Howard County Again Awarded the Most Annual NACo Achievement Awards in Maryland History with a Record 113 Awards in 2026, Including One “Best in Category”
View allELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced that Howard County Government has received a record 113 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo). That is the highest number of awards out of any county in the state, which received a collective 165 awards, and the highest number of annual NACo awards achieved in Maryland history. Additionally, the County was one of only three counties in the state to receive a “Best in Category” award, winning in the Information Technology category this year for the HoCo DASH 2.0 app.
NACo Achievement Awards are the premier national honor to recognize innovative and transformative programs that provide new and impactful services for county residents, improve existing programs, upgrade working conditions, and enhance public participation and policymaking. The county’s 2026 awards span 16 of the 18 national award categories and recognize the initiatives and projects of more than 25 county departments and offices.
Since taking office in December of 2018, Ball has led the county to become a national leader in innovation and transformation, earning a total of 391 NACo awards across every program category and the significant majority of county departments and offices. The county has received five “Best in Category” Awards in the last six years ranging in topics from Information Technology to Emergency Management to Planning to Transportation.