Halls, which combined direct community action opportunities with open conversations—bringing Coloradans together in service of their community and reinforcing what our democracy is all about. We hope these events serve as an inspiration to more members of Congress to follow suit.”
Congressman Neguse held 24 district town halls in 2019, making him one of the most active freshman Members of Congress in his first year. He held 5 innovative service town halls, in which he participated in a community service project with constituents before addressing constituent questions in a regular town hall setting. Neguse plans to continue holding regular town halls in the district during the 2020 Congressional session.