(St. Paul, MN)— Colleen Landkamer, former Blue Earth County Commissioner and current State Director of USDA Rural Development, was presented with the 2009 Association of Minnesota Counties’ (AMC) President’s Awards for her years of dedicated service and unparalleled leadership in county government. 2009 AMC President Jim McDonough, a Ramsey County Commissioner, selected Landkamer for this honor and presented her with the award at the association’s annual conference December 7 in Minneapolis.

The prestigious President’s Award is presented to an individual who has a deep history of public service to their community and to their county. First elected a Blue Earth County Commissioner in 1988, Landkamer left county government earlier this year when she was appointed by the Obama Administration to serve as the State Director of USDA Rural Development.

"Colleen Landkamer is the epitome of what it means to be a member of AMC," McDonough said. "In addition to working tirelessly on behalf of Blue Earth County and county government in general for over 20 years, she is also an AMC past president, past National Association of Counties (NACo) president, National Local Government Official of the Year recipient, and has served on countless state and national committees."

AMC is a voluntary statewide organization that assists the state’s 87 counties in providing effective county governance to the people of Minnesota. The association works closely with the legislative and administrative branches of government in seeing that legislation and policies favorable to counties are enacted. In addition, the Association provides educational programs, training, research and communications for county officials.

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