Award Nomination Forms
Hawthorn Foundation is not currently accepting nominations for Project of the Year and Hawthorn Award of Excellence. Nominations for the 2025 awards will open in Summer 2025.
On September 5, 2024, we presented the 2024 awards at the Governor’s Luncheon during the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development in St. Louis. Rob Dixon with Ameren Missouri (and former Director of the Department of Economic Development) was awarded the Award of Excellence, while the University of Missouri’s NextGen MURR (MU Research Reactor) was awarded the Project of the Year.
Questions? Contact Becky Willard, beckyw@hawthornfoundation.org or (573) 673-4350
Hawthorn Award of Excellence
The Hawthorn Award of Excellence shall be presented to an individual who deserves recognition for their contribution to economic development and the promotion of the mission of Hawthorn Foundation, either at the state or local level. This person can be someone new to the field who stands out among peers or someone who has demonstrated a continued dedication over many years. The honored individual does not have to be an economic developer.
2024 Honoree: Rob Dixon, Ameren Missouri
Project of the Year
The Hawthorn Project of the Year shall be awarded to a new project within the state of Missouri from the prior fiscal year. In fitting with the mission of Missouri Partnership, attraction projects only will be considered. While we are interested in the quantitative measures of a project (jobs, investment) we are also interested in more qualitative measures such as community impact and coalitions working together.
2024 Honoree: University of Missouri’s NextGen MURR (From left: Mark Grimm, President Mun Choi, Matt Sanford, Governor Mike Parson, Mike Hoehn)
Past Honorees
Rudy Farber
Hawthorn Award of Excellence, 2023
American Foods Group
Hawthorn Project of the Year, 2023