HUD SOUTHEAST REGION ANNOUNCES LOUISVILLE AS FIELD OFFICE OF THE YEAR
Louisville Field Office Receives HUD Southeast Region Best Field Office of the Year Award

LOUISVILLE - HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr. recently recognized the HUD Louisville Field Office as the recipient of the prestigious HUD Southeast Region Best Field Office of the Year Award. Annually, the HUD Atlanta Regional Office, which oversees the largest federal region in the U.S. consisting of over 14 field offices in eight states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, recognizes excellence on the part of HUD field offices, programs and team members.

"Today it was my pleasure to recognize the Louisville Field Office as the Field Office of the Year for Region IV. Our region always sets a high standard for achievement and excellence. But today, we gave the award to the 'Best of the Best'," said Jennings. "This office distinguished itself in every area from Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to Public and Indian Housing, from Multifamily Housing to the Office of General Counsel, and Community Planning and Development to Field Policy and Management. The cross-programmatic collaboration among the staff in service to the public set a new standard of performance for Region IV, and we know when you lead in Region IV, you lead the country."

Krista Mills, Louisville Field Office Director added, "Every person in our office earned this award, and it is a privilege to work with them. Most importantly, this recognition means that the people of Kentucky who depend upon HUD to improve the quality of their lives through affordable housing received exceptional, steadfast service."

The Louisville team's accomplishments included the following among many others:

• The Office of Community Planning and Development secured over $300,000 in technical assistance for Kentucky housing providers in the inaugural round of the OneCPD Technical Assistance program. The cities of Louisville, Ashland, and Covington will benefit from the assistance which is intended to further advance their capacity to administer HUD programs.
  
  
• The Louisville Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Program Center led the region in securing the most conciliation dollars for citizens who experienced discrimination. The conciliations provided more than $100,000 in relief in 2012.
  
  
• The Office of Public Housing partnered with the Kentucky Transitions Program to increase housing options for people with disabilities ready to transition from institutional care to independent living. The partnership successfully implemented solutions mandated by the Olmstead Act that resulted in housing 67 families in 2012.
  
  
• The Office of Multifamily Housing worked diligently with state and local partners to find suitable temporary housing for 48 HUD-assisted families who became homeless when their apartments were destroyed by the EF-3 (www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/) tornado West Liberty, Kentucky in March 2012. The housing assistance will be preserved and Liberty Heights Apartments will be rebuilt using HUD's mortgage insurance program.

Also recognized with local achievement awards were Mary Beatty, Liz Doan, Kim Harris, Jared Ison, Mary Mayrose, Tom Ryan and Patty Whitehouse.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.