In a letter sent to U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko on Aug. 5. the American Public Works Association announced its recognition of the Surprise Veterans Reflection Circle as one of its 2020 projects of the year.

The annual competition recognized publicly developed, owned and maintained infrastructure projects that promote excellence in construction management and administration. These awards also highlight the alliance between the managing agency, the contractor and the consultant.

Surprise earned the award in the less than $5 million division of the Structures category. At no cost to the city, the circular space tells the story of a combat veteran’s struggle to return to civilian life and goes on a journey of how a community’s embrace and the power of nature can comfort those who have served.

This year’s award ceremony has been canceled, but all award winners will be shown in a video at www.apwa.net on Aug. 31.

The city shares the awards with the following partners who contributed to the project:
82 Bravo Land Survey & Mapping, Ace Sandblasting, Airpark Signs, Allstate Rent-a-Fence, Arizona Wholesale, Atwater Construction, Castle Steel, Cox Cactus Farms, DBA Construction, EarthScapes, Elite Waste Services, Evergreen Turf, Ewing Irrigation, Excel Screen Printing, Felix Construction, Granite Express, Hawkeye Electric, Haydon Building Corp., Honor House, Hauser Engineering Group, Kilauea Crushers, Lowe’s, Mountain States Wholesale Nursery, Natina Products, Nesbitt Construction Contracting, Outdoor Systems Management, Premier Irrigation, RC Lurie, Rummel Construction, Straight Arrow Construction, Sunrise Nursery, Triton Boulder Supply, Weinberger Waste Disposal and Wright Engineering.

APWA represents more than 30,000 public works professionals across North America, including personnel from local, county, state and federal agencies, as well as the private sector.