The Governor’s Challenge Awards will be held October 31, 2025, in Macon.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is celebrating the 26th anniversary of the Governor’s Challenge Awards in 2025. The Governor’s Challenge Awards is the state’s premier law enforcement awards ceremony recognizing state, local, campus and military law enforcement units for the outstanding work they do in promoting highway safety through education and enforcement.
Application Portal is now OPEN! Application Deadline: May 30, 2025, at 11:59PM
Governor’s Challenge is designed to highlight outstanding achievements in highway safety enforcement and education. It recognizes agencies for the approach and effectiveness of their overall highway safety programs. Agencies are evaluated not just for enforcement initiatives, but for innovative problem-solving in their communities, using public information activities and creating departmental policies that support their traffic enforcement campaign efforts.
The Georgia Governor’s Challenge is aligned with the national traffic safety priorities of impaired driving, occupant protection, and speed. Agencies are also encouraged to include information about any local issue you are addressing, such as distracted driving, pedestrian crashes, young drivers, etc.
The GOHS Law Enforcement Services team is ready to assist any agency with any questions about their application and have a How-To-Guide to help agencies craft a winning application.
(Click Photo to Access How-To Guide)
Current Governor’s Challenge award categories are as follows:
CHALLENGE SCORING CATEGORIES
An agency may earn up to 205 points across seven (7) specific areas:
• Policy (25 points)
• Training (25 points)
• Incentives & Recognition (20 points)
• Public Information & Education (40 points)
• Enforcement (40 points)
• Effectiveness (40 points)
• Quality of Application (15 point)
2024 Governor’s Challenge Winners
| AWARD CATEGORY | PLACE |
| Category 1: 1-10 Officers | |
| McCaysville Police Department | 1st Place |
| Demorest Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Boston Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 2: 11-25 Officers | |
| Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office | 1st Place |
| Tybee Island Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| Category 3: 26-45 Officers | |
| Calhoun Police Department | 1st Place |
| Milledgeville Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Morrow Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 4: 46-75 Officers | |
| Snellville Police Department | 1st Place |
| Dalton Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Crisp County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| Category 5: 76-100 | |
| Rome Police Department | 1st Place |
| Floyd County Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Liberty County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| Category 6: 101-200 | |
| Coweta County Sheriff’s Office | 1st Place |
| Gainesville Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Warner Robins Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 7: 201-500 | |
| Hall County Sheriff’s Office | 1st Place |
| Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office | 2nd Place |
| Henry County Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 8: 501+ | |
| Dekalb County Police Department | 1st Place |
| Atlanta Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Cobb County Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 11: Traffic Enforcement Network | |
| Coastal Area Traffic Enforcement Network | 1st Place |
| Middle Georgia Traffic Enforcement Network | 2nd Place |
| Mountain Area Traffic Enforcement Network | 3rd Place |
| Coordinator of the Year | Lt. Chuck Harrison |
| Asst Coordinator of Year | Sgt. Selina Ayala Garcia |
| HEAT Team of the Year | |
| Georgia State Patrol Nighthawks – Middle Georgia | 1st Place |
| Savannah Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Hall County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| SPECIAL CATEGORY AWARDS | |
| Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office | Impaired Driving |
| Morrow Police Department | Speed Awareness |
| Dalton Police Department | Occupant Protection |
| Snellville Police Department | Distracted Driving |
| Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office | Rookie of the Year |
| Rome Police Department | Child Passenger Safety |
| Valdosta Police Department | Bike/Pedestrian Safety |
| Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office | Teen/Young Driver Safety |
| Western Region Traffic Enforcement Network | Motorcycle Safety |
| Snellville Police Department (229.5 Points) | Governor’s Cup |
RESOURCES
GOHS Law Enforcement Contact List
(For more information, contact Roger Hayes at 404-971-0379.)