Colorado Water Congress Wayne N. Aspinall Awards

For the past 5 years, Barbara East has been commissioned to create the annual award painting for the Colorado Water Congress’ Wayne N. Aspinall Awards.

The Colorado Water Congress presents the prestigious Wayne N. Aspinall “Water Leader of the Year” Award annually to an individual Coloradan who has long demonstrated courage, dedication, knowledge and strong leadership in the development, protection and preservation of Colorado water.

Honorees reflect those attributes so clearly possessed by the award’s namesake, Wayne N. Aspinall. The late Mr. Aspinall, a lawyer and former longtime member of the U. S. House of Representatives, remains one of the most influential water leaders in Colorado history.

​This award, established in 1980, is presented to that person exemplifying the courage, dedication, knowledge and leadership qualities shown by Wayne N. Aspinall in the development, protection and preservation of the water of the State of Colorado. The award need not necessarily be an annual one. Nominees may be any person who best demonstrated the “Aspinall” characteristics of leadership. The Aspinall Award shall be unique and meaningful in keeping with the qualities of the man for which the award was named. The leadership contribution shall have been significant in terms of the development, protection or preservation of some or all of Colorado’s waters..