The Jesse M. Unruh Award is named for Jesse Unruh, a founding member of NAST and former California State Treasurer. This distinguished award recognizes a current Treasurer’s outstanding service to the association, the profession, and his or her state. During more than 40 years in public service, Unruh rose from an impoverished childhood to become one of the most powerful people in California politics. He excelled in his service as a savvy legislator and rose quickly from a seat in the California State Assembly to become Speaker of the Assembly by 1961. After losing campaigns for California Governor and Mayor of Los Angeles, Unruh was elected California Treasurer in 1974. During his tenure as Treasurer, Unruh vastly expanded the role of the Treasurer’s office by asserting the Treasurer’s power over numerous boards and commissions that controlled millions of dollars of State funds. Following his death in office in 1987, his heirs and supporters established the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at his alma mater, the University of Southern California with a mission of motivating students to participate in politics and encourage public officers to champion non-partisan and ethical issues. 

The NCPERS Policymaker of the Year Award is presented to policymakers, both elected and appointed, Democrats or Republicans, serving at the federal or state level who have shown exemplary service to state and local public pensions. David received the award as recognition for his work advocating with Congress for states’ rights and effective approaches to sound retirement systems and policies. Among his efforts, David worked to defend Department of Labor safe harbor rules which empowered states to develop simple, low-cost retirement savings programs for workers who lack access to a workplace retirement plan. Additionally, he lobbied in Congress against the inclusion of an unrelated business income tax (UBIT) provision in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 (HR 1). The UBIT provision in the House version of the bill would have taxed investment returns to public plans that are currently and appropriately exempt. (State and local governmental pension plans are exempt from all taxes by virtue of IRC section 115, which excludes from gross income certain income of entities that perform an essential government function. Furthermore, application of a federal tax to public pension plans would erode the immunity that states and the federal government each enjoy from taxation by the other.)

NCPERS is the largest nonprofit trade association for public sector pension funds, representing more than 500 funds throughout the United States and Canada that collectively manage more than $3 trillion in pension assets. Its core missions are federal and state advocacy, conducting research vital to the public pension community, and educating pension trustees and officials.

A patroller with a National Appointment is an individual who has demonstrated leadership, good character, diplomacy, a positive attitude, good judgment, exemplary patrolling ability, a genuine desire to serve the skiing public, and extraordinary service to the National Ski Patrol (NSP). Receiving a National Appointment is not something for which a patroller, volunteer or paid, can work or plan. A patroller does not apply for an Appointment – a patroller must be nominated.

A patroller who is nominated for an Appointment must have demonstrated leadership that benefits the NSP by:

• serving at section, region, division or national levels;
• serving as an instructor in one of the NSP’s programs;
• delivering exceptional performance as an NSP patrol representative; and
• demonstrating strong leadership abilities in working with the skiing public as related to skier safety education.