CNG Co-Chairs Joe Rogers, Bob Hatcher to be Given Distinguished Service Award from the National Governors Association

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Commission for a New Georgia co-chairs Joe Rogers and Bob Hatcher will be awarded the Distinguished Service Award to State Government at the National Governors Association’s Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts on Friday, July 9, during the meeting’s opening plenary session.

“Joe Rogers and Bob Hatcher have brought a much needed business perspective to state government,” said Governor Perdue. “They have earned this prestigious award for the huge dividends their work has brought to Georgia.”

Since May 2003, Joe Rogers and Bob Hatcher have led the Governor’s Commission for a New Georgia (CNG), which convenes top business executives to identify areas to make Georgia one of the best managed states in the nation. By conducting research, sharing information and making recommendations for improvements, CNG task forces have addressed a wide array of issues including procurement, leadership development, customer service, tourism and state health benefits, among others.

Thanks to the leadership of Rogers, Hatcher and the CNG, strategic purchasing is saving the state $100 million in contracts for supplies, equipment and services, an online state construction manual is keeping $1 billion in building projects on time, on budget, and within quality standards, and state agencies are providing constituents with “faster, friendlier, easier” service. In total, CNG has made 130 policy recommendations, with an impressive 85 percent implementation rate. Rogers is the chairman, president and CEO of Waffle House, and Hatcher serves as chairman of the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia.

More information on the Commission for a New Georgia can be found at http://newgeorgia.org/.

Established in 1976, the NGA Awards for Distinguished Service to State Government enable governors to bring national recognition to their states’ most valuable civil servants and private citizens. The awards emphasize the commitment of state administrators and the important contributions private citizens make to their states. The awards program is administered by a selection committee comprised of three permanent representatives from the academic community, as well as designees chosen by the NGA chair and vice chair.

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