From left, at the National Development Council's National Academy Awards are Hurley Town Clerk Lori Ortiz, Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments Executive Director Priscilla Lucero and Hurley Town Councilor Esther Gil.The Grant County Regional Water Project received the National Academy 2017 Chairperson's award from the National Development Council. 

The Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, led by Executive Director Priscilla Lucero, received notice in early September that the project was a semi-finalist for one of the awards. The Chairperson's Award is selected by the chair of the NDC's Board, who chooses a project that demonstrated extraordinary community impact.

On hand for the conference when the award was issued were Lucero, Hurley Town Clerk Lori Ortiz and Hurley Town Councilor Esther Gil.