GOHS ANNOUNCES 26TH ANNUAL GOVERNOR’S CHALLENGE AWARD WINNERS

Media release from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety:

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) honored 33 state and local law enforcement agencies for their work in saving lives on our roads at the 26^th annual Governor’s Challenge Awards on Friday at the Macon Centreplex.  GOHS presented Agency of the Year awards in nine different categories based on the number of employees, the top GOHS Traffic Enforcement Networks, GOHS Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (H.E.A.T.) teams, Network Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator of the Year as well as the top agencies in ten safety categories.
The Governor’s Challenge program honors law enforcement agencies for their work to prevent crashes, injuries and deaths in their communities, college campuses and military installations. Designed to award outstanding achievements in highway safety enforcement and education, the awards recognize agencies for the approach and effectiveness of their overall highway safety programs. Agencies are evaluated not just for enforcement initiatives, but for unique problem-solving in their communities, using public information activities, and creating departmental policies that support their traffic enforcement campaign efforts.  Highway safety experts from Tennessee and Florida judged the 65 applications submitted to GOHS to select the 2025 Governor’s Challenge winners.
The Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office won the prestigious Governor’s Cup, which is presented to the overall top traffic enforcement agency having scored 244.5 out of a possible 260 points.   The Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office also won Agency of the Year for a second straight year in the 11-25 employee category and won the Teen/Young Driver Safety award for a second straight year.
The DeKalb County Police Department and Calhoun County Police Departments were named the Agency of the Year for a third straight year in their categories and Rome Police Department took home Agency of the Year in the 76-100 officer category for a second straight year.
GOHS also honored the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Region 2 with the Impaired Boating Prevention Award.  DNR LED Region 2 is based in Gainesville and includes Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell. Region 2 Game Wardens made 96 Boating Under the Influence (BUI) arrests in 2024.  GOHS recognized Game Wardens because every BUI arrest they make on a state waterway prevents a potential drunk driving crash on our roads. 
The Boston Police Department won the coveted 26th Governor’s Challenge specially equipped Chevrolet Silverado PPV.  The names of ten of the 46 eligible agencies were randomly selected as finalists with a representative from each agency selecting a key and Boston Police picked the key that activated the Blue Light Randomizer.  
“Crash data shows enforcement of traffic laws is one of the most effective ways to save lives on our roads and today we wanted to say thanks to the men and women in Georgia law enforcement for the lives they save every day, Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said.  “State and local law enforcement officers also work every day to prevent crashes through educational programs and initiatives with the goal to reduce the number of crashes on our roads.”
“These men and women will never know how many lives they save at the end of the day, but we know they are making a difference in reducing the number of crashes on our roads each year,” Roger Hayes, GOHS Law Enforcement Services Director said. “We ask everyone to help our law enforcement officers save lives on our roads by obeying all traffic safety laws and starting every trip with wearing a seat belt and making sure all children under eight are properly restrained in a child safety seat that meets the manufacturer’s guidelines for that child.”
The full list of this year’s Governor’s Challenge winners is as follows: